SFGate

hr01 well sorry this is so ugly this was a few weeks ago, now it looks a bit different although nothing to brag about yet but i have some very creative and extremely inexpensive and cool ideas i will take the time to post if i have any one who is interested. My main goal is to show to people that are interested in how to turn sweet ideas into reality at an unbelievably unheard of price point and to create custom "stuff"for next to nothing, some things i plan to show on here (if i get any followers) are installing two touch screen windows 8 old CRT monitors in wall , building an all tile 5x7 shower with two entrances and a 26" LCD TV in-wall,also installing a macerating toilet, how to frost the glass on 3 sets of patio doors and creating natural lighting behind them to look like the real sun is shining threw into the rooms, creating a corridor behind the new drywall walls and basement block walls to access plumbing, panel box, sump-pump, water-heater well pump and be able to run a dehumidifier in that area and check on moisture content, installing a 3d projector,building a dirt cheap walk-in closet out of old laminated wardrobe pieces, well you hopefully get what i'm trying to do if your interested in this kind of stuff and alot more of my crazy cheap custom ideas i plan to turn into reality then comment here or follow me or whatever.

hr01 sorry also for the poor quality photos these should improve greatly as i have a go pro 3 hd silver with a fish-eye view

olldcan Found ya, well hr01 at least your starting with a clean slate, so to speak. Look forward to seeing your progress and please include your budget on some of your ideas and your actual cost. Current floor plan plus reno'd plan and measurements. The time you thought it would take to complete each project plus the actual time it took. Supply lists etc. This will be great info for all.
Cheers!!

hr01 Hey Olldcan i found a deal on mirrors like in pic #18 in the bathroom pics you have that you liked they are 24"x24" with the same lights built in, i can steal 4 of them for $20 each, good idea? i'd build them in wall .

olldcan For 20 bucks I wouldn't think twice, I think there fab!!!!

hr01 Well I got one mirror to check out and took some pics. of other items i bought for the remodel and the prices.

hr01 my progress 1-12-13

hr01 these are older pics. from 12-2-12

hr01 older 1-7-13 taken. if your wondering why all the funky colors you'll have to ask but believe me there's a method to my madness.

hr01 well i got this floor covering to apply over thoroseal i already applied to floor , I can get a deal on custom high quality area rugs so i am going to try this instead of tile floors I will apply high gloss sealer to it, PS -look @ price it was.

hr01 Some items I couldn't pass up , yes i have a plan for the grass, the hardware I consider of really good quality and dirt cheap pricing. the lighted 24x24 mirror i purchased for a" mear"$20

hr01 Well here's my progress for the day 1-14-13 these pics aren't to exciting ,I got 5 sets of matching 6' insulated full glass sliding patio doors for free, but no track or door jams, so i'm making my own,1st tiled floor where they roll, then set up a 2x4 frame on both sides to keep the doors square in case i for whatever reason want to open them.

hr01 hopefully i ll install the patio doors tomorrow and a 24" storage door to access pump and water heater. here's some pics of shower area i'm working on also.

hr01 1-15-13 Shower area and i snuck one in of my babes tis the season

hr01 1-19-13 some barn finds.can you see anything of value in all that clutter?

hr01 hey i found Celo laying in all that junk ! not that 4' x4' one, Celo Tex not Celo Green. Well i got some 5 panel doors from out of my Grandfathers old B&B complete with room #s. Sweeet !

sweetsy Well, you've piqued my curiosity with this project. I'll definitely be back to check out the progress Nalso, nice score on those fabulous doors!

olldcan hr01, nice find on those doors :) have you decided how to use them? and the sleigh is a keeper too.
In the picture you took under the staircase there is two things that might be of some interest down the road. Directly under the stairs there's a wooden crate. Stood on end would make a great end table. Fastening the bottom of it to a wall would make a great shelf with two levels. Might work nice in the bathroom for towels or fastened beside a bed as a nightstand would appear like it was floating. Secondly, there are 2 (I think aluminium round, bowl like things) hanging from the rafters. These almost resemble heating lights for chickens???? Could these be converted into light fixtures, maybe pendants???? The hardware on the doors is fab, did you happen to come across additional loose hardware in the barn? if so, you sure can save a ton by reusing those treasures. I'll check in again soon.

hr01 wow old can I was kind of joking when i said "do you see any treasures in all this junk" you really did see treasure in another mans trash, anyway i like how you think, as to the doors i,ve been really busy changing my mind with the layout of these eight doors but i came up with a design I really like, by 1--29-13 I should have them all hung and pics.

hr01 a couple pics of 5x7' walk in shower, a pic of corridor behind bathroom, also one pic of me playing with one of the door set ups i thought up

hr01 Well it"s a little intense cutting the bottoms off doors handcrafted in 1895! as you see i had the laser shining on the back side of the saw blade, I'm sure the professionals are laughing but it worked for me and i only paid $4 for this laser level.this same laser shot across the floor and up the blue pole at the same time to help me square up a 10 foot wall of antique doors,so pic 3 shows a 6ft. wall of doors facing the sink side of bathroom the whole wall will swing and open up to view the bedroom for a more "open concept look" oops pic 3 isn't that. it will be in the next post sorry. the two doors to the right swing and in-close one of the entrances to the walk in shower, the left door swings in to meet another door to close up toilet area :) I know i really like it , I'll listen to why it makes no sense to you then try to show you in pictures later and maybe you'll get it. pic #4 is me standing in the family room about to walk into another set of double doors that enter the master bedroom ,you can see the wall of three doors on the left side that i just talked about.

hr01 Here's pic #3 these pics are different angles all with doors in the closed position to the bathroom sink area, the picture on top right is me in toilet room which the right door in the picture of the three will swing over to meet another door to close it for privacy, there will also be a 30" door from family room that enters toilet room so people don't have to go threw bedroom to use the can man. that door will also be a 1895 door :)

hr01 Every one of these doors are were different heights tall and hardware installed at different heights on each door :( so trying to line up 10 doors of different height and hardware and reversing the swing and making door jams,. phew this stuff would make master craftsmen sweat! and i'm just a newbe like many of you showing what you can do for next to nothing,

hr01 A view of my future walk in closet I hung a new ex. door to sump pump room was $182 i paid $45, I had 6 24" 5 panel antique doors all different heights ,so i tagged them all to remember what door goes where, what hinges to reverse, which ones i had to trim, what ones i had jams that fit , it was enough to drive a sane person loony,

hr01 Sometimes you need to take some time off to enjoy Gods Creation, whether your cross country skiing,hiking ,snowshoeing ,hunting, or on a sled , it's all good!

groveraxle OK, hr01, I'm following you, mainly because I'm impressed that you're following through on such an outlandish and fanciful project and because your problem-solving skills are AWESOME!

Glad you got some recreational time, but keep the pictures coming, please. I'm definitely intrigued.

hr01 Thanks for the complements, I put a lot of hours in daily, today after hours of labor I got five of the doors to line up and close super nice, they were the tough ones, I've moved on to studding up the rear wall, then wed. I think it's time to reverse the stairs to come down into the center of the project.

hr01 118 YEAR OLD DOORS deserve to be done right with a wood chisel not a dremel tool, can i get an AMEN out there? the last pic is where I found them.

hr01 JUST WOW How can people on here not like this? hardware buried in dirt and growing moss being saved, restored and used again. I guess rich people with $ can buy this stuff so it"s really not that special.

sweetsy Personally, I find it freakin fantastic! You go:)

hr01 Gotta love this

hr01 Standing in bedroom -to the left will be a marble fireplace with an in wall TV over it they will be in the family room,then you see the double doors leading to the family room, then to the right of those are a wall of three doors -open in the pic.that lead to sink area.then to the far right is the 5x7 walk in shower- the wall is boxed to hold a 37" TV on a full swivel

hr01 Out spending $, yea bought all those $12, and those too- brushed aluminum $6 wow they were $19,router bits- 20 piece $24 was $79, oh yea i'm making custom trim now :)

hr01 Sorry I forgot to turn those pics. Anyone know how in editing @ houzz's site here?

hr01 BARN FINDS 1-31-13 Do you see anything that peaks your creative juices? tell me your ideas. more pics. at hr01- Extreme makeover basement DIY edition

hr01 Progress- slowly but surely, Please write a Caption for my little dog, she's a little nervous and curious.

olldcan I think he's lost his mind for sure this time, this is so not funny!!!!

hr01 LOL

eztia You have been doing amazing, creative work. What will you do with those different kinds of horse bits?

hr01 FOCUS MUST focus, I will ask for decorating advice in a couple months,my prob is I like to many different styles of decor, including antique, I found this old paperwork- Kohler Modern-ized house 0f 1963 cool

hr01 The closet door that I now open to get downstairs, I will remove door and the whole wall and just put up a support up to ceiling to pretty much hold my railing, as this isn't a supporting wall, I'm waiting till i install heat down there first before i take not tear down the wall, ordered 4 inexpensive fans 2 for shower, 2 for powder-room, In the $12-25 price range these seem to be the best , of course @$32 you can buy better but these were $15.80 each, so I'm hoping two strategical placed are better than one.

hr01 BARN FINDS-These seem to be copper ?, Remember BRRRRINNNNNNG sound of these old phones? I found my new hammer for chiseling out door jams-doin it oldschool. Well YOU like?

hr01 BARN FINDS Check these out and my last post also,got one of the flat-screens, mounted in wall, found this 53" sink top clearanced @$13

groveraxle Your doors are friggin' fantastic. Your little dog looks like a min pin. They're always a little skittish. You need a sturdier dog, something like this:

hr01 Can anyone tell me anything about these items?

hr01 No time for a bandage- duct tape should fix it ,Cutting the water supply lines, added ball valve shut offs and switching to 1/2" Pex, Powder room the door on right will join up to the one mounted on the left of pic. both will open into sink area,also my example of a "built in"

hr01 Pic one is suppose to me hand-chiseling out door hinge mounts on door #6 that goes to toilet room and attaches to stairway rail, then pic2 from bedroom-the SW corner, then #3 is from potty room with the 30" door set in place, #4 is the blizzard of 2013 @ least that's what they're calling it ,it effected 30 million people- pic. is showing across the road from my driveway-its like a winter wonderland outside.

masticola Brrrrrrrrr I hope you make it thru the winter all right, I love that snow'y picture. Iv'e been following your progress can't wait to see the final product, just curious as to how much you have invested thus far, and do you play the drums ? Oh and one other thing, whats the square footage of your basement ?

hr01 Stay tuned because I only have 1 month- gulp ! phew, sigh well it's gotta get done people, Approximately 900 sq. feet the project is,I will take pics. of receipts and post them, and I've been, playing the drums for fun for years, when- I don't wanna work I just wanna bang on the drum all day,lol Well the first pic. is the last of walls to go up- thank God. you can see how I angled it in like a bay window or cove or whatever the builders call that, I like it though, I came up with that- like many ideas-while in progress, although changes do really slow down progress, you also can see an AC unit set in place to be installed, pic#2 is a little area where kids can sit on the stairs or at a bar stool and have a snack or go on laptop- I also came up with this idea and also widening the stairs at the bottom as I progress, actually all those old doors weren't part of my plan till I found them a few weeks ago.

Amy B Keep up the good work! It will be worth it when you're done.

hr01 Meet my helper Mr Laser Level- he is really useful at certain times especially when squaring up a wall like this

hr01 PHEW! all the doors hung except top jams :( Moving on to install permanent electric runs. PIc#1- shows the view from bedroom with doors shut to potty room and living room but doors are open to sink area.pic#2- is view from toilet with the three doors shut to it,pic#3-shows all 6 doors open @ an angle-one friend said its like a fun house - well to me its not that crazy and when walls are up it will calm down even more,pic#4- is me in shower looking into sink area that is closed for privacy.

hr01 Ok, last shot of my doors and how they work then I'll never show them again till renovation is done,ok pic#1 is from bedroom view doors are closed to living room and potty room,pic#2 sink area closed-you can see I need to change height of hardware on one door,pic#3 is of all doors partially opened,pic#4 is doors fully open except one is closed to potty room- this is what I wanted to be able to do to make it be as open concept as possible but also be fully private- and when doors are fully open when the makeover is complete I don't think it will look that crazy. opinions are subjective though.I'm sure it is way to much for some people

handymam You are amazing! I will be following your progress from now on. Good luck and keep up the good work!

hr01 That's what she said, Lol No but really thanks for the kind words, I'm not a professional just an average person trying to show what you can do being creative and "cheap" and not afraid to just try it

handymam You have a great attitude, and I like your style!

rawketgrl Impressive hr01. Gitten 'er dun! I especially like the hardware. Really cool. I saw something in one of the "junk" pics back on 1-19-13. In the pic with the doors there is a cabinet with glass or an old window, next to the doors, kind of off white or yellow. I for sure could find a use for that later....
Great ideas, nice post. I will stop by and check in again. :D

hr01 Well I'm starting to feel the deadline pressure 3-10-13 I think I may need a drywall guy :( anyway in pics you can see I installed electrical boxes, pulled some of the new electrical line in the walls, I built inclosures around pipes,installed the final door to laundry room ,finished a built in- I set the mirrors in place to see what it would look like,building mantle base now to install fireplace,

handymam You will get there hr01! What is the 3/10 deadline though?

hr01 The storm before the calm

carolins Oh... the many uses of duct tape :-) I just read all your posts and really enjoyed them. Looking forward to seeing the finished result. I'm sure I'm not the only one. Going to follow you. Very impressed with what you've achieved so far.

hr01 Thanks :)

Jayme Hobbs WOW..u are a motivated guy! Your outside looks like around here...In Grand Forks, ND..What a ton of work to do alone..Can't wait to see the finished rooms!.

hr01 Sorry no time for chit chat I Gotta MOVE MOVE MOVE, thanks for all your kind words and encouragement I'm starting to need it and don't forget to pray

hr01 Went to the factory for drywall saved a little and didn't have to hand load it

handymam Get going on that drywall then, no chitchat! Can't wait to see this basement with real walls!

hr01 LOL I carried 6000lbs. of sheetrock down insulating now tomorrow drywall gets hung. hold on a nother day

handymam hr, easy for me to wait because you are the one doing all the work, lol!

Amy B How is the insulating going? Wait! Stop reading and get back to work! ;)

hr01 up for fresh air then down to insulate got all plumbing in and hot and cold on and 6 shower heads going, I'm happy but whipped and a lot more to do

hr01 Well my Honey cut Insulation till 12Am

hr01 Even my dogs worried !

Jayme Hobbs That's funny...what a cutie that doggie is!

carolins Something is awfully wrong here... Honey, I shrunk the Doberman?

Laura Stermer did you rent a drywall hoist to do the ceiling? curious. Can't wait for the next update.

ktiquet Wow posting so I can be in the loop good luck what's the dead line of 3/3/13?

hr01 ktiquet- please read my other post called Extreme basement DIY ED @ hr01 click Activities on my homepage to find out what the deadline is :)

hr01 Please see my other page to tired to post here tonight, if you've been following here think progress- DRYWALL HALF DONE can i hear a dukes of hazzard- yea haw or a whoop whoop or what ever u do in your neck of the wood ( or Domicile ) for the elite Lol- I'm tired forgive me

hr01 drywall is close to on track for being completely hung by 6pm

handymam Good for you! You will stay out of the doghouse! Git-er-done!

Jayme Hobbs I am interested in seeing those cool doors when it all is done...Are u going to let us help u decorate...On a dime, of course!

hr01 sure I want input but as you see I'm a little different, my hun would say i have enough stuff to decorate three houses,I do have a problem there, and i should listen to an expert to tell me what is trash and what to use to really complement the space and who i am, well it's 11:30 pm i really gotta work tonight -drywaller coming @ 6am and I am not ready! they hung 46 sheets, now i gotta go back and buy more @7 am while he finishes what he can,

Jayme Hobbs One Man's Trash is....

hr01 Yes we know the rest of the saying Well 11am and took an early lunch one man crew today ,He's finishing hanging now ,on to taping and mudding it, up got the heat on high and doorway covered cause my hot air is rising :( not cool

Aja Mazin Pictures, please when time allows?

Connie very intruiging...and only 6 days to go!!

hr01 gulp

hr01 zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

hr01 finally begining to look like rooms

samj515 You are making great progress. We redid our basement a year ago and turned it into a family TV/Game room. We bought this wonderful sofa that is perfect for watching TV. The kids love it. Here is the link http://manhattanhomedesign.com/downlowsofaset.html
It is the ultimate in comfort for TV watching.

carolins Looking good! Love how you've re-used the doors. Nice work.

hr01 This project didnt even have these doors in my original plan, my Grandfather had these doors stored in this old barn,they came from one of three Bed and Breakfasts that he owned and tore two of them down and saved many components, Lake Crest was the name and still located in Sodus Point NY on Lake Ontario, there is one Beautiful house remaining but it closed as a B/B in 1999

hr01 The crazy thing is in an unconventional way, after i found out how many doors i could salvage i redesigned my space around how i could place these doors in to my liking and actually had to place them and almost build around them,to a builder this sounds absurd i'm sure but im no master craftsman and knew the first thing that i needed to do was make them all line up like i wanted and actually got them to do what i wanted, everyone of them a different height tall with the door knobs installed at different heights on each door and the hinges all mounted at different heights, half had no door jams, half of them i had to reverse the hinges- this part of the project i would not recomend to anyone to attempt but after many hours of hair ripping out figuring with Jesus as my master craftsman by God i did it phew ok i gotta get doin more mudding up walls I'm getting it but it is a challenge PS after being in that cold dungeon for two monthes its so nice to have heat and sometimes venting on here helps with the long and lonely days and nights lol but not really

Bargain Backer Try some of our electronic stuff.
http://www.bargainbacker.com/Electronics

handymam You are doing a terrific job, you deserve all the beauty you are creating. Keep up the good work!

hr01 Lol thanks for the encouragement Handyman- I'm doin it for u baby.lol lol

hr01 11:00 pm done got second coat on bedroom and first coat on some of family room, i had my best man sling some mud thankfully but still takes time :( i almost see the light at the end of the tunnel

hr01 these are of second coat, last pics were from the Am ZZZZ zzz

rawketgrl Love the dinosaur in the half wall pic... Really coming together now... nite..

hr01 :) My future stepson and friend having fun

handymam hr, I am amazed by your stamina and determination to finish this job. I hope you make the deadline, but even if you don't, you would be very close! (I think you can do it!)

Aja Mazin !!!!!!!!!!!!

hr01 Handymam -u must think im the little Engine that could,well i will work my little fanny perpendicular off trying but Lord willing I'll be on @ short honeymoon to Niagara falls a week from today and I have to be ok with finishing when i return , sigh, I need to put this project on hold Monday 12Am,I need time to prepare the rest of my house and self for some big chances coming, its all beyond good but I realize i bite off more than i can chew under my time restraints, but if God so help me I WILL complete it asap. thanks for your encouragement you all. Ps I feel like a few of you would drive over here and help if you could so that makes me smile even though i get a little down on myself for not Gittin er dun

hr01 Family and friends must be noticing i'm not getting it and are coming to the rescue

handymam hr, you are correct in that many people would help you if we lived near you!! God will help you do what you can do. The rest will get done after your honeymoon! Glad to see people are helping you--finally, lol.

hairguy You're amazing , so creative, starting my own basement renovation with a bath, it will be more cookie cutter but you inspired me!

hr01 thanks hairguy i'm glad to have helped inspired you in some way, let me know when you start I,d like to encourage you when the tougher unrewarding days come it isn't always all fun but as you move forward even if slowly some days make sure to step back and look at your progress and feel good about it , sometimes lately i can't seem to do that

hr01 well got almost half the electric turned on today :) more to do till i can't do no more

hr01 well two pails of mud later still not done and a lot of sanding left ,i think i underestimated the time it takes to mud and sand a whole small house alone, oh well i'll get it done -someday

hr01 well here's why I don't believe fortune cookies i read mine it said"many possibilities are open to you- Work a little harder. " my cookie is trying to kill me

hr01 well i read my original post and alot of my fun ideas aren't even incorporated and completed but i did the hard stuff- all my custom stuff has yet to come along with decorating - as you see in one pic i simulated nature light behind one set of patio doors- believe me thats not at all what your suspose to see threw the glass but i will frost the glass and can incorporate two more bulbs for an even brighter effect and the lights are on a dimmer also.

groveraxle It's an amazing transformation, hr01. Have a wonderful honeymoon; the place will wait till you return.

carolins Nice idea with the patio doors and the light. Clever!
Hope you have a wonderful honeymoon :-)

handymam Enjoy yourself, you deserve it! Have a restful and wonderful honeymoon!

Jayme Hobbs Amazing what u have accomplished! Best Wishes & Congrats!

hr01 Thanks both you guys you've been a great encouragement with your comments and all the"likes' people give here, to look @ the discussions after a long day of "work" and see positive feedback makes me smile, thanks and we'll get err dun soon

olldcan enjoy your honeymoon hr01. All of us who have been following would love to chip in and get this completed for you, before your back...... On second thought, maybe not :) only cause we really like watching you and admire your determination. Anyway, enough from me, best wishes to you and yours and congratulations to the entire family.

Aja Mazin All the best to you and and your future wife and stepson.

You are truly a remarkable person.

olldcan hey Aja, I know a ceiling mural that would be a perfect gift for hr01,LOL

Aja Mazin olldcan,

hehe!

handymam olldcan, okay, what time are we meeting at hr01's house? We can get this thing banged out while he is gone, lol!

hr01 very funny lol that would be a great wedding present though, thanks for the kind words and suppor,t and I'm sure you guys would be over if we could only teleport

hr01 third coat on and sanded in bedroom a lot of dust :( off to get fitted

handymam Great job, almost ready for primer then!

hr01 Relaxing well the Honeymoons over lol we got moved into bedroom today sorry no pics. to darn busy

handymam Congratulations! Crack! that was the whip, now back to work!!

carolins LOL
Congratulations! Looks like you've had a very refreshing honeymoon. Nice :-)

Margaret B Congratulations! Time to get back to work!!!

Aja Mazin Congratulations to you and best wishes to the lovely lady!

Connie congratulations-and give that car a wash too, when you get a chance!! ;)

hr01 thanks yea back and gotta get back @ it,