Started with this half of the basement. Other side is occupied by the Home Theater, so this is where everything with no place ended up. As you can see, it was a disaster zone to start and hard to imagine what it could become.

Here is where my model rail collection ended up after the move.

A large part of the work was just the massive cleanup, or actually massive "Move everything to another room"

Step 2 after cleaning up everything was to paint the walls with waterproofing paint to cut down on moisture in the air and hopefully avoid the dreaded dehumidifier. I used 5 gallons of Drylock paint from Home Depot. The layout room is taking shape and it is easier to see what room I have to work with now.

Step 3 after the walls are done is to finish the floor. I plan to keep the cement floor for now so I got Epoxy Paint for garage floors and finished the floor. I first had to clean and etch the floor with a fumey citric acid, which wasn't the best for the old breathing. The Epoxy paint delivers an easy to clean floor that keeps concrete dust sealed and should allow for heavy traffic for visitors.

Notice the back area is not finished. I plan to build a (very) small railroad library and service shop back there.

Now for framing the walls. A long drawn out process if you can't hammer when the toddler is sleeping. My father says at this point I am finishing the room "One stud at a time". Here is time lapse over the course of 2 months, starting in January

Here is the result of my "railroad library". An area with a couple bookcases I assembled for my wide collection of model and railroad books and magazines.

Here are the two bookcases with my collection. I hope to finish the ceiling some day for a more hospitable reading area.

Here are some of my collection of books, both modeling and railroad history.

Here are some of my collection of magazines in binders. I have many more to be bound....

Starting to add insulation to the studs. This will keep the room warm and quiet during the winter months.

Side wall insulation

I need to get some wider insulation pieces to finish the studs

Here's my collection, waiting for completion, gathering dust.