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Onward ho!
The sump pump as it was with the previous owners.
Since it’s another moisture area, I wanted to continue the use of kitchen/bath painting for the walls, and the floor was another area to protect from possible flooding or moisture build-ups.
Michelangelo - I am NOT!
But, I can fake it BIG!
I loathe painting walls and such, however it was a necessary thing to complete, another item on my “midsummer project’s goal list”.
The newly purchased white, fluffy, roller brush, was removed from its plastic covering, and quickly installed onto the roller body device handle. Next the handle was screwed onto the long wooden extension pole to allow for ease in painting full-length wall applications. With paintbrush in hand, my ipod device in my ears, a water bottle nearby, painting clothes on, and old sandals fitted onto my feet, I began to create artistic impressions along corners, edges, and inside the doorway. As I prepared the workspace for the roller brush painting detail ahead, and using the white paint along the walls, everything in the room soon brightened up to incredible proportions, the lighting suddenly becoming clearer and easier to view my surroundings, rather than the dimly lit area I first began this detail inside of. I was amazed at the difference a fresh white coat of paint provided once again in a basement area, just as I felt when the storage area’s gray walls were spiffed up with the whitewash last year. Last but not least, when the walls were dry, the cement flooring was artistically sealed with a concrete paint to protect from possible moisture in the future.
Upon the painting completion tasks, vacuum holders were screwed onto the left wall area (we have two hoses to hang up, one almost toast and on it’s last leg, but it works!), one of the stainless steel commercial shelving units assembled was rolled into the right side against the wall, locking the wheels and loading it up with paint cans, and other paraphernalia for storage purposes. This will be known as the “utility room” now.
Did I mention how much we LOVE these shelving units?
I find here in the east the weather is far too extreme for regular storage details such as the west, those possibilities within a garage holding area, therefore many of the items out there will be eventually hauled into the house for winter storage. I hope to install a peg board on one wall in here eventually and hanging up all our tools indoors. A future project to be sure…
This past winter we hired a plumber to install a back up device for the sump pump in the event of a power outage, or worse yet, the current sump pump failed and gave up working for us. Apparently they need to be replaced every few years and it had been replaced by the former owners one month before we purchased the house. This was verified by our immediate neighbor, who announced he was the hired plumber who did this very task for them when their former one stopped working shortly before.
The sump-pump now, with back up system in place for power outages. We bought the cover and now it doesn't fit properly anymore though.
Oh, and note the gray paint and the ONLY spot on the wall I goofed up on!
The walls just need a rubber seal
strip to complete the room.
The back up device works like a toilet, flushing the water out and needs no electricity. When we leave town, our home insurance requires an inspection of our home every few days to ensure the sump pump is working correctly, and no flood has occurred in the home upon its failure to do so. With the back up system in place, at least we can rest at east if the power to turn off, as it did three years ago when the power grid failed for three days in this general area. The only drawback for me is peering into this room to view the sump pump lid unable to rest on the top of the hole in the ground now, due to the other plumbing required in the unit. It’s quite unsightly really, perhaps someone can remedy this for me and create a personalized one in the future here.
Incidentally while I’m at it, I’ll show you the storage area from the former owners. My hubby had all this shelving completely dismantled, as it was also smelly and in great need of dump disposal!
BEFORE! Former owners storage area.
In its place, there now resides a small hallway leading to three doors; the sump pump room, a lower floor basement bathroom, and finally the cold storage room. We no longer have to wonder through the rec room and into the office space to get into this area. My hubby has a good eye for how rooms should flow one into another, and this was a great idea to open up walls for easier movement for all.
AFTER! The new hallway constructed from another entry area.
AFTER! The former storage area is now a lower floor washroom.
