South Weber basement repair and refinish

The goal

First, remove every material that had mold or had stayed wet, so nothing was sealed back into the walls. After that, finish the basement so it felt updated, not patched, with one carpet running through the bedrooms, hallway and stairs.

What we built in this South Weber basement repair

• Tear-out: pulled the wet carpet, pad and tack strip, then cut out the bottom of the drywall where mold had started
• Drying: dried the slab and wall cavities before closing anything up
• Drywall: replaced the cut-out drywall and matched the texture
• Shiplap: added white shiplap accent walls in the bedrooms
• Paint, base trim and doors throughout the basement
• Built-in desk shelf beside the bedroom window
• Carpet: new carpet and pad in the bedrooms and hallway, continued up the stairs

Details that mattered

Mold at the base of drywall almost always runs higher inside the wall than it looks from the room. For that reason, we cut the drywall well above the visible stain instead of painting over it. In addition, carrying the new carpet up the stairs means the basement reads as one finished space rather than a few repaired rooms.