Friday, January 07, 2011

Home Ownership is Fun!

At the beginning of this week, we initiated our plan to rip out the circa 1982 bar from our basement, with the intention of making a better play space for the kids. It was an unsightly bar, and we weren't planning on hiring a bartender, so why keep it?

Well, there was a fair bit of mould within the particle board constructed bar, so our handyman thought it a good idea to pull off the baseboard from the wall behind the bar, just to see what there was to see. More mould.

Based on that, we decided to rip out the carpet that was near the bar, and install a nice new floor for the whole area. There was mould almost all the way through, which led to the removal of the sub floor as well.

With mould now being the greatest concern, we thought it would be good to cut away a couple of feet of drywall from the walls that we knew had previous water damage, just to verify that water was no longer getting in, and that it would be safe to patch up the walls and install the new floor.

The foundation was clearly leaking.

So, it would appear that we have to now dig up at least one side of the house, but probably all four. We also have to rip out all of the basement drywall and insulation along the perimeter, such that we can dry everything out before repairing it. I imagine a demolition team will be here in the next couple of weeks.

Is it too late to hire a bartender?

9 comments:

1001petals said...

:( that sucks.

I far prefer older homes but stories like this woory me and then I think it's better to buy new. And then pay to add character to it.

1001 Petals said...

lol woory :)

one-handed typing ftw.

lacochran's evil twin said...

This is where Rosanne Rosanadana comes in...

fzaltz said...

I say hire the bartender now! Maybe you can also take out your frustrations until the repairs are done on the pinball machine and the stairmaster, which I assume will be temporarily moving upstairs? ;-)

fzaltz said...

Also, your reader above clearly hasn't been watching enough Mike Holmes episodes if she thinks buying a new house rather than an old one will save her from this sort of construction atrocity.

Blog Antagonist said...

Oh my. My home is 1984 chic too and we have encountered some horrifying stuff, but nothing quite that bad. Yet.

karengreeners said...

honestly, my kitchen is desperately in need of a redo (1984? try 1944), but I am so afraid of what we will find when we start ripping things up, that we haven't done it. we'll have to save a few more 'just in case' bucks before we begin. gulp.

Anonymous said...

yikes!!! need a home for a pinball machine?

K&L mom

Chantal said...

oh man! That sucks, and now I am afraid. We start renos this spring!