Harbor Freight Trim Router with Rotozip Bits

This is a bare bones cheap tool from HF. I got it a while back as my first router for $20 with a coupon, and for cutting drywall it was awesome! I got a 1/4″ (for large openings like doors and windows) and a few 1/8″ (for outlet boxes) Rotozip Guidepoint bits and it made doing drywall so much easier. It eliminates having to locate/measure/mark/cut openings. All you have to do is make a note of where a box is and after putting a few screws in to hold the sheet of drywall up plunge the bit into the box and cut around it. Check out a tutorial of the process here. This combo saved tons of time.

Milwaukee 2450-22 12-volt Impact Driver

I got this not really needing it, but wanting a small driver and knowing that it would be useful. It turned out to be awesome for driving all sorts of screws.

Milwaukee 2420-22 12-Volt Hackzall

This was a dark horse. I got this on sale at Home Depot not knowing if I would even open it. It really turned out to be super useful. From cutting foam insulation, drywall, nails, to cutting notches this saw did it all. It is small and can be used anywhere a hand saw is called for. Not having a cordless recip saw I never knew how useful it is. It can also be held and used as a crude jigsaw. It doesn’t have gobs of power, but enough for most tasks.

Big Hammer Drill/Bosch Blue Granite Bits

This big hammer drill I borrowed from my dad. My 18v cordless drill has hammer capabilities, but the 150+ holes I needed to drill called for something bigger. Paired with Bosch Blue Granite bits it worked like a champ. The 100 packs of Tapcons each came with a bit, but from my experience those are junk. Local prices were steep, so I ordered a 5 pack from Amazon, and added a 2 pack of Milwaukee bits to get me to the free shipping. The last thing I wanted to do was to be out of bits and have to pay an arm and a leg to get them at the local big box. Turns out I only needed one. After 100 holes I switched to a new one thinking that the old one might be dull, but there wasn’t a noticeable difference. I will add the extras to the hammer drill case and the 6″ long 3/16″ with be dwarfed by the 12″ long 3/4″ inch bits in there.

Drywall Gun

I got this off Craigslist a year ago when were initially planning the remodel. The $15 I spent on it was money well spent. I also used my impact drivers with dimple bits sometimes, but having a light fast, and foolproof drywall gun was awesome. If anyone I know whats to borrow/buy it for a drywall project let me know.

Cheap Ryobi 10″ Miter Saw
I got this a few years ago for $60 on black friday. It doesn’t slide or have the accuracy or features of other miter saws, but for chopping wood it got the job done without complaint. I also bought a finer tooth blade that worked well for cutting the trim. The blade cost more than half the cost of the saw.

Milwaukee M12 Radio

This one isn’t really a tool, but it helped me out. During the renovation I won this from one of the blogs I read. I had used an old clock-radio, but the reception was never very good and switching stations with the old analog tuner was always a guessing game. This radio has fancy presets and digital tuner. I can also put an iPod in the built-in compartment and listen to it. It also able to run of battery so when I turn off a circuit the tunes (or usually NPR) keeps going.

Dewalt Tracksaw
I borrowed this from my father-in-law for the two cuts for the countertop and it worked great. If they weren’t so freaking expensive (and I didn’t have one nearby to borrow) I would get one for myself.

The Basement Before

So the plan was to finish half of the basement, making it into a family room on one end and a sewing/craft area at the other. The other half of the basement would stay unfinished and contain storage, a small workbench area, laundry area, and food storage. A Pittsburgh Potty and shower were also on this side. The shower just drained across the floor to the nearest floor drain and was nowhere near the rest of the “bathroom”, so it was removed.

Sketchup Model of Basement

I planned out most of the work in Google Sketchup, but of course some changes happened along the way.We planned to leave the ceiling open and paint it black. It works well anddisappears. Recessed lights help hide it as well. The two existing pull-chain bare bulb lights became outlets, so there is an outlet on the ceiling at each end. In the sewing area this will come in handy for use over sewing tables or ironing boards.

The walls were covered with 2″ of foam insulation and then horizontal and vertical furring strips to add depth for outlet boxes and to make running wires easier. Drywall was installed over that. I installed about 150 Tapcons putting the furring strips up, that was not fun. The cold air returns and water/gas pipes along the perimeter were boxed in with soffits, but the supply ducts run in middle of the room and soffits would make me hit my head, so we just painted them black. There is also a closet in one corner that has the water meter, a shutoff for an outside water outlet that has some storage space for random things.

Cabinets for a workspace

Along the wall next to the closet we installed Ikea kitchen cabinets and countertop to serve as a work area for sewing and crafts. The lower cabinets had gaps left for legs so there would be two “desks” that could be used for a  sewing machine, computer, or just sitting down. Network and electrical hookup we installed below in these areas for computers or sewing machines.

The family room area has 4 data drops and electrical in place for an entertainment center. We only have an old TV that rarely gets used, but if the need arises we will be ready.

Future plans involve removing the shelves under the stairs for a kids area, and some reworking of the basement bathroom.

Thanks to Jesse who helped carry drywall downstairs and Nate for helping hang the drywall. Thanks to my family for putting up with me disappearing to the basement for hours on end, and the Eli for acting as a screw dispenser.  Also thanks to my father and father-in-law for borrowed tools, hopefully I will return them soon.

Also check out my Basement Remodel Tool All Stars post for the tools that made this project go so much smoother.