Working on my basement was quite a challenge, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The main problem was mold growing on the ceiling, but fortunately, it wasn’t black mold. I had a company come out and give me an estimate and they wanted to charge me about $5000 to de-mold and paint it. I decided this was a project I can do myself although some work could’ve been done more professionally.
The first thing I did was pull off all of the ceiling panels that were hastily nailed up. I forgot to wear goggles the first time I started doing this which was pretty foolish. Then I made sure I was using proper safety equipment. After successfully removing all the panels I was able to assess how much mold there was in the basement. I then crawled through the enormous crawlspace and laid down a barrier of plastic.
After that, I went about removing all of the mold. I used a broom to sweep away cobwebs and noticed that the mold flaked off into small particles that floated in the air, and I decided this probably wasn’t a safe way to do things. So I masked up and brought the shop vac in and covered every surface as best I could, sucking up any loose mold. After physically removing any mold I could find, I went about bleaching every surface in the basement. Originally, I wanted to use a power washer but I decided that wasn’t a good idea since some of these wood panels had water damage. After bleaching every surface and allowing it to dry, it was time to paint. I paid a good friend to do all of the painting because it was a large surface and I just couldn’t be troubled.
After properly cleaning, de-molding, bleaching, and painting the basement, I had to make sure the appliances were usable and that there were no leaks or electrical problems. I sealed up a few holes where water was coming in from the rain, but I can tell there’s still some seeping in which I’ll have to address later. I had a plumber come out and address any leaks and he said most of the plumbing was installed hastily, but adequately. I then had an electrician come over and he removed some loose wires and helped me install a new outlet. I thought my work was done until I realized the dryer was not vented. Being the impatient person I am, rather than drill a proper hole in the wall, I simply got a glass cutter, scored the window a few times, and then broke off a circle where I can vent the dryer.
The last thing I did with my basement was seal up the stairs. Of course, I had to have a little fun with this project and decided to create a time capsule. I invited my friends over, we wrote letters to the future, and got a lot of items to stick behind the stairs before I nailed in the boards. I hope they’re all discovered someday.
All in all, With the supplies, the paint, the labor, and other materials, I spent somewhere between $400 and $600. Not too bad. I’m glad to be done with this project so that I can start some more fun projects upstairs.