I’ve taken on a lot of DIY projects over the years. Our home could even be considered a half-DIY project. My father and I poured the foundation. My father-in-law and I laid the block. We had a friend frame the house but my dad did all of the plumbing and heating, I put in all of the electric, and painted everything. My father-in-law built custom kitchen cabinets using Cherry wood that was taken from our property.
I’ve built numerous bunkbeds for the kids, a chicken coop, pool deck, benches, and tables.
My most recent and most ambitious DIY project was remodeling our basement. We built our house in 2005 and until 2023-2024 it was just that, a basement. It was basically a storage area for anything and everything. The kids played dodgeball, table tennis, and lifted weights. Shelves were filled with paint, tools, and various other items.
In 2023 I began plans to finish our basement. We wanted more living area, another bedroom for guests, another bathroom, and even a small kitchen in case we had extended stays or wanted to rent out the space.
We started with this…
Worked our way through this….
…and ended (almost) with this…
The kitchen area still isn’t completely finished. I need to finish the bar area as well as build kitchen cabinets, place a sink, and the stove vent hood. Hopefully, I will have that finished before July when our extended family will be in town for a wedding!
So from here to there has been quite an ambitious journey
Thanks for reading!
James M. Hahn, Author 