what's black & white & all over our basement?

Oh how naive we were...in previous posts, we ranted about the rooms & rooms of wallpaper throughout our house. we now know that NEWSPAPER UNDER WALLPAPER ON CINDERBLOCK BASEMENT WALLS is the true test of a home owner's commitment.

extra, extra.

Our best guess is that it was for insulation or to help the wallpaper stick - whatever the reason, this paper is very hard to get off the walls.

Along with removing this 1979 edition of The Indianapolis News, we've torn out the tiled ceiling, pulled up the indoor/outdoor orange carpet, scraped, washed, and sealed the walls.

Zach ready for the worst which incidentally, once planned for, did not ensue.

Sooner than later we'll have a totally rad hangout, increasing our living space by almost 50%.  Come on over! (Not really. We still have a LOT of work to do.)

Zach's fans, also a nice before shot of the grass cloth paper & orange carpet. Oh! And what's that? Yes!  You're correct if you guessed the answer was a chair rail and molding nailed into cinderblock walls.  For a finished look.