10/16/2021
tells all the time to take BEFORE and after shots of all my work, and usually I'm to gung-ho to start the job to remember. This is one job I truly wish I had a before picture. This mud room separated the main house from the garage. It was truly a mess. Dark and damp, no windows, carpeted cement floor, old dented and scratched knotty pine, tiny crappy cubbies, and water damaged drywall that was peeling off the walls. Worst of all, the stairs in the main house ended right at the door leading into the mud room- there was no landing what so ever.
Total gut. Started by adding a window to get some light and air inside the musty room. Removed the unsaveable drywall and resurfaced the rest. Relocated the wall between the main house and mud room to allow a landing at the end of the stairs, making it not only more comfortable to use the door, but also compliant to code. Repaired the knotty pine boards and reinstalled them around the new window. Removed the old cubbies on the wall and replaced them with custom shelves. Tore out the gross carpeting, leveled and rased the floor an inch bringing the stairs to code. Laid tile and marble thresholds. Added some trim and fresh paint, and "voila" turned this nightmare into something out of better homes and gardens.
Lessons learned- take before and after photos so everybody has a better understanding of the process. Oh, and never put carpet on concrete. It makes for a moisture nightmare, especially in a mudroom!
