RENOVATIONS FOR THE RUDIMENTARY– THEY CAN BE TAUGHT!


An unfinished basement can be transformed by even a novice builder into an electrifying gym, given the right teacher. Reminder Publications photo by Katelyn Gendron

Sept. 19, 2011

By, Katelyn Gendron

Assistant Managing Editor

GREATER SPRINGFIELD — I used to be able to count on one hand the number of times I’d been to a home improvement store. I just didn’t have the desire to chip my manicure or the know-how to do anything more than hang a frame with a hammer and a nail. But thanks to my electrician boyfriend and his friends, also licensed in various trades of the construction business, I’ve learned that given the right instruction, most anyone — even me — can learn how to renovate a home.

In June, we took my parents’ unfinished basement, which had little more than some sheetrock walls, a cement floor and three light bulbs, and turned it into a functional TV room and gym. Truth be told, my mother and father would now rather spend time in the basement as opposed to the living areas upstairs.

The renovation took three months’ worth of weekends, as we’d all had day jobs to contend with during the week, and what I learned to do — and so can you — included applying joint compound to seams of drywall (or “mudding”) to installing recessed lighting and laminate flooring.

The first step was installing new lighting so that we could actually see what we were doing. We chose recessed lighting as opposed to one- or multi-bulb fixtures because of the their ample illumination contained within a small, six-inch diameter housing.

The housing (or “cans”) and trims were a larger item in our budget but depending on what you choose, recessed lights may cost anywhere from $10 to $30 per can depending on size and functionality. The newest LED energy saving lights present a much larger cost, totaling up to $40 each but save on the electric bill in the long run (approximately $250 throughout the time of its life).

We elected to install 10 six-inch diameter cans in the entire basement — four in the TV room, four in the gym and two in the hallway — as well as retaining an existing one-bulb fixture in the center of the TV room. The fluorescent recessed lights in the TV room were put on a white, decora style dimmer switch, costing about $20. All of the switches, as well as the wall sockets, were also changed to the same style. Each switch and socket costs approximately $9.99 and $2.50, respectively, not including their plates, which cost between 59¢ and $3 a piece.

Word of advice: We opted for daylight bulbs — costing between $8 and $11 each — as opposed to bright white or soft white because they really do make the room look as if the sun is shining through it.

The next step was buying some two-by-fours to build a frame around the heating and ventilation ducts along the ceiling so we’d have somewhere to screw in the drywall. We chose to install a drywall ceiling, rather than a drop ceiling, because I think they look too industrial, plus drywall allows you to texture your ceiling and that’s where the fun is. Sheets of drywall, such as the 10-foot by four-foot ones we bought can cost about $10.50 or more. Word of advice: They’re really heavy on your back and can put a dent in your budget.

While putting in the insulation, we measured and cut the drywall in order to stagger them across the ceiling, making sure we cut out holes for the lights, carbon monoxide detectors and fire alarms. This was a labor-intensive process that took a lot of strength to hold up the sheets of drywall but didn’t take more than two days to complete.

Next we installed vinyl corner beads — approximately $1.89 each — to cover the seams where the walls met the drywall ceiling. This was a messy job because it requires using joint compound to stick the beads to the wall and ceiling. Word of advice: Two latex gloves work just fine to protect a manicure during the mudding process.

After mudding the corner beads in place it was time to cover the seams between sheets of drywall with drywall tape and three coats of joint compound. Covering all the seams and the screws holding the drywall in place with mud required two and a half five-gallon tubs of joint compound, approximately $14 each. Word of advice: In my humble opinion, spending extra money on $20 metal mudding tools as opposed to the $5 plastic ones is a waste because the metal rusts after the first use.

The next step in the whole renovation was my least favorite but by far the most comical. Word of advice: Sanding down three coats of mud proved to be a lesson in the necessity of breathing masks, goggles and head-to-toe work suits. We were covered, and I mean totally covered, in white dust!

We rented an electric sander from a home improvement store for 24 hours costing approximately $50 to sand down the seams in the ceiling. The other areas, including the corners and mud covering the screws were done by hand and took approximately two days to complete.

Next we began adding popcorn texture to the ceiling with a specialized roller. A two-gallon tub of texture paint costs about $30. Word of advice: The popcorn will nicely cover up any spots you didn’t sand down quite enough because you’re a novice like me.

Taping and painting the walls is, in my opinion, an easy and effortless task. We decided on a vibrant lime green in the gym in order to give the feeling of energy and strength, while the hallway and TV room was painted with a combination of off-white and lilac. Depending on the brand of paint and whether or not you opt to have primer included, each one-gallon can will cost about $33.

We chose to install cherry-colored laminate flooring in the basement, equipped with a moisture barrier, as tile would’ve been too cold on the feet without radiant heat. Laminate flooring can cost upwards of 68¢ per square foot and when you’re buying 25 to 30 boxes of it, you better be packing something hefty in your wallet. The flooring and its accessories were by far the largest part of our budget and it was worth it, in my opinion, because it’s easy to keep clean and the color is warm and cozy.

What I enjoyed about the installation process is that although it took quite some time between cutting the floorboards and measuring them out, they fit in quite easily by being snapped together.

Putting in the baseboards and trim around the doorways and windows also took some time — but not more than a day — to cut and nail in after they’d been painted white for the gym and a deep purple for the hallway and TV room. A basic, pre-primed baseboard trim will cost about $1.19 per foot or more and a pack of pre-primed door trim about $18. Next, you must fill the holes created by the nails and the seams between the trim with paintable caulking, upward of $2 per tube.

We finished up the basement during one weekend by painting over the caulking, installing the trims around the recessed lighting, installing the lone light fixture in the TV room, putting up the ventilation grates as well as the carbon monoxide detector and fire alarms.

Looking back, I’m definitely glad that I participated in this renovation because I learned a lot and not just how to keep my mani-pedi out of harms way. I encourage any reader to try his or her hand a remodeling, provided they have licensed contractors there to help as I did. So good luck and happy mudding, and remember that even though your bank account may be severely diminished by about $5,000 at the end of it all, when you’re sitting in your newly renovated space you won’t care, you’ll just be calling yourself an idiot for not having done it sooner.

Please note that many items and materials were purchased, installed and inspected throughout the aforementioned renovation project but they have been excluded from this article as a matter of narrative.

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