Budget update, new steel beam, and recent On The Job photos

The big spend in the basement has always been for the new bedroom, bathroom, and storage (two closets) in the unfinished space. Later, the architectural options included a laundry room - those of you following early posts know I leaped at this opportunity, at negligible incremental spend. This week, a conundrum was presented in terms of basement spend - beaf up the existing horizontal ceiling beams (leaving a sizable soffett) or install two 15ft-long adjacent steel beams? This certainly will ensure the structural integrity of the house, but also allows for the removal of two unsightly floor-to-ceiling beams - located in very unfortunate spots.

For $1750, I went with the steel beams. So say "bye-bye" to this original wood beam at the bottom of the stairs (albeit a beam with some very nice 1970's-ish graffiti uncovered during demo). The guys will have to find a new place to rest their shovels:

I appreciate that from a resale perspective, cast iron pipes and steel beams don't yeild a great return on investment. But, as someone who plans to live in this home for years to come, both decisions were a no-brainer. Every time I walk into the laundry room, I will be very grateful not to be dodging beams! When furniture is placed - no working around beams! And, here's hoping that the house will be flood-free for eons given the investment in sump pumps, cast iron pipes, and (new for this house) plumbing to code.

All in - these optional and not so optional infrastructure investments (HVAC - dual zoning, plumbing to code, cast iron sub-ground pipes, steel beam in basement) have totaled more than $22k not in the original budget. I've dialed back some of the "optionals" (carpet/tile spend, landscaping) but there is no escaping that the project is now running well over original budget. I'm putting the dollars now towards that which can't easily be modified down the road. (I can add more wainscoting or plants next year!)

That said - it is still running under the estimate presented by the first architect/contracting firm I attempted to work with - and the infrastructure will be sounder and the finishes will be MUCH better! So, there is that.

The team has been hard at work - here a few photos of the work in progress. I was out of town, so some decisions on archways and one bit of electrical had to be made remotely.