TOTALS HOURS/COST

I figured at this point it would be good to add up the hours and cost up to this point.

 Basement:

Hours spent: 361.5 total hours, that's about 45 days of 8 hour work days, or 22.5 with 2 people working.
Cost: $3374 (will add up receipts at the end of the project exact cost)


Foundation Cracks Repair Cost:

Hours spent: 36 total hours
Cost: ~$1000

December 18 Drywalling + fix ups

Since it was my work day I have continued with drywalling the laundry room.
Things would have moved faster but for about 2 hours I was fixing the frame that was on top of the HVAC ducts. when drywall was put on the sides things were pretty badly leveled.
 I had to cut small thing pieces and attached them to existing framing to make it even and then continued with drywalling it.

Time spent: 4.5 hrs

December 15 Drywalling

More drywalling, not much to add.
Worked around the electrical panel and some HVAC lot of small parts and cuts that were very time consuming.

Time spent: 1 x 8 hrs

December 9 Insulation and Vapour barrier

Insulated most of the basement the only area left is behind the stairs.
I did run out of vapour barrier 6mil so had to stop at midpoint.

Cost: Roll of 6mil vapor barrier $35
Time: 4 hrs

December 7, fixed piping + more drywall

After we got the sink it turned out that pipes were not in a right place had to spend few hours on moving them closer to the drainage pipe.
Note to self never install pipes without knowing where things will be.

After pipes were fixed the area of future laundry room was drywalled

Time spent: 9x2 total of 18 hrs.
Cost: no material cost but the laundry tube sink with cabinet and faucet kit was $285.

November 29 Corners...

I was very busy on this day but my Dad still came to up keep my project.
He started putting the metal corners on the drywall we already finished.

Time spent: 1 x 6 hrs.
Cost: already included in older post.

November 22 oh Plumbing here we go

So as much as I was dreading the day when I have to start sorting out plumbing for laundry room it has finally arrived. We did spent quiet bit of time in Home Depot picking up some copper piping and some ABS pipes for future drainage.

Old faucet and sink removed.
Drainage changed to accommodate new sink and drainage for the washer.
Pipes changed to accommodate new faucet plus a split for washer and dryer water access
New hot and cold water pipes ran to utility room for ease of access to have future piping ran for the bar sink
Drainage line ran for future sink from the bar ending inside of utility room as well.

Cost: $140 for parts.
Time: 2 x 8 hrs = 16 hrs total

NOTE: Never run pipes without having sink ready in your house. I have mis-measured and we'll need to shut off the water again as the distance of pipes is incorrect for the sink we got. Bummer.

Black Friday Score..... Floor

Even tho Black Friday is not that big in Canada, we did score a nice laminate floor for very good price and it's made in Austria, surprise on that one 12mm thickness as well.

Cost: ~$640 Tax in for 575 sq/ft (which is 50sq/ft extra that will be needed that is less then $1 per sq/ft)

Has natural look and feel of real wood

 48 packages x 26lbs each sitting in my garage, took 2 of our cars to bring them home. My little helper wifey sitting on it. Thanks Babe!

November 13 Drywalling Storage/Laundry Section

Spent 1 day drywalling ceiling for storage and laundry section of the basement due to needing to finish plumbing to fit inside of the wall as well as exhaust for the dryer. Walls will have to wait few more weeks.

Time Spent: 2 x 6hr = 12 Hrs Total

November 5 Drywall cont.

November 5

Getting a better hang of drywalling by this time, second space finished with widows still missing.
Almost ready to move to second part of the basement which will be laundry room and storage room.

Cost: $107 (got a box of metal corners, some 6 mil foil for moisture barrier and few other things)
Time: 2x7 hrs total 14 hrs

October 29 & 30 Drywalling of the walls

October 29

I was busy that day so my dad did some work and I did help with hanging the boards on the wall.

We decided to buy 2 more bags of R12 insulation, that should be all that's needed to finish off the basement.

Cost: 2 bags of R12 $80

Time: 1 x 3, 1x6  total  9 hrs.

October 30

Drywalling continued, we managed to finish majority of future media room, nothing unusual or hard about this job except cutting out where outlets will be. Measuring with the board not yet up wasn't working out as when the board is moved around you end up with opening  in different spot then needed.

Option that seemed to work is to make a small opening to pull cables through and before the drywall is fully secured using small drywall hand saw and knife which is pretty time consuming.

Time: 2 x 9 hrs total 18 hrs

October 28th Wall insulation

October 28
Wall insulation before the drywall of the main space.
This went pretty quickly I bought 2 bags of R12 pink insulation and re-used lot of old insulation that was taken down, putting insulation into walls and cutting to size as well as putting moisture barrier 6 mil thickness goes by really quickly. Don't forget to wear gloves and mask it does irritate quiet bit.

Cost of 2 bags: $80
Time spent: 1x4 hrs

Picture was taken after wall was started.

Oct 12 & 21 Drywalling Cont.

Oct 12 and Oct 21

We continued to drywall the ceiling on Oct 21 there was a bit of slow down as unexpected the drywaling of the HVAC system does take bit more time then just flat ceiling.

Also there had to be some time spent on putting insulation on the side as there wouldn't be access to it later by the HVAC section.

Oct 12

Time spent: 2x5hrs: 10 hrs total

Oct 21

Time spent: 2x8: 16 hrs total

Oct 9 Drywall Starting

Oct 9 Drywall Starting

Well finally the day to start putting drywall up.
In general its not too bad, as this one is 30% lighter then regular drywall, although from having my hands up for few hours my back is hurting pretty bad.
Taking under consideration that we did spend some time on putting together support, and I was measuring where the pot lights boxes will be; it was pretty good day. 5 boards are up, many more to go.


Time Spent: 2 x 5hrs=10 hrs

Oct 4 Networking/Media Room wiring

I have decided that best spot for my wireless modem/router will always be my living room.

Unfortunately there is no phone outlet so I have decided to pre-wire one just in case I will change the providers to Bell.

From there I have run 1 cable down to the basement that will be hooked up to 8 port switch to feed up to 8 devices.

- Run total of 200ft of Cat6 cable (thanks to my friend Marcin for sponsoring me that one).

- My friend Pawel installed 5 Cat6 ports on the cable I still have to buy 3 ports Cat3 for phone, and 3 for Cat6 so he can finish hooking them up. He also helped me run the cable and provided good advice in case I drop Rogers :). Thanks Paul, and thank you for the extra wall plates.

I have pre-wired ports for future PC, Projector (just in case), and end of the room where the couches will be. 

- Installed wiring for 7.1 Sound system.

- Installed HDMI cables for Projector, PC, and TV

Wiring totals:

New Cat6 Ports: 8

New Phone Ports: 3

New HDMIs 2x 25ft, + 10ft (for PC, TV and Projector) 6 ports total

New 7.1 wiring for sound

Sorted out existing Cables for Cable TV and External Antenna that had pre-existing cables I'll be installing 4 new F ports.

Time spent: 2 x 7.5 hrs= 15 hrs total (my dad was here and changing spacing from 24 OC to 16 OC for the ceiling drywall, decided to play it safe so there is no sagging over the years)

Cost: ~125 for Cat6 ports, Fports, Cable/Antenna spliters , couple wall plates, and 3 HDMI cables (Best price for HDMI cables so far I have found is at AA Electronics $20 per 25ft high speed and high quality cable, $10 for 6 ft. Also prices for wall plates and Cat6 ports and HDMI ports are best there.)

Not too interesting pictures however here is few.

Cutting drywall for new hook up.

I have finally connected HDMI and Network inside of the wall that runs to my PC in our living room. We had both cables running across the floor.

Looks much better and no more tripping hazard

Mess of cables where the receiver and 8 port switch will sit.

 Convenient power outlet, HDMI and Cat6 port for planned projector. 

Ready for DRYWALL

Supports to hang up our Plasma TV.

Sep 26 Electrical Cont....

Sep 26, 2012

Continued with more electrical work, some changes to existing plans and even though I thought we were close to being done both we did spent whole day, including trip to Home Depot as we run out of 14/2 wire.
Some time was spent on removing existing 4 light fixtures and re-running cold room light and fixture to be hooked up under new circuit.

Installed: 
-4 new circuits (not hooked to the pannel yet we need to have licensed electrician to check)
this set up is good to run over 5000 W of total power.
(Good to know 15Amp breaker is ok to support 1440W of continous power but electricians advise to plan for 1200W per 15Amp breaker)
-15 new outlets
-10 light switches
-3 switches for 3 areas will be 3 way set up required 14/3 wire
-19 pot lights in 3 different zones (media room, main room, bar section)
-6 regular light fixtures
This took roughly about 750 ft of 14/2 wire and 75ft of 14/3 wire for 3 way switches

Time Spent: 2x9hrs = 18 work hours.
Cost: 250ft 14/2 wire = 75$ (no hook ups for wire like last bit)

Sep 19/20 Insulation & Electrical

September 19

- Continued insulation of the ceiling with Roxul Safe'nSound insulation, I was done after about 3 hrs. This work so far hardest I encounter, mostly do to difficult placement of the a/c vents and me trying to cover every inch of ceiling space possible.

Hours: 1 x 3hours

September 20

Very productive day, with help of my dad and his positive attitude we managed to finish rest of the ceiling to be covered with sound/fire proof insulation.

We also moved up to being about 70% done with electrical.
3 new circuits created (will need to add one more) that will power up 16 new outlets and 5 light fixtures and so far 19 pot lights.
- 3 spaces created that will be on 3 way dimmers (bar section, media room, and main room) all covered in 19 pot lights.
- Storage and laundry room will have regular 3 fixtures on 2 separate switches.
- Media room will have mood lighting just where the sitting section will be in the future.

Hopefully all will work.

Hours: 2 x 9 hrs = 18 hrs.Cost: Insulation $235, Cable used about 400ft so far FREE curtsy of my Dad.

Sep 11 & 12 Framing Electrical & Insulation

September 11

Slow progress in that day:

- Deficiencies on framing work where it was still missing and needed to be changed

- Framing on 1 of 2 windows was done ready for drywall. 

- Layout was done for where the electrical outlets will be placed.

- Planning for wall mount Plasma TV and future Projector and wall reinforcement to hold the wall mount.

Hours: 1x8+ (1x5) =13 Hrs Total

Cost: $72 Wall mount electrical bracket plust a bag of insulation Roxul Safe'n'Sound.

September 12

- Modification to division of one space was done (framing).

- Window 2 out of 2 windows was done for framing.

- Electrical boxes and light switch boxes attached.

- 1 bag of Sound Proof insulation placed (this was really crappy job!!! only covered about 60sq/ft) will need about 10 bags to finish whole space. Process is slow and messy as there is lot of piping that have to get covered.

Hours: 2x5hrs = 10 Hrs Total

Cost: (Some electrical boxes, and some wood) $40

New Toy

New Toy my Dad got to help us through the project.

Sep 4, 5, & 6 Getting ready for electrical!

September 4, 201 

Back from "vacation" mode started on September 4th where we finished up some framing on some drainage pipe taking most of the day.  Work wasn't to difficult and took about 8 hours with some breaks for both of us.
Cost: 2x4s $30
         Soundproof insulation 1 bag $45 (for later use)
Time Spent: 2 man x 8 hrs.

September 5 & 6, 2012

Code in Canada dictates that putting pot lights where insulation is used needs to be separated or not in contact with insulation. To avoid putting expensive enclosures (about 30$ each) it was decided that after putting soundproof insulation it will be separated with plywood enclosures.  That way there is no added cost and some scrap plywood we had will be used up.

Roughly it was decided that for area of two main spaces there will be about 20 pot lights used, which would have needed about 20 enclosures.  Money saved about $600 :)


Time spent 1 man x 14 hrs
Money saved: ~$600

Framing in Jun

So I been slacking off with work and the blog, it's hard to work when the weather is nice and there is 100 other things to be done.
Since my last post there was roughly another 5 days of work that were done and $400 dollars spent pretty much on 2x4's also got some 1x3's to do framing for the ceiling.

Few Pics are attached and framing is almost done.
The parts that did slow me down were doing the round angles around the water heater unit and HVAC.

Cost: $400
Time: 5 days
P.S I suspect that due to my wedding Jul and Aug will be my 2 months off :)

Section for HVAC and Water heater

Future Double French Door

 Future Laundry Room

Small Open Hallway to the Laundry Room

May 14 Framing wall #2 and #3

Putting up the moisture barrier didn't take too much time or difficulty. This time instead of construction epoxy to hold it against the concrete wall, moisture barrier epoxy was used. 

For one it's much cheaper (about $6 for big tube) and it states that it never dries.

Things would have moved faster but putting the top plates we ran into couple problems that did slow down the progress but all together it was about 10 hrs to complete (that includes few breaks ;) )

Time spent: 10 hrs

Cost: ~ $150 (included 2x4, roll of moisture barrier paper, tape, and 100 pack of concrete screws.

End of April - May 12 Cracks LTD continues

After framing the first wall and running out of product to finish remaining cracks in foundation I took a bit of a break. After another kit came I worked on them randomly and they became bit easier to work in.

May 12 was the last day for foundation repairs.

Total structural cracked fixed: 12

Leaking or showing moisture signs our of 12: 4

Total cost of kit: ~$1,000

Saved: ~ $4,000 (after the cost of kit as per quote from crack doctor, (average is $500 per crack they charge)

Time spent: Hard to say, I'd say average is 3 hrs/crack not including time for epoxy to dry.(Total of about:36 hrs)

Other option was to dig out foundation around the house and water proof but that cost is about in range of $10,000 depending on the size of the lot and access.

Finally .... Foundation all done.

Apr 12 - Framing first wall

Here are some pics of the first wall that got framed.
After two foundation cracks were fixed on that specific wall it was ready to be framed.
Doing it right; concrete slab is covered with moisture barrier paper and tapped on joining parts. Construction epoxy was used to hold it in placed and stapled to the top beams.
1" inch gap was left between the 2x4's and the foundation to avoid moisture problems in the future.

Time spent: 8 hrs
Cost: Moisture barrier paper: $25 (still about half of a roll left)
Moisture barrier foil (will go on top of pink insulation): $35
2x4's about 30 of them used (bottom ones must be pressure treated):$75

April 11 - Foundation Repairs Session 1

Today I have spent quiet bit of time on repairing multiple cracks in the concrete foundation.
Not sure if the concrete was poured in winter but it has developed about 11 cracks, where average house has 3-5 tops. I didn't noticed any of them leaking but some of them showed some moisture getting through and few of them can be seen outside on the exterior. Other ones are just hairline thin and that makes them very difficult to be treated via polyurethane injection.

I did prepared cracks few days before what included hammering the uneven concrete and using metal brush to clean them and then wipe them clean. It was 4-6 hrs total I did spent on that.

After getting the full kit from U.S from
http://www.radonseal.com/crack-injection/diy-injection.htm
which cost $430 (that included $50 shipping via UPS) and then total of $90 of duty and brokerage fee by UPS I have received enough product to treat 30ft of linear cracks.

I was able to fill 4 of fairly big cracks with that and still have couple tubes left.
I have learned that ports have to very well attached and covered with epoxy as well as the crack itself, as if there is a weak spot the pressure of injecting will blow the port and make the whole job not only messy but difficult to continue. The polyurethane will start reacting and won't make further injection possible to the same port. I had few ports that I couldn't make the product leak from the port above and just closed it after I felt there is no more polyurethane going in.
Corner crack was very difficult to attach the ports to and I had a lot of difficulty to inject the product I have to admit that crack was very thin.

I'd like to note that it's a very slow process time for epoxy to dry also patience is a key as it takes 5-10 min or longer to go from port to port.

I had to order refill of the product and some extra ports that will cost me in total of about $400 should be about $100 cheaper and I should get 50 ports extra. I have learned when used closer together about 6" apart then 8" apart it's much easier to inject product.

It is very slow process and time is needed for epoxy to dry; also patience is a key as it takes 5-10 min or longer to go from port to port

Time spent:
Cleaning and prep work: 5 hours
Treating 4 cracks about 8-10 ft long each: 14 hrs
Cost: $900

The average quote to treat 1 crack is about $500 dollars and with discount for multiple I was still looking at about $4000 in repairs of my foundation, I guess spending $900 dollars doesn't sound too bad.

March 27 - 28 Ductwork framing started !

Although it will take more then 2 days to get all the duct work and pipes that stick out of the ceiling covered and ready for drywall we made some progress considering in both days we worked about 6 hours. Hardest part is probably leveling every thing. I build them from 2x2s and then 1x2 or 1x3s for support to save some height.

Also I have finished insulation of cold water 1/2" pipe all over the basement something that builder didn't do. That way we won't get moisture dropping down on finished drywall. Used about 10 of 8ft long foam pipe insulation cost of about 20 bucks probably the cheapest material I bought so far.

Time spent: 12 hrs

Mar 19 - 20 Plumbing & Drainage Clean up

Even tho we did spent 12 or more hours in these two days working it really doesn't show.

March 19: We started our day with removing old pink insulation that was covering concrete slab kind of half way. It was cut about 15" so it can be re-used when we put up the framing. This actually went pretty quickly we had everything packed up in bags in about 2-3 hrs.

Next it was noticed there is a long about 8' long drainage pipe just below the ceiling joists that would be in a way of drywall. It got moved closely against the wall so 2x4 can be trimmed and go inside the wall so we don't loose ceiling height.

March 20: Moving draining pipes continued. I guess you can't expect the builder to put the drain pipes nicely out of the way. Ours were right in the middle where future storage room will be.

6 hrs later the drain pipes are nicely tacked in against the wall where they will stay.

Pictures coming soon

Time spent: 12 hrs

Before:



After



The other side where pipe was running in the middle of the ceiling, it got moved nicely against the wall.