tentatively realistic plans for basement remodel this spring/summer...we are leaning toward the configuration on the bottom as simpler & making better use of natural light. The large room on the north side of the chimney will become a legal bedroom with the planned alterations, but we intend to use it as a guest/office & 'rec' room. 

exterior view of house where the expanded window well will go..starting on the right end of existing window. The new one will be twice this width & 4' high (deep?). The tree peony & lonicera bush will be relocated...soon! 

Didn't change the color of the woodwork, but found this great wallpaper trim that coordinated all the colors perfectly...and it was only $1/roll in a remnants bin at Home Depot!!! We used Rodda Paint's Harmony line (low/zero VOC) which is perfect for a baby's room (or anyone's for that matter - the fewer nasty chemicals, the better). The green on the lower 1/2 is semi-gloss for ease in cleaning tiny fingerprints. The blue above is satin. 

scraping out the cracks in the plaster in order to repair them before we repaint...all 4 walls & the ceiling had cracks 

That's more like it! Still has the original heavy-duty, washable, light-blocking roller blinds...good for mid-day napping. 

SE bedroom was set up as a man's office by the previous owners...a small room made smaller by the intense color on all 4 walls & the ceiling. Red just isn't a calming color for a nursery! 

Quite a different look from the old one, huh? (Same approximate view as the pic from Cinco de Mayo.)

This one is constructed from pressure-treated wood on piers, (*not* ledgered to the house), and Trex decking & rails. Heather researched ~50 decking materials /c the goals of low maintenance, low environmental impact, good looks & moderate cost. Trex came out at the top: waste-stream recycled plastic ("closing the loop" by buying a recycled product) & non-virgin wood fiber (most composites/plastic decking is virgin PVC, a few are polyethylene - also virgin), slip-resistant, wash to maintain, solid material (no 'end-grain' holes to hide), 25 year warranty......& no splinters!

The runner-up for decking material was NW-produced Amerideck which is *recycled* & UV-stable PVC (from discarded vinyl windows) & virgin wood fiber. It is much denser than Trex, therefore harder & heavier thus requiring hollow internal channels...slightly higher material cost to hide those holes, but otherwise a very reasonable (& "green") alternative.

All done. Whoohooo!!! 

SKA & Dude enjoying the upper deck while watching the contractor clean up. 

Framing the new deck the week before Xmas '05. 

South wall all fixed & ready for the new deck. 

Masons repairing the wall, late Fall '05. 

old deck was ledgered (/s flashing) directly to the house causing the steel lintel over the basement window to rust & expand which lead to this damage to the wall of the house. Yikes! 

SCARY!!!!!! (taking the old deck apart & finding stuff like this...) 

Heather's deck plan 

new deck 'elevation' 

neighbors & friends enjoying Cinco de Mayo '01 on our old deck 

Heather's dad helped us correct this type of problem /c the gutter downspouts that caused leaking in the basement & damage to the old deck. Whoever made this mess obviously had no concept of water's physical properties. (Ever heard of surface tension? Apparently not!) 

All better!!! With a nice new custom cap to protect it. 

One of our earliest projects - rebuilding the chimney. It was in sad shape when we bought the house & the Nisqually earthquake in 02/01 moved it to the top of the list. Jim & I took it apart...carefully, cleaning & saving all the bricks. We had a mason put it back together /c the original bricks/configuration. 

Mostly finished & MUCH improved over the original crummy thing...Looks surprisingly like my sketch, wouldn't you say? 

Jim installing cross-pieces on the trellis. 

Liz inspecting progress 

Prepping to pour the planting bed & fence/trellis post footings. Note the old deck /c clematis (left) that we transferred to the new trellis & the hydrangeas (right)...  

Heather's initial sketch for the new E fence, trellis & planting beds...plan to move one of the lace-head hydrangeas from the back yard to 1/2-round bed between the 2 gates.