The Basement Renovation:  Special Challenges

The Stair Wall (cont'd)

There old milk chute at the entry had been sealed up from the outside and it no longer served any purpose except as a small storage compartment. The inside door had been painted at one time, and the paint had been sanded off and refinished. Its appearance left a lot to be desired. As part of the stairway wall, it was an element in the transition from the main floor to the basement.

milk chute door



The old milk chute...a throwback to a lost era.

milk chute cavity

 

The milk chute with the door and casing removed. Once the strapping on the stair wall was removed, some of the wall board crumbled. I carefully chiseled the damaged material away to the point where it was still solid. Moisture proofing paint was applied to the newly exposed block, and this area was strapped, and insulated with the rest of the wall.

drywall below milk chute


The drywall installed. The drywall sat proud of the back door trim by its entire half inch thickness. The edge of the drywall was covered using stained corner and cove moldings. There was no real trick to this other than finding trim pieces that accomplished the task and looked good together.

shelf unit

A shelf unit installed in the milk chute cavity. The frame was cut wide enough to hide the wood framework for the chute. The unit has one fixed shelf which is an ideal place to store the garage door opener. The shelf is high enough that the space between it and the bottom shelf can accommodate pop cans (as a handy resting place for our car beverages while we put on our shoes).

Between the shelf unit and the top of the new drywall is a ledge, as the drywall sits proud of the plaster wall. Just below the ledge is board that was used for a nailing strip (the board is fastened into the strapping behind the drywall, and the ledge is nailed to it.