So Close I Can Almost Taste It.

Last weekend turned out to be a 'comedy of errors' type of weekend as I started working on my basement. Took a half day's vacation on Friday. I planned to go to Lowe's with my list of must haves, then go right home and get lots of work done.

Closet light fixture & bulbs
2 1 x12 x12 boards cut down of course to fit in the Taurus
Door stop trim
Threshold trim

As I was getting ready to leave, I thought I would check my voice mail 1 last time to see if there was anything really really urgent. Instead I got a message from my boss regarding an issue we had been discussing whereupon he told me to just "Chill, Bill". He and I have worked together for 13 years and we joke around, so I know that is what he meant to do, but it just hit me the wrong way at the wrong time. I called him back (because he was on vacation too), got his voice mail and left a scathing reply back that said something to the effect that "I'm probably taking your comment the wrong way, but I didn't appreciate it' and ended with "If you want me to be a bitch, I can be a bitch." Several miles down the road, he calls back, refrains from mentioning my bitch comment and we calmly discuss the original issue and get it cleared up.

So anyway, that kind of put a damper on my plans for the day. I did go to Lowes and get my supplies, however when I got home, I decided I just wasn't in the mood to tink around in the basement. I should have, because you remember my previous post "There Just Nothing like a Good Mad!" I probably would have finished the whole basement singlehandedly. But I decided to put everything off until Saturday.

Saturday morning dawned rainy and dreary. Perfect time to be in the basement getting things done, right? First projects was to get the bi-fold closet doors hung. The instructions were a bit sketchy, so I had to make several trips to the storage room, which has an identical set of doors. Finally all the hardware was up and the corresponding hardware was installed on the doors. I lift up the left door, carry over to the closet opening, set it down so I can get a better grip as lift it into position. I look up to seek exactly where I should move it, but instead notice the HUGE gap between the top of the door and the installed track. I mean HUGE. The closet door frame was 3.75 inches too tall. Hmmm, what's the saying about measuring twice before covering everything with drywall. OK, maybe that is not exactly how the saying goes, but it sure fits. Since time is limited (I have a family reunion at 3pm) I set the closet door aside and figured I'd think about how to fix it a little later after I have calmed down.

Now on to the door frame. Before you ask, it is a pre-hung door/frame, so yes it fits perfectly. :oP It was a freebie door, and it was missing the trim along the inside of the door which stops the door from going all the way through. Appropriately named 'door stop' trim, which I had bought at Lowes. I also needed to install a threshold trim across the bottom of the door, so you didn't trip on the vinyl flooring. I worked on the threshold first. Got it cut (has to be a tight fit) and stained then set it aside to dry. And it fit perfectly too. OK on to the trim. Got the 2 side pieces cut first. Figured I would install them, then measure for the top piece. Went into the storage room to get the pack of finishing nails that I didn't have on the Lowes list because I have some already. I open the pack and wouldn't you just know it. There was only 1 fricking nail left!!!

At this point, I just gave up for the day.

However on Monday night when I got out of work, I stopped at Walmarts for batteries and picked up my nails. When I got home, it was kind of late (I had stopped at a couple other places too), but I decided to go ahead and work on the basement anyway. I not only got the door stop trim installed, I got the frame painted too. I also got the first 2x4 installed for the "new" closet door frame.

Then last night, I worked on cutting the window sill boards (remember the 1x12x12 boards from Lowes?). I didn't nail them in yet, because the are a bit wider than the actual sill. I marked them and brought them into work today. Our maintenance guy was able to cut them down for me. But here is a photo of what they will look like when installed.


The window sill will be approximately 11 inches deep. The area to the right is the main cutoff for water coming into the house. Once the ceiling goes up, I will measure and install a door to cover it up.

I decided to tackle the closet one more time. I figured if it proved to be too much of a hassle, I would just wait for my Dad to get here on Saturday. But, I not only finished up the closet door frame, I got the doors hung too. Woohoo! Woohoo! (FYI, the top area will be covered by a wide piece of trim and you'll never know it's even there.)


I'm planning on staining the window sill wood tonight along with some more trim. I thought I had it all stained, but only the top 5 pieces were done. Dad is coming on Saturday to help me re-install the heating duct that we had to move when we put up the walls. We might start on the trim too, but I can work on that throughout the week. And next weekend my brother is coming to install the drop ceiling.

So see, I am SOOO close to having the sewing room D-O-N-E!!