Lake House Basement Project – Update Nine

The calendar rolled over to March as we worked on our lake house basement project last weekend.

Working every weekend gets tiresome but it will be worth it when warm weather arrives and we are free to sit on the dock and enjoy the lake.

If you are new here, we are transforming our basement into a family room, bathroom, and bedroom. These posts chronicle the work that we’ve accomplished so far:

• Lake House Basement Project Plans
• Lake House Basement – Update One
• Lake House Basement – Update Two
• Lake House Basement – Update Three
• Lake House Basement – Update Four – Paint
• Lake House Basement – Update Five – Flooring
• Lake House Basement – Update Six
• Lake House Basement – Update Seven
• Lake House Basement – Update Eight
• Lake House Basement – Update Nine
• Lake House Basement – Update Ten – Installing a Newel Post
• Lake House Basement – Update Eleven – Installing a Banister

Let’s see what was accomplished last weekend!

Adding Quarter Round to the Baseboard

The first project of the weekend was adding quarter round to the baseboards.

We added quarter round to the family room, small hall, closet, bathroom, and bedroom.

Work in the Bathroom

In the bathroom, we started our work by installing the toilet.

Our work took longer than it should have because we experimented with using a “Better than Wax” toilet seal instead of the standard wax ring typically used when installing a toilet.

We couldn’t get the toilet level with the floor using this seal and had to switch to a typical wax seal.

All was well until we discovered that we had used the wrong sized bolts to attach the toilet to the floor and had to pull the toilet off the seal to add the correct length bolts.

This ruined the wax seal which meant a trip to the Moneta Farm Store for a new seal. We also needed a screw for another project, so it wasn’t a wasted trip.

Once back home we got the toilet installed and then encountered another toilet problem. The toilet we purchased came with a plastic seat, so we purchased a much nicer seat to replace it.

When we opened the box to attach the seat to the toilet, one of the screws had no threads. Another roadblock! We’ll return that seat this week and exchange it for one with two working screws.

After the toilet headache, we moved on to installing the vanity.

The vanity was screwed to the wall and then the sink was glued to the vanity top.

A few plumbing parts are needed before the vanity installation will be complete.

Since last summer, I have had a suspicion that the vanity light was not in the correct place.

After the vanity was in place, I realized that the light is indeed too far to the left.

At this point, I can’t bear to think about going through the work to correct this, so sadly I will just have to live with the light not being perfect.

The bathroom is a compact space and looks even more so now that the vanity and toilet are installed. That is fine with me because a small bathroom is easier to clean than a large one.

Work in the Bedroom

The bedroom’s baseboard got quarter round added to it and the closet trim work was completed.

The most exciting project of the weekend for me was the addition of a chandelier in the bedroom.

Before the chandelier was installed, we glued a medallion to the ceiling.

After Mr. SP did the wiring for the chandelier, I had the fun task of adding the crystals.

The chandelier is from Home Depot and I adore how it looks in the room.

A long time ago, one of my students looked at me and said, “Mrs. Skulina like the bling.” He is right! Give me the bling!

The quality of light is so much better in this room now that this chandelier is in place.

Why is there Frog Tape on the Floor?

I spotted a 1930’s office desk for sale on Facebook that is similar to the vintage teacher’s desk that I use in our office at home.

I taped off the desk’s measurements on the floor to think about how it might look in this space.

We should soon have Internet available at our lake house and when we do, Mr. SP can use an office space to work.

This corner is the perfect spot for a desk. We plan to add shelves over the desk where Mr. SP can display some of his books.

Sunday night we went to look at the desk and it came home with us. It needs a bit of work, but I know that we can make it look great.

The desk needs refinishing, a small bit of repair work, and Mr. SP will need to make a handle to replace the one that is missing.

A long time ago I bought an office chair that will be perfect to use with this desk. You can see the chair here. It’s been in my basement since I purchased it in 2014 just waiting to be used. I’m very glad that I saved it!

Sherman Enjoying the Weekend

Sherman is our constant companion and many of you love it when I share pictures of him.

As we work, he is never far away.

Here he is walking on a trail in Smith Mountain Lake State Park. One of the highlights of our lake weekends is a hike in the park on Saturday and Sunday.

This island, seen from one of the state park trails, is for sale. I’ve been told that it belongs to Sissy Spacek.

What’s Next?

Next weekend we plan to work on the plumbing in the bathroom, install a newell post, and if time allows, work on framing the windows.

Mr. SP started to frame one window last weekend but realized that he needs a table saw to do the job correctly.

Our table saw at home is too large and heavy to transport, so he plans to buy this portable table saw from Home Depot to complete this job.