Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Taking a Jackhammer to the Basement Floor

Last week we had an issue in the basement. The water is gone, but we decided to get this issue fixed ASAP. Now that the bathroom is done, we can focus on the second bedroom. The issue with working on this bedroom is that it is filled with stuff. The logical place to put this stuff is in the basement, so this means making sure the basement is safe for storage. This is where B-Dry comes in.

They came and gave us a quote on Saturday, and while the costs were lower than what we were expecting, some things they were offering just didn't make sense. I wanted a Honda of a foundation job. Something not too expensive and reliable. Their original offer was for a Cadillac. For instance, they originally said they'd have to replace my 3 month old sump pump in order to guarantee their work. They kept calling back with better and better offers, and finally we settled on a price about 40% lower than their original quote. They'll be here next Wednesday. I'll be glad to have this issue over with, and to be honest I'll sleep better because of it.

After this is done all we have to worry about is finishing the second bedroom, laying the teak floors through the whole house, eventually finishing the basement, replacing the HVAC system, insulating the attic, and 10,000 other miscellaneous things. Good thing my parents are coming over Christmas to help out. If only they knew what they're getting themselves into. :-)

Gratuitous Wally shot!

_MG_1247

We are quite proud of our furbaby. He's in advanced obedience class, where we get to gush at how incredibly smart and well behaved he is. He'd be even better if he didn't eat remote controls, but I guess he can't be perfect.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

You get that second bedroom done and Kate and I will come visit you!!! So hurry up and finish it so we have somewhere to sleep...

Anonymous said...

It's the remote's fault - Wally was trying to change the channel. He likes to watch Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Momnipotent said...

What a noble look on Wally's face...his front legs look 4 feet long at that angle!
Johnny B-Dry should get the basement done quickly, then you'll really be ready to roll. I still can't get over how beautiful the bathroom is. The pictures at "Door Sixteen" look similar to your "before" pics.

Anonymous said...

The bathroom looks even more impressive now with the anniversary orchid and new towels. Can't wait to show you and Dad!

Jennifer said...

What a cutie!

The bathroom looks great!

v2da2dl said...

Seriously, that pup's leggy!

I can't waaaait to meet him and nuggle that big old face.

Anonymous said...

Oh, he LOVES to nuggle. Wait til you see his latest trick, it's super cute.

..... said...

very impressive, we are in the middle of a total overhaul of a baltimore row house in charles village. it's nice to visit your blog and see creative ideas rewarded--the bathroom looks great, best of luck

Corey said...

JC - hopefully you blog about your renovation. It's a great way for family and friends to follow along, and it creates a (somewhat) permanent diary of your renovation.

Jon said...

Hey Corey - you mind telling me what you had done in the basement exactly? What had to be jackhammered; did you just have a sump installed; how much?

Sorry if you mentioned it elsewhere... I couldn't seem to find it - but I wanted to get an idea.

Thanks!
-Jon

Corey said...

Hi Jon,

We had the back of the 13' wide house waterproofed. They jackhammered out about 12" of concrete inside the house along this wall, pulled out the old french drain, installed a new one and put a cover over this drain. They then ran plastic sheeting about 12" up from the floor, and tied this cover into the new concrete they poured to cover up the drain.

They originally said they needed to install a new sump for us to get the lifetime guarantee, but since my new sump was less than 6 months old I vetoed this. They also wanted to rebuild some of my sump area and install the plastic sheeting up higher, but I didn't see why this was necessary.

The original quote was for 3700, but they kept calling back with lower quotes. In the end we negotiated down to 2000, and still got the guarantee.

Anonymous said...

What an original post and an original piece of idea. excellent , Bravo, it was really nice to know that such simple renovations can help a home look more better

Erin said...

Corey - thanks for this post, I'm currently under contract on a rowhouse in Baltimore that seems to have some water issues in the basement. I was asking coworkers for recommendations this morning and they also suggested B-Dry. I was glad to find your post, with description of work and prices. It also gives me hope that I might be able to talk them down from whatever I am quoted the first time around. We are trying to get the seller to cover this work or give us a credit. Thanks again for your posts, your blog has been great as I work toward purchasing my first home!