My friend says to me, “OMG, this tastes disgusting. TRY IT.” And I do. And she’s right. It’s completely disgusting. Why on Earth do we do that? Who knows. No one said humanity makes sense all the time. Or even half the time. But that’s not a subject I’m touching on today…not even with a ten foot pole, as they say. Here’s something else that I shouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole…
my basement.
You wanna see something disgusting? OF COURSE YOU DO, right?!
Take a deep breath…we are about to walk through the gates of my own, personal hell.
MY OTHER PROJECTSaaaggghhh! the boob light! the linoleum! the blue walls (not to even mention the obscene amount of dust)…
When we first bought this house, whenever I’d open the door to the basement, Thriller would immediately pop into my head. “It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark…under the boob light you see a sight that almost stops your heart,” *This post contains affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy HERE.*
“You try to scream, but all that wood paneling stops the sound before you make it…”
You start to freeze as the horror of this basement hits you right between the eyes, you’re paralyzed…”
Yep. Paralyzed is probably the best term for what we felt when we looked at tackling this space.
Paralyzed. “And no one was gonna save us from this beast about to strike…we were fighting for our life inside a killer…” Killer basement. That’s what we are dealing with here. And CLEARLY not killer in any good way.
See the gross-ness in the shot above? No, I don’t mean the linoleum…although that’s pretty nasty too. I mean the blackness on the wall? Mold. YUP, mold behind the baseboards. And this was eerily reminiscent of that one time, in our dining room, when I ripped off the chair rail and found something a bit scary. Then we ripped MORE down, molding, drywall, you name it, and found THIS…
You’re a lucky ducky if that shot doesn’t immediately draw within you a scream of utter horror and shock. Prior to buying this house, I would have been blissfully unaware of what we’re looking at right there as well. But now, I’m MUCH older, and at least a little wiser. That, my friends, is termite damage (insert that maniacal laugh of Vincent Price from Thriller HERE). And I gotta tell you, I am out of my mind nervous about what we’re going to find behind these moldy baseboards here in the basement. Because where there’s water damage, there can also be termite damage. Sooooooo….if someone happens to know some stellar meditation, self-calming techniques, breathing strategies…or just happens to have some extra Xanax lying around that they feel they could spare….message me, and I’ll send you my address (joking. sort of).
Because this aint lookin so hot, folks. But we’re pretty tough cookies, so this basement can bring it’s worst. We’re ready.
And truth be told, we’ve already started on the space. The basement is made up of a large family room/recreation room area, a bathroom, and a guest room. We’ve already finished the stairs, guest room and bathroom. I’ll share those through this One Room Challenge process, as well. But this makeover is focused purely on the basement rec room. And trust me, after this makeover, we’re gonna need all the REC we can get. Because for a while here, it’s gonna be nothing but a WRECK.
If you aren’t scared away by now, CONGRATULATIONS! You made it through the horror show! We’ll be back next week to share DEMOLITION. For those people out there who may have an affinity for wood paneling. I’m just gonna warn you now. You will despise us next week.
Well Heather, you’ve got your work cut out for you. It reminds me of my house and what I don’t want to see… Next time you get a concrete house! Termites can’t eat through that, or can they?
Wow, what an undertaking! I can’t believe you had termite damage! How horrible! I am really really looking forward to seeing your completed ORC rec room. You do great work and I’m sure regardless of the ugliness now, it will turn out wonderful.
Thanks for sharing!
Melissa
I am following your progress on this! We are about halfway through what has been a year long reno to our basement and I think ours was as bad if not worse than yours. It only took us about 5 years and a broken pipe to work up the courage to take the first swing with the sledge. We have painted burgundy cheap paneling, water damage, termite damage, hideous carpet/tile floors (check out my blog if you wanna see!). I am glad to have someone to commiserate with at least from afar! Good luck!
Honestly you made me smile! I think most of us have that one space that needs so much that it is easier to just close the door and say I’ll deal with that monster later. I’m cheering you on as you slay that beast!
Oh my goodness you have your hands full!!! Good luck!
Love the changes you’ve already made to your basement! Can’t wait to see what you do with the rec room too.
The best part about your current basement is how there are two types of linoleum butting right up against each other! That’s hilarious. How can you bear to part with it? 😉
You are a crazy scrub-wearing lady. I cannot believe you’re taking this WHOLE space on in 6 weeks, but I also CANNOT wait to see what you nutbirds come up with!! Awesome awesome awesome. xx
Well, at least you know it can’t get any worse… I wish you a whole lotta luck as you tackle this space. I know you can do it though!
You’re very brave BUT you’ll be so glad you did! Your space in your home is going to double. Can’t wait to see your progress!
How did you get away with using engineered floors in your basement? and how are they holding up? i’ve read that even though they’re engineered they still should not b sitting on concrete but rather using something like dricor.
We’ve never heard that Monika, in fact, we’ve always heard just the opposite. There is a very thin layer of underlayment that is used under the engineered flooring. We’ve used engineered wood in several concrete basements without any issue.