Big Basement Reorg, Day 3

Well, Liz and I had a pretty rough morning. We were both overly tired, and bickering for a lot of our time out. We grumbled over brunch, and had a rough time running errands at Home Depot and Target.

We were able to (eventually) reset ourselves, once we got home. And things got better once we started working again in the basement. But it was one of those rough patches, and took us a while to recover.

Liz got several lumber storage racks from Wallmaster. On reading over various Amazon reviews, we decided to purchase some longer lag screws (the included lag screws seemed inadequate).

An interesting discovery: we were unsure about where our studs were, in the basement walls. Previously, when we installed drywall, we put it over an existing layer of wood/panels.

We were able to determine that the studs seemed to be to the left of all the floor joists. So we took our best guess/measurements, using the joists as our guides.

Factoring in the drywall and wood we’d need to go through, before hitting the studs… we figured getting a longer lag screw made sense.

For the record: we bought 4″ long , 5/16 lag screws. And used a 7/34 bit for the pilot holes.

Using a laser level, we got the first mount in place.

Making good progress.

Brackets installed, wood in place. We’re stacked up slightly behind the duct work, but are mostly clear of any other pipes/metal. It’s a lot, but definitely tucked away.

There is a part of me that worries about the weight on these brackets. I’m not certain we hit the studs, and the worrier in me thinks that at some point… all this wood/weight is going to come crashing down when we least expect it.

It’s held pretty well so far. And I think I’ll feel better come tomorrow. But for the next 3 months or so, I’m going to have this irrational worry that the brackets are going to pull away from the wall and all the wood we’ve stored here will collapse.

We put our excess floor boards against the West wall, and put the Craftsman Cart in front of it (to prevent anyone from bumping the stack of boards).

A view of the basement, reorg in progress.

Liz and I took a break, and realized we had an opportunity to relocate even more stuff. The space just below the newly installed brackets was over 4′, which made for a perfect little nook for our drywall.

So we relocated the Craftsman Cart again. And put most of our small cutoffs in front of the excess flooring.

We then relocated all the drywall under the brackets. And then piled on all the excess plywood that was floating around. On the floor: a lot of wood that Bob’s been using, to help repair/cover the exterior of our house by the driveway and back porch.

The plant stand, relocated. And the exposed chimney is exposed once more.

A lot more space in the basement.

It’s pretty amazing how open the middle of the basement is now.

Our excess materials, relegated to the NW corner of the basement.

Basement reorg done! The masonite is going to stay, because Liz needs some floor protection for when she’s stripping/refinishing wood. And also for any impromptu breakdancing competitions that might happen.

There’s more to be done, as the basement has certain sections that are still overrun and unorganized. My working blog title, from earlier today was going to be “Not clean, but better.”

Still – what a difference. Not too shabby for a few days’ work.

Related:
Big Basement Reorg, Day 1
Big Basement Reorg, Day 2

This Post Has 0 Comments

Leave A Reply