I poured the concrete in the basement yesterday.  Six bags of Quickrete, and two bags of Sikagrout.

I had to use grout around the edges because the aggregate is sand, and can be feathered out, but it’s over twice the cost, so thus the use of simple bagged concrete for the meat of it.  Below is half-way done feathering the edges.

After mixing every bag, by hand with a shovel on the basement floor,  I can say with definitive certitude, I am not feeling sporty this morning, but it is done.

Yes DONE, or at least as far as all the preparatory work prior to placing the carpet and underlay goes.  The De-Elliotation has concluded.  I guess I can see what stopped it from happening in the first place, but honestly, most of this work was in the UNDOING, not the doing.

After getting the finish I wanted on it, it is now curing under whetted sheets, and I’ll do that for the next few days.  This brings everything up to full strength (a step usually skipped by contractors).  Concrete needs to be kept wet while it cures, as water is integral to the process.  Do this for a week after you pour a garage pad (with a sheet of poly under it), and it will be twice as strong, if not more.  Cracked driveway pad?  Now you know why…

There are a few minor complaints left, but this time I am the one that said “Nahhh”, and looking forward think I’ll be alright with it.  There is a “book nook” that simply makes no sense, and gobbles up a bunch of floor space, that I could have reshaped to regain the footage, but it was another can of worms I just didn’t care to open.

The laundry room is back together, the walls are painted and ready, the T-bar ceiling is back in (without the tiles) and freshened up with a rattle-can of black,  and new plugs and outlets where I wanted them.

Due to the color change we decided upon going down the stairs, we did this funky border to make the transition a “feature” instead of a messy edge right at the back door.   Yes, the wonders of a little masking tape go a long way.  Carpenters’ creed — “If you can’t hide it, emphasize it.”

There is still lots to do, mind you.  There is carpet still on the stairs because it made for good dust control, acting as door mat between the basement and the rest of the house.  Under that are a million staple holes that will need to be filled depending on whether I decide to carpet the stairs again, which I’m leaning against.

I’m actually leaning toward lino on the stairs, with tiles at the base and into the laundry room.  There are plenty of times we come home with groceries and head straight down the stairs from outside, bags in hand.  I wouldn’t want to do that with brand new carpet on the stairs, so as usual, I lean toward usability over presentation, but this means spending the money on the square footage, and then actually laying the tiles, grouting, etc…  Ewww.

It’s not exactly traveling documentary, but I have come a long way on it.