# Finished basement



## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

I might know a guy who could whip up something awesome for that lonely corner, And something special in between the two columns...


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Damn, I figure you could hire me. 

:laughing:


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Finally got a chance to install the trim and doors on the project, The best part of this is the majority of the condos do not have finished basements yet...I’m working on it.

The sending of the drywall I decided to use the porter cable and men that ended up being a huge mistake since I don’t own one and had to rent it... The head unit had a slight wobble and messed up one of my walls , Three hours today doing my touchups to fix it and do one more lap around the room for the painters with the halogen lamp.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Hey Leo I know you’re busy but if you could rotate the pictures back to where they belong that would be a big help.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

I'll do it for tree-fitty less than Leo would. I only need to make payments on one Lamborghini.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

You the man! Come to Connecticut I’ll buy you lunch at Hooters!

Thx


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Tin beat me to it? That's shameful on my part.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Slacker. Beat by an old man. Again.

At least get a haircut.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

I was working. It's Thursday, I missed my chance this week. My gal is only available on Thursdays.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

I do and the company name is LRG


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Tinstaafl said:


> I'll do it for tree-fitty less than Leo would. I only need to make payments on one Lamborghini.


Diss'n an old man because he has 2 Lamborghini's 

:laughing:


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Snobnd said:


> I do and the company name is LRG


Looks like you'll have to deal with me as your cabinet maker now. :thumbsup:


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Finally got a chance today to start the ceiling grid, First room is almost done hopefully hallway and bath are done tomorrow.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Git R Done.....


The solid stock came in for the cabinets today. I'll start up on them soon.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Awesome Leo, I should be on to bathroom and entranceway tile at the end of the week.I will definitely be finished with the job next week.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Ceiling tiles are done, started working on the tile for the bathroom floor, I also have to do a 3 x 6 entranceway at the sliding glass door, and a 3 x 3 area for the refrigerator in the hallway ( Because if the refrigerators is next to Leo’s cabinet it then becomes A kitchen and that is illegal)


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Tile is installed grout on Monday.


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## ffbailey100 (Feb 20, 2018)

What would be illegal about a kitchen in a basement? I'm very confused about this as I do them quite often.


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## TheConstruct (Dec 8, 2017)

Not zoned for secondary suite probably


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Tinstaafl said:


> No problem, just throw money and he'll come running.


:thumbsup:

Face frames made


















Panels glued up and tongue(edges) stained black









Doors and drawer fronts assembled.


















Sanded, edges profiled and hinge holes bored, no pic.

Drawers assembled and finished.









Plywood for cabinets cut into strips









Parts sized. These are the sides that need dadoes cut into them.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Got some cabinets assembled today

RO Lazy Sue









LO Lazy Sue









Right and Left Desk cabs









Panels that surround mini fridge


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Looking good Leo carpet went in yesterday, Now just dealing with the condo association so I can put the bathroom fan on the side of the house then we can get final inspection.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

We have to get those other condo owners over soon! They need basement refinishes too!


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Waiting on the cabinets then she will set up the party.

Carpet guy referred me to a addition in Middletown$$$


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Damn slow cabinet guys. Can't rush them for anything.


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## Metro M & L (Jun 3, 2009)

The drop ceiling makes me sad.:glare:


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

I've used the pvc panels a few times and in my den. I like the look a lot better if you have to go with a drop ceiling.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

In general the ceiling is an invisible structure. After a couple of weeks you don't notice it. Having access to the systems above it can be priceless.


Had a job where I did a basement, quite some time ago. The guy wanted these ceiling tiles that cost like $7 each and they were 2x2. I could get normal 2x4 tiles for $2 each. So the ceiling was going to cost significantly more. I tried my hardest to convince him not to use those tiles. I knew they would become invisible. So I charged him more.

He called me 2 weeks later and said he didn't even see the ceiling anymore.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Getting ready to go to the finishing room with these. Got the cabinets completed. Adjustable shelves for the upper corner cab are a pain. Rather do a 3 teir platter. Got all the doors done, only need a final sanding to open the pores back up before stain and finish. Made some crown molding after the client chose from the three I offered. Need to mask off the cabs because it's all pre-finished interiors. Shelves are completed, also pre-fin. Only thing I need to cut is the backs and they get done while I'm waiting for finish to dry between cabinets. Some of them are to big to move by myself while wet.

Stack of doors and drawer fronts.









Cabs and finished drawer boxes









Corner cabs and larger uppers.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

The customer wanted to have access to the floor above, she has remodeled two other homes and did not want the inconvenience of having to cut open the ceiling to get access to electrical Or HVAC.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

And then they were stained black.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Friday I got the cabinets all masked off and stained black, crown too.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Now the carpeting is done waiting on the cabinets countertops and then pick out a Nice Back splash material.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Waiting :blink:


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

The finishing process is completed. Black stain on Maple cabinet. Stain the wood with black stain. Then put a clear coat on it with some black dye in the clear. Scuff the wood and then apply the final coat of just clear. Using ML Campbell's Krystal, a conversion varnish. You can see the black dye in the coating on the side of the lazy sue on the non stained maple plywood sides.

Thought I'd be farther along with the assembling today. But I had to make the backs and then sand off 3/4" of the pre-finished coating on the plywood and stain that black and put a finish on it.

Got the backs on the lower lazy sue and the door on. Got the doors, drawer, backs and drawer fronts on the 2 desk cabinets, the LO & RO lazy sue. So 5 out of the 9 cabinets are assembled. The uppers go much quicker, no drawers to deal with.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Finished the assembly of the upper cabinets today. Went much easier. Only slow thing was on the cabinet that will have it's face frame installed on site (desk upper) because of the nook that it's going into. I had to make some spacers for behind some of the hinge plates so I could drive a screw into them and have solid backing.

Simple stuff, put backs on, put hinge plates on and install hinges on doors.

Here is the upper corner cabinet. All the uppers are upside down on the carts. This corner cabinet I took in normal lighting instead of the dreadful Sodium Vapor orange lighting. It shows much more correctly how the stained cabinets look. All the other pics are taken in the sodium lighting and have had drastic photoshopping to make them look somewhat normal.

Upper corner









Upper Desk









Interior is pre finished maple plywood 









LO lazy sue









RO lazy sue









And I stain the bottom of my uppers. I've seen them done in the pre finished when it's a stained or painted kitchen. Look incomplete to me.


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Looking real good Leo, we can install next week?


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

No. They look so nice I've decided to install them in my own house :w00t:


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## mstrat (Jul 10, 2013)

I agree...those cabinets look great...I want a set in my kitchen, shouldn't be more than 12 boxes (it's a smalllllll kitchen in this place)...you can deliver them next week thanks.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

mstrat said:


> I agree...those cabinets look great...I want a set in my kitchen, shouldn't be more than 12 boxes (it's a smalllllll kitchen in this place)...you can deliver them next week thanks.


Technically what's shown is a 12 cabinet set. But since I combine cabinets it's only 9 physical cabinets. I consider a single door cabinet or a double door cabinet "a cabinet". So the cabinets with 4 doors are counted as 2 cabinets in real terms.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Sno and I got the majority of the install done today. Crown, toe kick covers and a rail across the refrigerator cabinet to be installed tomorrow.

The fun cabinet was the desk upper. The opening is smaller than the back of the nook. So there's no way to put the cabinet in as a single unit. I designed it with a detached faceframe.

This is why I made my 3rd hand poles smaller so they could work with the 54" standard height for an upper. The 3rd hand normally is 57" at it's smallest.

The opening was 59 1/2" in the nook. and 14" off the back wall the wall to wall measurement was 60 1/8". The cabinet was 58 1/2" wide. It was placed into the nook at the proper height (designated by a laser line). The the face frame with alignment biscuits was overlaid onto the box (the face frame was previously scribed to fit snugly). Then the box was screwed to the wall.

The faceframe was removed and glue applied to the edges of the box and then the face frame was reinstalled. The hinge plates have 2 screws into the face frame and another single screw that gets screwed into the cabinet carcass. Press hard against the face frame and then install the 3rd screw into the side of the cabinet. There were 8 plates that held the FF to the box. Then we put several squeeze clamps onto the box and put shims between the bar of the clamp and the FF to hold the areas that weren't held with screws in the hinge plates. The upper rail was held by a couple pocket screws on the top of the cabinet. The suspended ceiling gave access to the top of the cabinet to use a impact gun to screw them in.

Then we installed the two desk lowers. A screw in the side into the wall and another screw into the floor which was covered with pressure treated 1/2" plywood to keep the cabinets off the concrete floor and even to the top of the carpet.











The rest of the cabinets were straight forward for installation. We did the uppers first. We installed a cleat at 54" and put the corner cabinet in first. The the double door cabinet to the right and then the 4 door cabinet to the left. The cabinets were joined with 3 screws that were screwed from the inside of the corner cabinet through the face frames and into the face framed of the other cabinets.

The lower corner cabinet was installed next and it sits 1/2" away from the walls. This gives the opportunity to position the cabinet in case the wall is not square or other defects. The corner cab was in the low spot. The right side of the right cabinet had 1/8" cut off the end panel and the left cabinet had 1/16" shaved off to keep them all in line and level. The end panel for the refrigerator cabinet was pocket screwed into the plywood on the floor, screwed into the baseboard and then a stretcher was placed between the insides of the end panel and the cabinet and screwed together with pocket screws. When we go back tomorrow I'll put a rail on the front of the cabinet to stiffen everything up.


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## bwiab (Mar 17, 2006)

Who picked the colors...?


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

That worked out good the way the center cabinet was done, Countertop guys should come and template the end of this week.

I’ve seen some of the other work in the condos for basement remodels, I should have no problem squeeze in a few more clients out of this development!


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

bwiab said:


> Who picked the colors...?


As far as I know, the client picked out the colors. I'm sure Sno had some guiding influence on the choices. She wanted black cabinets and I gave her two samples. One with the grain mostly hidden and one with the grain showing through. She picked the black with the grain showing through.

The glass color isn't really showing up correctly on camera. It's called Wispy Peach. So it has a pinkish peach color with white mixed in. It melds very well with the black and the gray walls. The rug was agreed on by all three of us. She had a board with 12 samples and all three of us picked the same swatch.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Snobnd said:


> That worked out good the way the center cabinet was done, Countertop guys should come and template the end of this week.
> 
> I’ve seen some of the other work in the condos for basement remodels, I should have no problem squeeze in a few more clients out of this development!


I hate to see the guy who wants to take out that desk upper :whistling

:laughing::laughing:

He'll be all looking like this >>>


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

All done but the pair of doors that will go in front of the desk opening to hide the chair.

Doesn't look much different but the crown is up now.











Here's the corner of cabinets with the crown, toekick covers and the rail over the refrigerator installed.









Here's a closeup of the crown.


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

Looks good Leo. 

Tom


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

The color choice for the cabinets was not to make it look like a kitchen but more of a bar. 

Now just need some suggestions on tile choice?

Any takers?


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## tjbnwi (Feb 24, 2009)

3x6 charcoal gray glass with black grout;

https://www.thebuilderdepot.com/gla...MIr6--oc3W2gIVkI7ICh3dJwS8EAQYAyABEgLbifD_BwE

or

3x6 white glass with white grout;

https://www.thebuilderdepot.com/glass8mmswhte3x6.html

Do the install in 1/2 bond, not stack bond. 

Tom


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## sparehair (Nov 21, 2008)

tjbnwi said:


> 3x6 charcoal gray glass with black grout;
> 
> https://www.thebuilderdepot.com/gla...MIr6--oc3W2gIVkI7ICh3dJwS8EAQYAyABEgLbifD_BwE
> 
> ...


I hate the stright stack that is fashionable right now. Running bond, always.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## sparehair (Nov 21, 2008)

Cant decide on back splash without knowing what the counter top is.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Leo installed the barn doors to finish off the little desk, We do it right so we do it twice Leo, The painter still has to come back to touch up the walls after I install the tile backsplash.


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Nice work!

You get those cabs from a big box store?


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Ikea


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Leo G said:


> Ikea


I thought as much.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

I had to assemble them. :whistling


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## Robie (Feb 25, 2005)

Leo G said:


> I had to assemble them. :whistling


At least there was no sanding involved....


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

Should I give you the crotchety answer?


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

Yesterday and today I worked on getting that tile installed for the backsplash, all her neighbors love the work I’m hopeful To get a lot of work out of this development.


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

So when's the party?


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## Snobnd (Jul 1, 2008)

I will ask her tomorrow when I see her Leo


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## Leo G (May 12, 2005)

PARTY!! :vs_rocking_banana::vs_rocking_banana:


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