How to Build a Cover for the Hole in the Basement

What do you mean, you do not have a hole in your basement? I thought that everyone was blessed with at least one. We have a couple of holes in our basement floor. One of them contains the sump pump. That one is back in the storage section so we never see it, and it does not bother us.

The other one is right beside the t.v. where we have to look at it all the time. It sits there being gross and bugging us, and by us, I really mean me. Things like this just do not bother Douglas as much. We have been partially covering it with a small board, putting a chair in front of it and trying to forget that exists. Unfortunately, that has done nothing to make it go away.

We have talked about several solutions for the problem. For reasons of cost and ease, Douglas decided to make a cover for it. This is not a permanent solution, and it is definitely not the best looking solution, but it is a use-what-you-have and a better-than-nothing solution. Sometimes you have to settle for those.

Douglas took care of this one all on his own. I was busy grading quizzes at the time, but he did not really need me. Every once in a while, I would remember that I was supposed to be taking pictures, and I would hop up to snap a couple before returning to my drudgery. Really, grading is the worst part of teaching.

So, if you are wondering why the pictures are not of very good quality. Remember that it was night when we were doing our project and I was more focused on something else. I know that high quality pictures are really what draw people to blogs and that I will never reach rock-star status with sub-par pics, but I am OK with that. This blog for me is more about memorializing our house project adventures and feeling pressure to get projects done so that I will have something to write about. If I entertain some of you along the way, that is just the icing on the cake. Hopefully, you will not judge me too much for not having a perfect blog.

Back to the hole cover. Douglas used a piece of plywood left over from another project. He took many measurements and used saws.

Then, he tried to cover the hole, but his piece did not fit. So, he measured and cut and tried again. Still no go. More cutting and fitting and cutting and fitting, until the cover was just the right size.

However, there is a bump in the concrete, so he had a make a hole in the plywood so that the cover would lay flat. That entailed more cutting and fitting and cutting and fitting. Finally, even Goldilocks would have been satisfied.

Then, he made a piece for the other side of the pipe. When all parts of the hole were properly concealed, he put my trunk on it and called it a night. Maybe I will get around to painting it the color of the floor someday to disguise it more, but maybe I won’t.

As for the hole, now you see it.

Now you don’t.

Happy Homemaking!