The last area of the first floor remodel (Part 1)

This is the last area on the first floor that requires some attention. It’s located next to the front door. The room was built without a floor. Huh? Well, sort of. The floor is the concrete foundation. The previous owners installed the ugliest tile on top of the concrete and called it finished. This created all kinds of problems during the rainy season. The floor would be wet from the rains. This caused mold and mildew to form on anything that was placed in the room. The smell from the mildew was sickening and it often stunk up the entire first floor entry area.

In order to fix the problem, a real floor had to be installed above the foundation. A foundation vent provides air circulation under the floor. The floor is made of 1.5 inch plywood and is supported with 4x4's. The exposed wood under the stairs was cleaned, primed and painted to prevent any mildew from forming. The treated wood was then covered with plywood and wallpaper. Some additional ceiling and floor lighting was added to give the area an updated, fresh look. The exposed logs were cleaned and coated with a gloss sealer. The new and existing floors received new black tiles. The new entry also received new tiles which blended the whole area together. 

This area is located under the stairs. The floor is concrete and the vent allows water to enter during typhoons. This is the worst area of the house and I plan on making it the nicest.

The light haze on the logs is mildew...yuk!

Looking up is the bottom of some of the stairs. This is going to be an interesting and challenging job.

The surfaces are irregular and the angles go in all kinds of directions. What should I do?

The light is a sorry attempt at lighting the area. The previous owners really didn't care about this area. I find this surprising since it is the first thing that can be seen (and smelled) when entering the house. All right...let's get started.

See any difference? (The next few steps are not pictured). The first thing that needed to be done was to remove and clean anything that had mildew. Next, I added supports and a new plywood floor. Plywood walls were also added and then covered in wallpaper. Electrical wiring was installed before the plywood was added. Recessed lighting was added under the first and second set of steps. I also added an additional electrical outlet for charging batteries and stuff.

The various angles were a lot of fun to cut out of plywood. A piece of black tile was placed to give an idea of what the new floor will look like.

Shelving was also added. Here you can see the wiring for the recessed lighting. The wall paper was a real challenge to install.

The area is large enough to comfortably sleep. It comes complete with lighting, a window, and a downstairs entry sink. This is a view of the entry into the remodeled area looking outwards towards the main entry. Confused?

Well anyway, primer, paint, and some molding will finish the walls. Here is a view of some of the unfinished electrical. To get to this stage of the project took about 2 months.

The next post I'll show the finished project. Erika is really happy with how it came out out...me too. Stay tuned.          George