Going Behind the Walls

When my sister and I were eight years old, we unearthed the most fantastic discovery any child our age could think of: a secret passageway.

In the basement of my grandparent's house was a closet filled with some of my grandma's old dresses, gloves and purses from the 60's and 70's. One day, while playing hide and seek, Brooke crawled into the closet per usual (it was either there or behind the couch, not exactly an ideal space for the game). I pulled open the door, ready to claim victory but she was nowhere to be seen.

Perplexed, I poked my head inside when I heard her giggling. I ventured in, crawling on my hands and knees through the corridor. As I approached daylight, I could see Brooke smiling at me from inside a place I had never seen: the laundry room.

The realization of our own wardrobe to Narnia was about as epic as it gets. We tested out the passageway a few more times before swearing ourselves to secrecy; not even our cousins could know about our new world.

Many years later, I was disappointed to realize that our secret passageway was simply a two sided closet, with doors on both ends. However, that feeling of discovery was forever etched in my memory as one of the happiest moments of my childhood.

As an adult, however, going behind the walls of a newly purchased home is anything but exciting. Yet here we stood, looking at our basement. 

First, let's call a spade a spade: painting a creepy space "afternoon sunshine yellow" does not fool anybody. In fact, it actually highlights the scariness. Second, putting particle board up on the walls and affixing random construction signs isn't exactly what HGTV meant when they said "Industrial style."

With all the water damage, we knew we had to tear this place down to the bones. But the potential nightmare was what we could uncover beneath the walls. Mold was easy; but a damaged foundation or significant asbestos could deplete our entire contingency fund.

Honestly though, what could be worse than this "homework" area? I mean, sure, it would guarantee the fastest assignment completion time in a 50-mile radius, but you would probably also contract some form of tetanus within ten minutes of sitting there. So, we took the plunge and ripped it all down.

 

Our house surprised us: no major disasters behind the walls! Of course, our neighbors probably think this was the scene of a meth lab as we do have a giant "RADON REMOVAL" truck sitting in our front yard. Yes, we have some mold to eradicate and radon contamination (common in older homes), but overall, things are in good shape!

Eventually this will be a rec area and a real basement (with a wine cellar, because that's how we roll) but don't expect that for at least a decade. For now we're going to keep it empty and I'll use it as a workout area. Because who needs LA Fitness with their calming taupe paint and floor to ceiling glass when I have a dungeon with my own personal egress window and dirty brick? : )