(Yogi at the entrance trapdoor from the studio down to the basement where I keep clay and glaze supplies and mix glazes--there is also an entry door directly to the outside on the basement's other side)
OK, you have been listening to me talk about the momentous MESS going on down in my basement, now you can see how it turned out and how awful it was before this began.
The reason for doing this are pretty simple. The basement does not need to be beautiful or perfect, but I do some work down there plus storage and it was bone-crushingly dirty and depressing.
And rodents LOVED it.
Basically, the house is 150 years old and there was some junk down there dating back to the Civil War. Nothing like a bag of gold coins, only dirt and coal and bits of pipe.
Some owner had added 3 false walls in the 1970s. I could see on 2 of the other uncovered basement walls that the foundation is very nice and dry stones. I wondered what was behind those icky false walls where 50 year old pink insulation fell like vomit from above and rodents spent warm winter months crapping and burrowing.... GAWDAMN I was right! The false walls revealed clean and dry stone walls behind, and soooo much more space!
The before. I mix glazes there. The house was originally a one room log cabin. That beam at the top of the picture is a log.
Door to the outside and DISGUSTING old insulation. I couldn't take it anymore...
Gaze supplies and one of the walls nobody had messed with...
Third false wall. It did nothing but make the space darker and smaller. BUT, the only treasure of the whole demolition was I saved the planks. Some splintered but 3 of them are rough cut, beautiful and wide old growth wood which could make a beautiful table or something....
I know. Would you want to work down here, or even store your paint cans???????? Watch out for Bela Lugosi....
In progress, filling a van with junk.
OK, next 2 pictures give you a pretty exact look at before and after of the whole space.
I was so thrilled! It is so clean and pretty (in comparison) and spacious! I was sad to move my supplies back into place, but you can see it is messy materials and supplies made more orderly but WITHOUT the vomity, rodent infested false walls.... the guys asked if I wanted Lang's garage left up back there... I did....
OK, let's cleanse the palate with these pretty flowers outside the studio door, thanks for listening!
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10 comments:
Oh, I can see why you are so pleased! Those old stone walls are magnificent! Love, love! You did good! BTW...did you find Jimmy Hoffa down there?
Oh yes! So much more pleasant to work in a space that doesn't feel like a set-up for some old horror flick!
Love seeing flowers, such a pretty color!
Are you missing winter and all the snow? Or are you making us thankful that winter has gone back to the poles?
Huge improvement! I noticed the old sign right away... glad you saved it.
MUCH better. Having lived in a couple of really old houses, if you have a good dry stone basement, why mess with it? I have to be nosy and ask what's behind the plywood windows? In our last old house, we ended up putting in glass block (not even close to period but it got the job done) in a couple of the windows to allow some light into the basement. In my MN house, I had pretty decent windows. If I had to do it again, I'd just have someone come in ($$, I know) and do egress windows that allow light and air in.
Also, LOVE the hyacinths! I bought a couple of little bulbs in a pot this spring and they made the whole house smell amazing!
Eeew, rodenty insulation is creepy. SO glad it's all cleaned up!
Pity there were no gold coins. I can't say I've ever been in a basement. They are not common over here. I'm thinking Fargo the series right now.
I am with Caroline, I have never had a basement. I have had shed where the mice moved in and the smell is something else. Not very good for a work space. A big job well done.
Ripped insulation gives me the heebie-jeebies every time. Our homes in Texas didn't have basements, nor does our house here (although there is a nice, dry crawlspace that SnakeMaster uses as his private reading nook). I kind of wish we had a wee cellar, if for nothing else than a good place to store the wine and beer. :)
Echoing what Claudia said, you should now have a good dry (most of the time) stone basement. It was originally built for the environment can deal with it. Well done! (I think B's a little jealous, as our basement has been redone so many times it's unlikely we could find the original stone walls, if they even still exist, except maybe in the furnace room.)
Those walls! It's beautiful! The per-renovation situation sounds (and looks) pretty foul. Now that those nasty old walls are gone (and critters, and critter poo) you have such a great space. Great work!
And yes, that old wood is a treasure, cool that you got to keep it.
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