What Have I Done to My Basement? 

A lot of folks complaining about the amount of explanation you're giving before doing the work, but I found it interesting and informative. I always like your design/planning oriented bits of video. That's the hard part of a project, not doing it.

I can't explain the amount of glee I felt at 16:46 when I saw R2D2 on the right! Maybe one day it'd be cool to see more updates made to it! And the work done on the basement is great!

Hey Bob, once the basement is done, would you consider doing a full house tour showing the before and after of all the renovations you‘ve done? I‘d love to see the kitchen, back patio, etc. all in one video showing what it used to look like compared to what it looks like now. You‘ve done a lot of work into making your house better!

You really shouldn't cut near the top and bottom of a joist. Also the diameter of the hole can't exceed 1/3 of the joists depth. You reduce the strength of the joist to whatever depth is left unaffected by these modifications, so a 2x10 can effectively turn into a 2x8/2x6 in the former or a 2x2 at worst on the latter. This damage can be compounded depending on the distance from a bearing point. Building codes have all that stuff in them. One damaged joist I suppose isn't too bad but it's hard to say with the age of the home that this would be the only flaw in that floors framing. 90 degree adapter and a spade bit might have done the trick on the first hole and if you did the same thing in an adjacent joist you might be able to work yourself up with different bit lengths with only a couple extra holes to patch. Regardless, I always enjoy your videos and your can do attitude is always refreshing. Keep em' coming.

I have installed about 100 of those low profile lights over the years. 4” and 6”. Love them. I also used them in my soffits for the house and workshop.

Love this!! You’re inspiring me to work on my forever home to make it for the whole family, not just me and my hobbies

This is gonna be a fun series to watch. Nicely done, Bob! Digging it.

Some of these long drill bits are flexible and you can get a hook that allow you to curve the drill bit. That would help a lot with ensuring you don't pop out the floor of the upstairs

It looks really good! Looking forward to the series.

Awesome!! Huge difference already. Excited for this series

Thank you for sharing!

Hi Bob, really enjoy your content! One question, what happened to the rest of the team and the new workshop/office building? Hope all is well, best wishes from Florida.

Great video Bob! Excited for the rest of the series

Make sure your chuck stays tight!! I have lost 3 of those bits in walls drilling down from the attic to get past the fire breaks.

When you are painting stripes or similar. If you want that crisp edge do this: - Paint the brigher colour - Tape - Paint the boarder line against the tape with that same bright color so that any bleading under the tape is the foundational color - Then paint with the new contrasting color - Pull the tape and the transition line will be razor sharp

I love how relaxed and happy Bob seems in his videos lately. He's a genuine inspiration and his humility and sincere genuineness makes him the kind of guy you wish you had as your best friend! If Bob released a 2 hour video of him doing nothing but reading his shopping lists - I'd totally watch it, because I'm sure I'll be entertained or educated in some way. Thanks for everything Bob. Looking forward to more from you!

Literally said out loud (to myself) with the wall reveal… “mannnnn that’s so cool”. It’s so simple but works so well!

Its going to be awesome when your completely done! Can't wait to see it.

Love your videos! Can't wait to see more updates on this project

Great video. Shout out forby for the sound design. He always does a great job, but this was next level. All the effects were on point - especially the early lights on/lights off switch snd the fluourescent "buzzzzzz". That was awsome!

Looking great so far can’t wait to see what else you do

Wow, this looks really awesome ... love the blue strips ... 🤩

Watched the entire vid, and realized that the lights that you got (I bought 3 boxes of 6" lights, rather than 4") and the center light are identical to what we got for in our one bedroom. We prefer the bright white in our rooms, and all of our lights are adjustable in color. We love it.

Great project, looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

Looking great!

What a beautiful piano I spot in the background. ☺️

Super cool painting

Something to consider for watching movies is a movable TV. I used a hanging wall railing combined with a ceiling mount bracket for the TV I have in my room. I'm able to move from beside my desk along the wall to the foot of my bed. It can pivot around on the hanger as well as move along the rail. The wall rail was from McMaster Carr, tv ceiling mount from Amazon (was advertised as for sloped ceilings in restaurants). Whole setup means you have flexibility on where you position it.

nice work Bob 👍

For what I remember about drilling thru joist is it has to be 2 inches or more in towards the center of the beam, but I might be wrong too.

Been a while since I watched ILTMS, and I'm glad I'm back!

Lighting make a huge change in any room. I buy a 24 pack of low profile led puck lights on amazon for 120 bucks or 100 on sale. I also bought a 6.25 inch hole saw to cut out the dry wall to install them. The ceilings in the attic I can pretty much install them any where I want. This is the easy part. The first floor with a floor/ceiling is a bit harder. Since I know the direction of the floor joist, the next part is easy. In one room there was an old ceiling fan that just did not work well and did not put out enough light. Using the current location I marked out where 4 more new lights would go. Turning off the power and shoving the wire up in to the space/removing the existing box. I was then able to slowly cut out the new holes and run the wire though. Made all the connections to each box and install them. The room now has a line of lights that makes the entire room far better. The other cool thing about these are they will and can be installed pretty much anywhere including over the studs. So far I have 60 of them installed. I still have another 40 or more to install. I also keep extras on hand and the ones I have been getting now are the selectable ones. My older ones from the early days are not selectable and are still running fine after nearly 3 years of being installed. I can not fathom any room with out them. Having replaced ones in closets and even adding additional ones in places that might have never had them really improves lighting. For example I have a tiny hall way which never had a light and now it has one which made a major improvement to that room. Another room which had 2 lights was always dark and not bright. Now it has 5 lights and 4 lights and is much brighter.

Hey Bob, I love that it seems like this is the beginning of a series. One of my other favorite channels (Donut Media) made me realize how much I love having different series to watch from a creator. Love everything you do regardless, though!

It's a good idea when working in blind spots like that to also know where all your shutoffs are and, if possible, test them out. Had a water line bust on me only to find out that the water shutoff valve wouldn't close due to years of sediment build up.

Those stripes feel Trapper Keeper inspired.

I enjoy your videos a lot. You come up with some awesome nontraditional projects, and your home renovation work is creative and informative, as well. With regard to your desire to reduce the footprint of your pingpong table when not in use, Fisher's Shop YT channel has a very cool folding pingpong table. You might find it inspiring for your own creative approach to your pingpong table. Keep up the great work. I truly enjoy your content and draw inspiration from it. I am particularly interested in your Lego sorter, currently.😁

Brilliant ! But where is the super big shop/office where you moved 2 years ago?

Maybe I'm just a Transformers nerd, but the wall strips immediately reminded me of G1 Hotrods trailer pipes. This one was super useful, I need to redo(add more) lights in the loft area. These lights look like a great fit. 👍 Thanks, Bob!

You're awesome dude!

Great video.

Use the 2700K setting on the lights! Warm white, way better for a basement!

I’ve seen folks in the construction trade use a ball directly behind the bit centered in the rod. By doing this it ensures that the ball will prevent the bit from going somewhere not intended. So the ball serves as a guide for the bit on longer shafted bits to center as best as possible.

Really enjoyed this video even though I have no interest in doing this myself! Good to have the old Bob back 😊

I've installed my share of can lights back in the day, but I've never seen a can-less light before now.. very cool. Does the puck get hot and need to be installed away from loose or bagged\paper-faced insulation?

Cool renovation project! Do your ceiling lights transformers make noise? I found some of them buzz while they are on, and the noise is amplified by the ceiling.

It's a small hole, but you really should not have holes that close to the bottom of the joist. Especially with a heavy and high trafficked kitchen above. Also the clamps and grommets are more for wire protection than it being able to get pulled out. You don't want the outer sheeth of the wire to run away on the sharp hole in the box. BTW thank you for the inspiration to finish cleaning out my basement. I want something like this soon.

I used the same lights in our kitchen controlled by Alexa. They are great. Speaking to my lights makes me feel like I have a smart home, even though it is not.

There is a tool for use with those bits that gives you leverage to flex the bit to guide it and let it spin.

Nice!

love the video. I've been a fan for a long time and I don't know what's crazier, the fact that it's been 6 years since you moved into that house or the fact that you have teenagers now.

Buen idea 👋👋👋

To work out the angle of the long drill bit, use a layout laser set up between the two holes

14:31 When you mentioned that you were going to make a mural with lines/stripes, I immediately idealized it completely differently in my head, I think each line was going to be or have a different theme: 1st line tatooine sunset. 2nd line start battle. 3rd line all the important characters, one side the galactic empire and the other the rebellion. 4th line all the star wars symbols or the most important ones. 5th line 🤷🏻‍♂️ or each line could be a video game that marked your childhood

been watching Bob for like 9 years. Glad to still be here.

This old house did the basketball trick back in the 2000's. I've loved using that trick a lot!!

Cant speak specifically for the downlights youve used but even with low profile LEDs you need clearance around the light of about 50-100mm (2-4") minimum for heat dissipation. They arent supposed to be installed hard against wooden beams/joists or with insulation over the top of them

Those stripes and lights are awesome! BTW, where can I purchase those lights?

Those stripes are giving really strong 90s arcade vibes!

Bob, love all your stuff, plus Making It. Your discussion of food and exercise made me need to share with you a book that has changed my life. The Comfort Crisis. All about how our millions of years of evolution have left us totally unprepared to live in this overfed, overstuffed modern life, with tactics to overcome this. Please check it out and share with Jim and Dave. Also by Michael Easter, Scarcity Brain is amazing. Halfway thru I made big changes that have vastly impressed my doctors. Stopped drinking beer, changed my diet and dropped 20 lbs in 2 months. Keep up the great stuff.

Just as a note for the interested on the box clamps: they do hold the wire in place but it's just as much to prevent the sheathing from being damaged by the hole. Wires vibrate, houses vibrate, most things vibrate (even if we don't generally perceive it) and, while unlikely, it's not impossible for a wire to become exposed against an edge over time - especially over decades as the sheathing material degrades. One of those things where you don't skip it because it's the to protect you not only today but down the road and for the people who own and live in your home decades from now.

Do you have a link where to buy the big ceiling led lamp?

Another House Renovation? Awesome!

Just a note, you generally want to bore a hole in the middle third of the height of the joist around the neutral axis where the bending stresses are minimized. Where you drilled the very bottom of the joist at 9:18 made it essentially a notch rather than a bored hole, so you lost a lot of the tensile strength of the beam. It looks like you're not in the middle third of the span at 9:18, so you're probably OK anyway. Just don't notch anything in the middle third of the span.

Can you share the info on the can-less lights you installed? they look awesome

Hey Bob, not sure if this is done, great video as usual! If I may give my two cents, if I were you I would paint that door casing too, being white right now is throwing the whole concept off IMO

i love that this is going to be multieposodes long not just one. Last one was kitchen and ghia (rip)

Do you have a link to the lights? Didn’t see it in the description

I'm not sure why ceiling strapping is mainly a New England thing. It makes adding new electrical a breeze.

Loved what you did. Where's Josh been?

Way to go

Those stripes blend well with R2 and Optimus

10:38 Demo Mansion music! 13:20 Huh? Not with a drywall sword!?

I had to take a second look at the wall on 16:35 in the video. The colors produced cool 3D visual effect.

6 years honestly thats not all that bad compared to nightmare fuel I've seen referring to the basement "mess"

That hole in the flutes of the drill bit is so you can use the bit as your fish tape

I was so confused confused when you said your dog doesn’t like basketballs. Like, what does that have to do with drilling holes in drywall? Hilarious segue. ❤

What is the brand of light used?

I found that plastic hole saw that came with the rework box did not work for me. The teeth ground away before I got through the drywall. I probably did something wrong but that was my experience.

Like it.

FYI, look into the regressed wafer, those flat wafer are glare bombs.

I have a basement and we've been treating like a dumping ground. After 10 trips to the trash heap, its now workshop

Bro, where is your crew?

Fantastic work, Bob! 😃 It's really impressive how some lights and a fresh coat of paint transform a place! Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Definitely make a pool table, invite Jimmy over, he could be helpful 😉

I was expecting the stripes to make the wall look like Optimus Prime's trailer.. Lol

What’s happened to the rest of the team?

you are mixing wire guages. If the white wire is a 14-2 and your yellow is 12-2, then you need to fuse the circuit based on 14-2.

Awesome glow up!

Should not be drilling or cutting at the top or bottom of a joist. Holes should be in the center to keep their strength. This is not up to code and can potentially cause structural problems.

Those long flexi-bits are always a LAST resort. I always prefer to cut and patch drywall in these situations. Been a licensed electrician for ten years and have never actually used one. The risks usually outweigh the reward.

Sorry to be critical because I really enjoy your work. But, where I live you are not allowed to to cut or drill a hole in the bottom 1/3 of a solid wood joist or in the top 1/3 of a solid wood joist. because you are actually then making that joist smaller. EG: If you drill in the bottom 1/3rd you turn a 2x10 joist you have turned that into a 2x8 joist which could be inadequate to support the floor above and also contravening building code.

Just started the video but now hoping for a pool table build

Can you drop a link for the lights, including the larger one?

12:31 I can’t be the only one who was hoping to see how you actually tie in all of the lights to the active power. That’s… easily the most important aspect of this project and it wasn’t shown.

Do you still not have counter tops in your kitchen or was that an old shot?

I laughed way more than I should have at "Apwil Wilkewson"

Sounds like my basement...workshop, lab, storage, entertainment, workout...1500 sq.ft. of basement that literally is non-functional. I have 5 shelving units TOTALY full of glue, oil, finishes, parts, tools, etc. Then I have a wall that has closetmaid shelves on, TOTALLY full of parts bins, etc. THEN I have the "computer shelving" that has about 30 'shoebox' bins full of cables, bracket, etc. It's all VERY organized, but HOLY WAH I have no space. :( I want to cover the walls with drywall, but to do it would require about 3 pods to store all the "stuff" in while that is done, and then a way to organize it back. Total frustration as soon as I try to start. :(

The first thing you do before you do anything should go to your city hall before you do any building any new improvements to you home as if you don't. The city can make you take down any home improvements you do.

A Boba sounds like an idea, but as soon as you get it home, you start to wonder how you're going to get rid of it.

Will we get an update on this tomorrow? 🥺