As I planned, I started the demolition of the basement today. Mind you, I still have some cleaning up to do in the ensuite, and I still have to rip the floor up, but I needed a change of pace, and, with my friend available to help out, I figured that today was a good day to at least take care of the heaviest demolition in the basement. Things went pretty smooth, and we got a fair amount accomplished. The bar is gone. The built-in entertainment unit is gone. And no day would be complete without a bit of blood loss.
Transferring clutter
The basement is a mess. It has been a mess since we moved in. A lot of the boxes that are cluttering up the space are from my workshop at our old house. Not to mention the big power tools, like the table saw, bandsaw and jointer…. I moved a lot of stuff to the workroom (which is still in middle of renovations itself) and started removing the suspended ceiling.
Goodbye bar
Once again, one of the selling points of the house will be taking up residence in the landfill. The bar was actually pretty cool. It was a simple design made of parquet flooring glued over plywood. The top was glass, which was backlit. It was designed to display currency, seashells, photographs, etc. Fluorescent fixtures were installed beneath white plexiglass to provide the light. Items could be placed on top of the plexiglass, and the clear glass was placed on top of the recess.
Bar before demolition.
There was nothing wrong with the bar. In fact, as we ripped it out, we were impressed with how well built it was. However, it was in the way of other demolition, and it really doesn’t fit in with the future plans for this room. Behind the bar was a counter, which covered the old chiller unit. We weren’t aware of the chiller (which operates off of the plumbing for the boiler) until after we had an air handler installed up in the attic. It is interesting to note here that the receptacle that the chiller was plugged into is completely inaccessible. Another example of the lack of foresight shown by the previous owner.
Bar area after.
I got started taking some of the drywall down. The walls appear to be strapped with 2x2s. At least the vapor barrier was proper 6 mil, rather than the 4 mil used in other areas of the house.
So long entertainment unit!
The built-in entertainment unit.
Okay….not the greatest picture. The entertainment unit was something else that we thought was pretty cool when we first looked at the house. With room for a stereo and a small television set, we had visions of kids spending time downstairs, playing video games and listening to tunes. I also thought it would have been ideal if we eventually put a pool table downstairs. The other side of the entertainment unit is a decent sized closet. More storage!
Entertainment unit after demolition.
Once again, we were impressed with how well built this unit was, however dated it may have been in appearance. In fact, as we took the prybar and sledgehammer to the structure, the structure struck back. It’s rather hard to explain exactly how it happened, but in the course of the demolition, I was struck in the back of my head by a nail protruding from a piece of plywood attached to the plywood that I was trying to work loose.
My life’s blood supply draining away
Okay…the injury at first appeared much worse than it actually was. There was a lot of blood! I rinsed the wound using a facecloth and cold water. The water diluted the blood and it streaked around my face. Good thing my wife wasn’t home at the time, or she would have freaked out. The bleeding subsided and my friend examined my gaping head wound and determined that it was a nick that woudn’t need stitches. My wife also examined my head once she returned home and concurred with the original diagnosis. No doubt about it, I was lucky. The nail could have struck lower, causing a deep flesh wound (as opposed to bouncing off the skull). Or worse. If I turned, it could have been my face that was struck, and it would have been at eye level.. Pretty good argument for wearing safety glasses!
State of the bin
Rubbish bin on July 9
The bin is filling up fast. I am having serious doubts that everything is going to fit.
