Opening up the basement with french doors

Our basement had a single metal door leading to the patio.  We attended a party where our hosts had installed french doors from their basement to their patio and we knew that was exactly what we wanted.   Here’s the original door:

Original basement door

Based on the architectural requirements of our homeowner’s association, we needed to align this door with the one on the first floor that leads to the deck.  To install the new door, here’s what needed to happen:

• the switches to the right needed to be relocated
• the pipes to the left of the door are overflow for the water heater pressure valve and water heater overflow pan.  Both needed to move.
• the structure needed to be reinforced.
• optionally, since I needed to remove siding to make these changes I decided to replace the black sheathing with plywood.  It’s probably not necessary, but I hate that stuff.  It’s non-structural and I hate the idea of cutting corners to save a few bucks.

Moving the pipes was relatively straightforward.  I turned the pipes into the next joist bay.  The copper pipes were dry fit and then sweated together.  The plastic pipe is CPVC which is slightly different than PVC and uses a different glue than PVC.    CPVC has a higher rating for hot water, which is probably why it was used for the overflow.  The electrical relocation was a little more involved because of the length of the wires and the continuation of the runs from this box to other junctions.  I had to pull new wires for a number of the connections, including a run from the panel box to these switches.

I needed to install a new header to support the structure across the wider door (60 inches).  Given the height of the door I had room for an 11 inch header.  I wanted to provide as much support as possible so I ripped three 2×12’s to an 11 inch width.  I sandwiched 1/2 inch plywood between the three 2x’s using construction adhesive and nails.

Before I removed the original header I built another wall for support using 2×6’s.  I nailed one 2×6 to the floor joists and another to the floor and  placed 2×6’s 16 inches on center to construct a wall.   Once I had the wall in place I nailed a 2×6 on either side of the wall to help keep it from bending.

Once the support wall was in place I removed the door, header, and siding and cut back the sheathing.  On each side of the header is one king stud and  two jack studs.  I put the header in place by myself and it was really heavy.  A helper would have been helpful.  The door was also really heavy.   A good sized neighbor and I had all we could do to lift it into place.   It took me a while to get it plumb and level.  Both doors are operable and swing in.   It lets in a lot of light and has come in really handy when we needed to move large objects into the house.

Finished Basement Door

Basement door installed Finished Basement Door

Fireplace surround update

Construction of the fireplace surround is underway.  Here’s a recent picture.

Mantel under construction

The surround I based this design on was constructed from quarter sawn oak.   After a visit to a local lumber supply, I decided on red oak.  There was plenty of stock to choose from and I really liked the grain of the wood.  I built the legs of the surround with pocket screws and glue.  The mantel is joined in the same manner except that the bottom is fixed with glue and brads since there isn’t enough room to join both the top and bottom with pocket screws.

Three corbels (brackets) will be mounted under the mantel shelf.  There are also a few pieces of trim to apply yet.  Joining each piece to the wall creates its own set of challenges.  I want to minimize any visible hardware and I want to be able to build it in place, remove it for finishing, and then reinstall it.     I’ll try to post more detailed pictures of the underlying construction when I do the final install.

There’s a picture of the fireplace without the surround in this post.

Cabinet for home theater components

OK,  awhile ago I posted about my first shot at building a cabinet.   Since the last post I decided to add a face frame to the cabinet to dress it up a little.  I primed and spray painted it black.  It actually fits with the room pretty well.  And it definitely looks better than having the equipment sitting on the floor.

Cabinet for home theater components

Exercise Room – Before and After

 

Exercise area before

We’ve had exercise equipment in our basement in our last two houses.  We cleared and cleaned an area and added the equipment and a TV or boom box.  With the basement remodel, we decided we wanted a dedicated space that we could close off when not in use.

We used an easy and effective method of laying out the room.  We moved the equipment we had into place and used masking tape to mark walls and doors.  Then we used ”the room” for awhile to see if it would work.  If it doesn’t, it’s really easy to try something else.

Exercise Room After

As you can see from the pictures there was no window in this room originally.  It was a little work to add it in, but well worth it.  It allows for fresh air when you are exercising and gives you a view while using the treadmill.  Additionally, the natural light really adds to the room.  You don’t feel like you are in a basement at all.

French doors allow us to close off the room and still allow light into the kitchen.  Future owners of the house could easily use this room as an office.  We decided to use the same tile on the floor that is in the kitchen.  It is very durable and easily cleaned.  Plus it provides continuity with the kitchen, which is important given that you can see the flooring whether the doors are open or closed.