So far every weekend of 2020 has been devoted to our lake house basement project. This past weekend we focused on installing doors, moldings, and baseboards.

If you are new here, we are transforming our basement into a family room, bathroom, and bedroom. These posts chronical 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

Painting the Baseboard and Door Moulding

Last weekend we finished the floors and the goal this weekend was to install three doors, install moulding around the doors, and to get as much baseboard installed as we could.

We had Home Depot deliver the baseboard and door moulding to our home since the baseboard came in sections longer than we could easily transport. We purchased both already primed which saved us a lot of painting time.

Friday night we gave all of the baseboard and door moulding a coat of paint.

Saturday morning the baseboards got a second coat of paint. The moulding will also get a second coat but after it is all in place.

Installing the Doors

The first door we installed was the bathroom door. I really shouldn’t say we because Mr. SP did 99% of the work. I helped by handing him tools that he needed.

The bathroom door went in very easily.

Then we moved on to the basement door.

Because of a beam, this doorway is shorter, so Mr. SP had to make the door shorter. He first cut off the casing.

Then he cut the door shorter.

The door fit perfectly and was easy to install. Here it is after the door moulding was added around it.

We were on a roll with our door installation until we got to the bedroom. Then the problem started.

The door wouldn’t fit! Mr. SP measured the bottom of the door opening and it was correct. Then he measured the top and it was 1/2″ smaller than the bottom measurement. This door had been framed incorrectly. Drat!

Since it was so close, we decided to see if we could force the door into place by chipping off wood from the top. Our plan failed and this door didn’t get installed.

The plan is to chisel out the wood to make room and try again next weekend.

Installing the Door Moulding

After two of the three doors were installed, Mr. SP got busy installing door moulding.

He started with the double doors. (You’ll see the finished moulding on this door later in this post.)

Then he moved on to installing moulding around the bathroom door both inside and outside the bathroom.

Next up was adding moulding to the door that leads to the unfinished part of the basement.

We plan to stain these doors but we haven’t decided on a color.

Preparing the Threshold

After the door moulding was complete, the next project was to prepare the door for the threshold.

Mr. SP cut the threshold to the correct length and then used a scrap piece to mark the depth for cutting off part of the door casing so the threshold can slide under it.

Here you can see the space created for the threshold.

I stained the threshold with dark walnut stain and it doesn’t match the floor perfecty, but it is close enough.

The threshold fits perfectly here. We will finish installing it after we finish painting the moulding and staining the doors.

Installing the Baseboards

The baseboard installation started in the bathroom.

It was time consuming as it involved a lot of measuring, cutting, and then recutting to get the fit just right.

Areas like this were particularly time consuming.

After all of the baseboard is installed, we’ll fill in gaps with caulk and paint it.

Next up was the hallway and closet. Mr. SP’s work was often interrupted by Sherman who needed attention.

I wasn’t a lot of help, but I did enjoy using our new nail gun. This thing is awesome!

My work also got interrupted by Sherman who loves to give his Mama kisses.

Progress for this Week

We are thrilled with our doors and baseboard.

I filled in most of the nail holes in the baseboards, door mouldings and door casings (which also had screws to cover). I’m looking forward to giving the door mouldings and baseboards a final coat of paint.

Our next door neighbor came over Saturday night to see our progress and gave us an idea. He suggested that the closet area would make a nice wet bar. We both liked that idea but I would rather have a closet than a bar.

Before we left on Sunday, we installed registers in the ceiling in the bathroom, bedroom, and family room. Of course, nothing is easy and one of the family room registers needs drywall work, so we filled it in with filler and hopefully next weekend will get the final register in the family room ceiling.

Next weekend our plan is to install a newel post for the step railing, and hopefully, install that pesky bedroom door and add moulding around it, and if that happens, continue the baseboard installation into the bedroom.

We’ve got a long way to go but progress is being made!