I've mentioned before that when we moved into this house we fully intended to demolish and rebuild the back hall. A well respected contractor quoted $15,000 last summer, and we decided we didn't want to spend that much money on unlivable space. So, this summer's big project is to "fix" the back hall to the best of our DIY abilities and attention span.
The back hall is a decades-old enclosure for the basement stairs, so removing it entirely is not an option. The landing at the bottom of the basement stairway is large enough for the litterbox, and that is where it will stay. Even though I scoop every day, I really like not having it in the house. The back hall is also the most direct connection between the house, specifically the kitchen, and the back yard. Therefore space for shoe storage and a dog towel are required.
Door to back hall from the kitchen.
Looking toward the back door.
Looking back toward the kitchen.
There were no codes considered what-so-ever when this structure was built. You can see that the space (where the dog is) is pretty tight. Those are 19" FLOR carpet tiles, so we have about two feet clearance below the railing. Some band-aid projects in this space include rebuilding the railing, replacing the flooring with some as-is IKEA laminate, filling and sanding all the holes, replacing one window sill, and replacing the back door twice. The back door is an absolute headache and probably deserves it's own post. The biggest problem is that it opens over a two-level landing. Not safe!
Back door, landing and top basement step. Gross.
Looking down the stairs. More gross.
(Mostly mineral deposits or mold, I'm not sure which.)
View from basement. And more gross.
Oh the things you live with for far too long. So stay tuned. This will take months to complete and much more than just a fresh coat of paint. We may need some help with the jack-hammer, though. So who works for beer?