As some of you may have read here in the forums, I’m DIY-renovating my basement so I can rent it out. This weekend, the goal was to excavate at the foundation and build a window well so that the basement bedroom can have an egress window as required by code, and legally serve as a bedroom. My partner-in-grime is my Dear Boyfriend who is probably now wondering why he is dating me…..
On Thursday, I enjoyed lunch with two of my Mustachian friends (one of whom is Hybrid). I lamented the fact that I don’t own a truck and therefore would have to pay a $100 delivery fee for the gravel I needed. Hybrid said, “I have a truck.” FriendKevin said, “I have a truck too.” Hybrid had some old batteries and paint that needed to go to the landfill. I promised to make his landfill run in return for using his truck. FriendKevin needed some fill dirt and he brought his truck over to get some dirt and in exchange, he helped dig and fine tune our measurements, and get the retaining wall started (we’re rookies; he’s a veteran).
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear. When the backhoe arrived, we got to work and dumped the dirt directly into FriendKevin’s truck. He soon left with the first load and we kept digging. FriendKevin returned for another load and stayed to help. By end of Saturday, the hole was dug and a six-inch gravel base poured in, with three courses of block laid.
It rained overnight and my DBF arrived in the morning (while I was at church with Son) to find a mudslide in our hole. He dug it out and started building the wall. I got home and joined him. By 4 PM, we had the wall finished and most of the backfill finished too.
Before the light faded, we decided that so long as we still had the excavator, we’d use it to clear out some weedy trees and brush that had taken root and were spoiling some beds. DBF had a good time with the Grown Up Tonka, ripping out vegetation. Once it gets cold, we’ll have a bonfire with Hybrid, FriendKevin and others. Celebrate!
Total cost: $957
Block, $600
Gravel, $32
Backhoe, $325
The window goes in Oct. 19. I found a double-glazed 36 x 42 casement on Craigslist for $25. Total cost for the whole project should come in right at $1000. My home will go from 3 bedrooms to 4 bedrooms, and half my mortgage will be covered by the basement tenant.