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What a Mess!

July 9th, 2009

We’re having some work done on our basement and everything is a mess! We found out that we have radon in the basement and we’ve always had a bit of a moisture problem so we decided to go with a special coating for the walls & floor.
pipes_running_into_basement
The problem is that we needed to have all of the old paint off the floors and walls. So we hired Alexander Sandblasting from Big Prairie, OH to come sandblast and paint the basement. Generally we’re DIYer’s when it comes to home improvement projects, but we decided that sandblasting, although messy, was the best option and we had no desire to try to tackle that ourselves.
dusty_leaves
So this is what’s in our driveway, and it sounds like we have a few very large jets taking off in the basement.
sandblasting_truck
Needless to say spending the day in the garden where I can hardly hear the racket sounds like a good idea to me!

Anyone else tacking big projects this summer?

10 Comments to “What a Mess!”
  1. Yanna on July 10, 2009 at 5:16 am

    While some friends were helping me install a french drain several weeks ago, we happened upon a cistern from the 1880s. The city has approved its restoration but in order to restore it, the 5″ thick 150 square foot limestone lid will need to be excavated from beneath 2′ of topsoil, the cistern pumped out, a new lid cast and the downspouts plumbed to the cistern with a shutoff lever.

    Don’t you just love surprises?
    .-= Yanna´s last blog ..A Beautiful Vision of Urban Farming =-.

    Reply to Yanna's comment

    • Susy on July 10, 2009 at 9:21 am

      That’s very interesting. My grandma had a cistern at her house, I’d love to have one, but we have rain barrels instead.

      I hope the project goes well!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Dave on July 10, 2009 at 9:09 am

    Wow, that is a big project. We have nothing like that planned! Maybe building a fence around the vegetable garden in the fall. We’re waiting for cooler days.
    .-= Dave´s last blog ..Worst Weed Wednesday =-.

    Reply to Dave's comment

  3. warren on July 10, 2009 at 11:24 am

    In 2 short weeks we’ll be having some fellers come and jack up our foundation that seems to want to slide down the hill. They’ll be digging all around our house and making a gigantic mess I am sure! We also have some moisture issues so they’re adding a French drain also. Nothing like essentially burying a ton of money out in the yard!
    .-= warren´s last blog ..Blackberries! =-.

    Reply to warren's comment

    • Susy on July 10, 2009 at 11:36 am

      I know what you mean, this project is not cheap, and it’s one of those projects you don’t see too many rewards from. But that’s the way it goes with home ownership.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  4. Maureen on July 10, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    Not exactly ‘taking on’ any new projects, just trying to finish several that we started …years ago (she says sheepishly). One is a bathroom in our sons room addition. Of course as soon as he has his own bath we’ll never see him again… so no real hurry :)
    .-= Maureen´s last blog ..Blueberry Fun =-.

    Reply to Maureen's comment

    • Susy on July 10, 2009 at 1:23 pm

      We do that too! Start things and finish them a few years later. That’s one reason we hired this work done, because we knew it would be done in a week!

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Pampered Mom on July 10, 2009 at 3:25 pm

    We’ve layed off the big projects this summer (aside from the usual garden related bits…and possibly installing our rain barrel) in favor of relaxing a bit.
    .-= Pampered Mom´s last blog ..Cancer in the family =-.

    Reply to Pampered Mom's comment

  6. Dan on July 11, 2009 at 10:18 am

    We could use that done at our house as well, not the sandblasting but the coating. Our basement is very damp and needs a dehumidifier running 24/7 until the ground freezes.

    We have a couple big projects planed for this year. The Government has a renovations tax credit were as you get about 13.5% back on your income tax for any money spent on renovations. It is a form of stimulus for the economy. So we are changing the remaining windows and redoing the basement plumbing as well as the full bath in the basement. I’m sure it will be painful to deal with but will be nice to get the last two big things done in the house.
    .-= Dan´s last blog ..Melon Update =-.

    Reply to Dan's comment

  7. Having a Garage Sale | Chiot's Run on September 16, 2009 at 4:46 am

    […] a garage sale to make you realize how much stuff you really have that you don’t need. Since we had our basement waterproofed this summer, we carried everything up the attic. Before putting it back down into the basement, we’ve been […]

    Reply to Having a Garage Sale | Chiot’s Run's comment

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This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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