For people that like before and after photos, I demolished more of the wood paneling in my basement.
There were 2 layers of wood paneling. The original layer had flood damage. The bottom 3-4 inches was discolored and some panels were crumbling. Unfortunately for me, the previous owners decided to just cover up the damage instead of tearing it out and fixing it for real. Or acknowledging the fact that finished a basement in an area with a high water table isn't a good idea and you should come to terms with the fact that you need to leave the blocks bare 😑 Basements in this part of town need to be left as mechanical and storage rooms.
The wood they nailed to the foundation blocks along the floor was also rotten. Some of it crumbled as I was taking it out. On the bright side, at least they stapled Romex to it. I like to keep my electrical cabling wet and covered in mold.
I also found 2 more holes in the cinder block walls. One had a receptacle in it. I'm guessing the other one was probably meant to have the outlet but they measured wrong. Solution: Break another hole in the wall.
I moved the receptacle up, added another one, and routed everything though EMT. I was hoping to avoid hanging conduit since I still need to paint, but I didn't want cables dangling from the ceiling to the floor either. On the bright side, I can dismantle the conduit before painting and reattach it when I'm done. The hard part of measuring, cutting, and making sure it's all level and plumb is done.
In some ways this looks worse. All the water damage stains are exposed. You can see more of the ceiling damage that was covered by trim. There are tons of spots from me patching nail holes and even though the big holes are smooth and flush with the block, they still look weird because of the sanding I had to do. I'm happy to have the rotten wood out of there and the holes repaired. It's a conceptual improvement and will be more functional, healthier, and safer.