Basement phase 4 {moving the electrical box}

Here's where I left you last time I mentioned our basement renovation...

Basement {phase 3}


This view is from the bottom of the basement stairs.

Our plan is to turn this large open area into a playroom/ TV/ hangout room. The space to the right (behind those beams) will be a storage/ laundry room area.

Here's the problem:

You can't really have a safe and functional playroom with an electrical box right at the bottom of the stairs.

So, we decided to move it to a safer location (in the soon to be "storage/ laundry room")

My sister and brother-in-law stayed with us over the weekend to help with this tricky project--because we're amateurs when it comes to electrical work, and because we love having them stay with us! Win-win.


Basically this is what they (Dave and Greg) did...

Essentially they removed the old box, and put a new one up in the storage room...

Easy enough, right?!

Greg and Dave working their electrical magic!

Ummm, it wasn't QUITE that easy...at least not without some major bumps in the road.

This was my FB status on Tuesday:

"Soooooo moving an electrical box is a bigger headache than we thought:

- Two days of hard work followed by a failed inspection.

- A failed inspection means the city won't reconnect your electricity.

- Not having electricity is forcing us to be VERY creative.

- Being creative means borrowing generators, lanterns, and the neighbor's laundry machines.

I guess you could say we're living the Amish dream right now :)"

Yep, that sums it up.

Greg was able to fix some mistakes for a second inspection...

And after borrowing a generator for a whopping FOUR days (thanks Nik and Jamie!) 

we finally passed our second electrical inspection!

Some observations:

1. My breakfast every morning requires TWO appliances--coffee maker and toaster. 

2. Bath time in candlelight is kinda fun!

3. Eating out was an easy excuse all week, but I am definitely feeling more sluggish and sleepy as a result.

4. We have awesome and incredibly generous neighbors.

5. Moving an electrical box is like solving a puzzle. A really hard puzzle with roadblocks and occasional booby-traps.

6. We played outside a LOT more than normal this week. 

7. Generators run on gasoline. About 10 gallons of gas will generate electricity for roughly 24 hours. Gas these days costs a LOT. We used the generator for four days. You do the math.

8. I felt incredibly helpless with this project, but more patient than I expected. I just tried to be Greg's cheerleader.

9. My husband is my superhero.

Let's hope the hardest part is now over!