Ordered and received a disposal bin

As I've been clearing out the basement all the way to our cement block foundation, I've been leaving everything scattered all over the floor. Probably not the best way to leave a worksite! It really did get piled up.

I ordered a bin from Remove My Junk. The bin arrived here today. Their rates are pretty good compared to the competition. At this time, it's $150 for a bin (you pick your size) that you get to keep for 5 days, plus $85 per tonne of waste (that's metric tonne).

As I'm trying to DIY as much as possible, and save as much as possible, I considered renting a U-Haul to haul the junk away to the dump myself. But after careful consideration, I just felt that the bin was worth the extra cost. I'll save time since I don't have to go to U-Haul to pick up a truck, and I don't have to drive the truck to the dump and then return it. So it will be time and effort saved, both of which I want to maximize!

I'm hoping that I can completely clear out our basement within 5 days. But since I'm doing this in the little spare time that I have, such as 30 minutes at lunchtime, or early morning before work or very late at night after the kids are asleep, I'm not all that confident!

Basement bashing over lunch

Luckily I have a fantastic job that allows me to work from home, to spend more time with my family. It also lets me eat really quick and then get back to the basement and bash away!

I had a pretty productive lunchtime basement bashing today. I took down some more framing, but there is still quite a bit more to go. I also still have to remove the furring straps that are nailed to the joists, since I won't be using them when we eventually drywall our ceiling. We're going to likely do some sound deadening in the ceiling, using Roxul Safe and Sound, and resilient channels. I have to research that stuff still.

Tearing down your basement ceiling and walls

Guess what, I tore down my basement ceiling and drywall with 2 things:

1. My bare hands (actually covered in cheap suede protective gloves)
2. A chisel! Yes, one of these:

It really is that easy to literally rip apart your basement drywall and ceiling! If you have lots of time and patience, you don't need a million tools. All you need is literally a chisel! Using the chisel and a bit of muscle power, I was able to pry off the drywall and ceiling tiles. I was able to cut through the drywall with the chisel as well. 

Our drywall was pretty thick. Probably 1/2" or greater. I didn't measure it, because I was just in the mood to destroy it! The ceiling tiles were stapled on acoustic ceiling tiles, that were 1' x 1' each. 

Of course, I had the requisite eye protection and a dust mask. Both of which shouldn't set you back for more than $20 or so. And of course, I'm sure there are tools that would make this a lot easier, but I didn't have any handy!

What did I learn?

I learned that removing ceiling tiles can be very messy. I could have literally ripped them all down by yanking really hard and yelling "timber!" but I would have had a lot of nasty dust all over the house. So instead, even though it took longer, I slowly pulled off the ceiling tiles, trying to pull them off "parallel" to the ceiling as much as possible, to minimize dust falling off the underside of the tiles. This seemed to keep the process somewhat clean. 

I didn't put them in bags as I went along, but I feel after the fact that I should have, as it would have kept things more neat and tidy. 

I also learned that a chisel probably isn't the best tool to remove drywall. I was using it to score the drywall to help with removing it, but it's not really sharp like a razor blade. Still, it got the job done, and I just got a better workout.  

I also learned that, it's important to go very slowly, to watch for wiring, and to never cut all the way through drywall in case there is wiring behind it. 

Next steps

Next on the agenda is to remove the framing, which will require at least a prybar and a hammer! Then to throw everything out that I tossed. 

Renovating our basement

We made the decision to renovate our basement. We had a bit of sewer backup due to the massive flood of July 2013. Thankfully we had sewer backup insurance. We're going to repair what was damaged, and just bring the whole thing up to date (it's a 60's house, and the basement needs a bit of TLC).

Although I have next to 0 DIY know-how, I feel comfortable enough to do stuff I have very little to no knowledge about. I think that the internet is largely to thank for that. There are some excellent resources out there, and some very supportive folks who can help to point you in the right direction.

Today is the day that I started the DIY work myself. I'm going to do the demo work myself. I'm removing everything in the basement, all the way to the studs. When done the basement will be all the way back down to the concrete block!

How I'm DIY'ing our basement

My goal is to DIY as much of our basement as possible. We're trying to do it on a budget. We live in Toronto, and our basement was damaged by sewer backup this past July 2013. Now that the basement is nice and clean after that incredible mess, we've decided that we're going to finish the basement so that we can reclaim that space as a playroom, and as office space.

The basement height is about 90 to 91 inches from concrete floor to joist. It's lower in some places, like where the duct work and metal support beam are. It's definitely high enough for us!

I have 0 knowledge of construction, or of finishing basements. But that doesn't matter! I feel confident that I can do a lot of of the work myself, while still being smart about it. For example, I plan to install rough wiring and outlets, etc., but pull a permit with the City of Toronto and have an inspector come in to make sure the electric work was done properly. Anytime you DIY you should try to "do it right" as much as possible!

I feel confident because I know that I can use the "wealth of the collective". There are so many DIY forums and videos online that cover literally everything you would ever attempt to DIY yourself. A lot of these folks are incredibly knowledgeable, smart, and happy to help you when you have a question. So, even if you know nothing, I believe that you can take the time to learn what you need to know in order to accomplish what you want to accomplish. I will definitely recognize some of these folks as I go through my DIY journey.