Previously, we had been using the the main part of the basement for storage. The entry way was for the washer/dryer. All the storage was moved to make way for a temporary workshop. It was a very dirty area, with nearly 100 years of dust. I didn't really have a plan for it, but I made one up as we went along.

The architectural plans call for a 3'x3' x 1' thick footing for a pier that will hold up the new 2nd floor ceiling and roof above. So I had the mason, Assan, and his crew come in and chip the hole in the floor, near the middle, and dig the hole for the footing. There was also a concrete cradle from the previous oil tank that also needed to be removed. The building inspector came to bless it and the footing and floor were poured by Assan.

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This was the ideal time to pressure wash the walls and floor. Luckily there is a floor drain. While preparing for this I realized that painting was good idea too. I bought 1 gallon of alkyd floor paint. After discussing the painting idea with friends, they suggested using epoxy paint because I probably would not be happy with regular paint.  I bought the epoxy paint at a professional paint place in Edison, Con-Lux. It was a 2 part mix for $50 per gallon. I needed 4 gallons, reducer, brushes and rollers. It wound up costing $200 total. Although the alkyd paint was only $23 per gallon I would have needed 3 more plus the brushes and rollers anyway. The epoxy job wound up costing an additional $100 but I think that it was well worth it.

Thursday, May 13th I took the day off work, Peter came to help. We pressure washed the walls and floor twice, squeeging the muddy water into the drain. (It is a new era for the basement). To further prepare the floor and cement shelves for coating they needed to be etched. This was done by spraying diluted muriatic (hydrocloric) acid on the cement and rincing off. The acid neutralizes the alkali content of the cement. By Saturday it was dry enough to put on the first coat of epoxy. The 2 epoxy parts had to set 30 minutes after being mixed.

The pot life was 8 hours. Even with 2 fans and a respirator it was a horrid job. Pete applied the 2nd coat on Sunday morning.

After that, there was still about 1 quart left already mixed. At 6:00 PM the floor was dry enough to walk on but still soft. I rolled on the remainder covering only the high floor traffic areas. The basement window fan had to remain on for 3 days to minimize the noxious fumes in the house above. After that the Alpine ozone generator managed to suppress the odors.

On May 15th we moved the most important machine tools into the basement. These included the table saw, radial arm saw, drill press, and the belt sander. The hand tools were all moved inside also.