Welcoming The New Year

On December 23 we had heavy rain and freezing rain.  We also had our sump pump fail in the middle of the night.  I woke up to soggy carpet in our bedroom and knew it was bad.  The finished basement of our house holds all the "adult" stuff.  Musical instruments, hockey gear, Ken's office and our master bedroom.  On Thursday morning it also contained its fair share of water.  Drat!

So with Christmas literally right around the corner we had to act fast.  Fortunately the pump still worked it was just the trigger that failed.  So we quickly got the water out of the basement and ran the dehumidifier while pulling all the furniture off of the wet spots. 

Next was Christmas Eve and Christmas day then it was down to business.  First order was to get everything cleared out of the bedroom and get the carpet pulled up.  Now we have a very small house so moving things means piling up somewhere else.  Below is a snapshot of the other side of our basement while we worked on the bedroom.

 Next was purchasing 23 boxes of laminate (600 sq ft worth) and underlay.  We LOVE the Home Hardware in Russell.  They have so much selection for a small store and their prices are unbelievable.  The laminate we chose was 38.00 a box and they dropped the price down to 18.00 a box since we were going to take most of it.  They gave us a deal on the sealant for the concrete and they dropped the cost of the three rolls of under pad.  AWESOME!

 Here the room is stripped of furniture, and carpet.  The Airedales were on hand to inspect and help out where they could.

 Worker Dad!  This shot kills me ;) I love the smirk!

 Child labour.  Mopping with bleach before we can seal the concrete.

 Partial success!  Lilly approved.  The colours aren't true, the laminate is a beautiful oak colour.

The bedroom was completed by New Years Day and then it was time to pile everything back in so we could start on the other side of the basement. 

Throughout this entire adventure, Sid has been amazing.  She has helped us and has developed a love for renovating.  She also kept herself busy when Mom and Dad were too busy to play. 

 Sid and I started New Years day with the first ski of the year.  We hit our trails behind the house and loved the balmy 0 degree weather. 

 

We skied for over an hour then came home for hot chocolate and lunch.

If asked we would never have chosen to spend the beginning of a New Year laying flooring.  But surprisingly we had a lot of laughs and some really fun family time together.  In retrospect, it has been the perfect way to start 2012.  New projects, time together and the joy of a fresh year ahead.

Happy 2012 Everyone!   The basement is 3/4 done.  Hope to have some decent pics in a few weeks!]