Basement Update

I thought I'd send an update on the basement situation...

Monday night, after spending the entire day breathing extremely rank air, we decided to rip up the carpet.  It wasn't drying well at all, a spreading stain could be seen, and I was starting to become concerned about mold.   After calling the insurance company, I found out that due to the nature of the water invasion, insurance wouldn't cover it.  Also, I found out that to have it professionally dried (which was about the only way to actually get it dried), it would cost the same as replacing it... so... up it came.  (See the pictures.)

 

I had a guy come in this week to check out the drywall, as I was concerned that the water had wicked up into the drywall... we found that most of our drywall in the basement is down to the floor... not good.  Perfect for wicking.  The guy had some good news... if we sawed off the bottom two inches and kept the fans and dehumidifier on it, then most likely we won't have any further issues... but the bad news is that the drywall under the stairs is saturated and needs to come out.  So, poor Adam will be put to work when he comes home from Minneapolis.

 

After some thinking, I don't plan to fully put carpet back down again.  After talking with a number of folks in town, it may be prudent to paint the cement and bound carpet remnants.  We discussed level cement to level out the basement floor (which as you can see, is pretty scarred), but I was informed that the nature of our floor is meant to slope towards the drain, so it would not be a good idea to level out the floor.

So anyway... well, anyway.  I don't know what more to say right now.  We're packed to the gills in the dining and living room... the dining room is my work office, sewing area, and our dining room... the living room is our TV-watching, relaxing, book reading, and toy playing area... suffice it to say, we're kind of on top of each other right now... not that it's a bad thing, but we're adjusting.  And hey, nothing like water in the basement to say, "Hmm, time to REALLY get out the clutter!"

Oh... and last night... well, last night we had a bad storm and my gardening shed blew apart... more fun.  It's been quite the June!

erin