Basement reclamation

Ever so slowly I’ve been reclaiming my basement. One big thing was dealing with the last of my veggie oil storage. I ran diesels on waste veggie oil for years and kept a good supply in my basement. Most of the jugs were stored on a huge rack built of 2X6s and plywood. Over the years a few jugs leaked and the rack got really saturated with veggie oil. 

Once the jugs were gone I cut up the rack. We had one heck of a bonfire in our fire pit. Good thing I picked a day with low fire danger. The first piece burned hot enough that I kept backing up my chair until it was 25 feet away. After that I cut the rest of the pieces a lot smaller. I knew it was going to burn hot, but didn’t realize exactly how hot. Oh well, no harm, no foul. 

With the rack out of the way it’s now much easier to install more insulation in the basement. Insulation is cheaper than heating fuel right now. Last year spray foam did wonders for air leaks and I’m going to pick up a few more cans of the stuff. 

One of the things I discovered was a broken outlet. Something heavy must have smashed it. The live electrical contacts were hanging out there in the open. It’s a wonder nothing shorted out. Glad that’s fixed. 

Over the coming weeks there will be an extra contractor bag of junk on trash day. Once all the junk is gone I’ll finally be able to organize my tools and materials. It’s one of those mundane things that have to be done now and then. 

-Sixbears