Basement Beginnings

 From the beginning of the house process we had our plan of building a one story ranch with brick/siding and a walk out basement. Mid July 2008 we decided to meet with Klein's log homes in Milstadt. We really wanted a log home but after much thought decided against it. Cost & maintenance were the 2 main  factors that made our choice. Maybe one day many many years from now we will build a log cabin for a little getaway home. It is amazing all the little decisions and details that go into building. Rhett & I were involved in every single one. Their are so many things I had never in my life paid any attention to and then boom all of a sudden I was staring at every house's siding/gutters/mailboxes/windows.....the list goes on. Right now Erin & Mike are building and it's funny she is starting to notice and look at all those things too. The digging of our basement began on October 3, 2008. Its hard to remember but I am almost positive I was off work that day. Rhett had this little stick (a transit) that checked to make sure the ground was level. He would run out check and then move so Duclos could either dig more in that spot or move on.

This is my absolute favorite picture. I have no idea why but it just is! 

Early October consisted of lots of basement stuff. Forma drain was layed, footings for the back wall, forms set, concrete poured, rebar/plumbing. Sounds pretty boring but it was so exciting!! I really don't remember doing too much during this process. Running errands picking up items, making phone calls, and keeping track of bills is what I took care of. I am not a woman of manual labor. For sure!! 

Basement dug rock layed out

Forms set ready for concrete

Forms removed ready for back wall to be built

Amazing how much it changed so quickly!

The spot we chose already had a hill in it so the amount of dirt that had to be moved around wasn't very much. The concrete for the floor was poured October 15th. Then we got rain for 5 days. They began building the back basement wall & laying subfloor/floor trusses on the 20th. Which basically meant it was really starting to look like something! 

I am so happy we have a decent sized basement to store all of our extra crap lovely stuff we own. In only 3 years we have accumulated a lot. When we moved some stuff got thrown down there and I think it is still laying in the same spot. Today I spent the day cleaning & organizing it and Jake & Cole hung out with me. Jake enjoyed riding his scooter and helping me windex the windows. They ran around like crazy fools chasing the dogs. Their can never be too much space!! I imagine in the future we will finish a bathroom/office/living room area down there. For now it serves quite nice as storage & play area for the dogs, nieces, and nephews. My handyman husband built a door at the bottom of the steps to keep the dogs pinned up. We also have our laundry downstairs. Yes that is correct we purposely did not put a laundry room on the main level. As in everything in life people have their opinions. Their were many people who kept telling us this was a silly choice. Absolutely do not regret this choice one bit. If our laundry is a mess then it is in a place no one sees. I have a ton of space. I work my tush off because I have to walk up & down those stairs. Maybe in 50 years when I am 77 I will wish my laundry was not in the basement but for now I am happy as a clam! 

Enough about basements here is a peek at the mini slideshow Anna from Creative Bent made of some of our reception pictures!