Week 6 - Basement Water Leak Repair, Kitchen Island Spacing & Renovation Reality

Drip, drip, drop.

Week six was very much a two steps forward, one step back kind of renovation week.

We tore apart an entire basement bedroom to find a water leak, framed the new ensuite bathroom, took a much-needed family day off and somehow spent two hours figuring out where to put a kitchen island.

You know... Normal renovation things.

At this point, I was starting to realize that renovating a whole house isn't just about doing the work.

It's also about waiting, measuring, changing your mind, fixing unexpected problems and dramatically underestimating how long absolutely everything will take.

Tearing Apart the Bedroom to Find the Basement Water Leak & Repair It

We started the week by completely deconstructing Grayson's basement bedroom. Not exactly the kind of progress you get excited to photograph.

But after discovering water in the basement the week before, we needed to open everything up so we could figure out where it was getting in and repair the problem properly.

I'd spent most of the summer complaining about how much rain we'd had. It truly felt constant. But in this case, all that rain turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

If we'd had a dry summer, there's a good chance we wouldn't have discovered the leak until after the bedroom was completely finished.

The leak ended up originating from this window in the basement.

Drywall.

Flooring.

Furniture.

Everything.

So while I wasn't thrilled about ripping apart work we'd already done, I was very grateful the house showed us the problem when it did.

We repaired the areas we believed were letting water in, by using expanding concrete (we outsourced this part) and then came the weirdest part of basement water leak repair: Hoping for rain.

I wanted another good rainfall so we could confirm everything was actually dry before rebuilding the room. A new friend also suggested spraying the foundation with a hose to test the repairs and see whether we'd missed any problem spots.

At this point, I was willing to try anything. I wanted to be 100% sure the basement was dry before we covered those walls again.

I believe my family has a longstanding feud with water. My parents have dealt with flooded basements in both of their houses. The roof on my previous house leaked in several places. And now this.

I'm sensing a pattern. Maybe "water protection" needs to become a standard line item in every future home budget. 😵

The Seven-Hour Supply Run

Naturally, we also needed more renovation supplies because apparently it's physically impossible to renovate a house without visiting a store multiple times every week.

This particular supply run became... An event. I love my mom dearly but she is also an Olympic-level shopper. Which is both a blessing and a curse. She can uncover incredible deals that somehow nobody else sees, and she's saved both of us a ridiculous amount of money over the years.

The trade-off? Shopping can take a while. A very, very long while.

At the time, Mom was also building an increasingly impressive—and slightly intimidating—DIY craft collection thanks to hours spent watching YouTube tutorials. Teaching her how to use YouTube may have been a tactical error.

Whatever you do... Nobody show her Pinterest.

When she heard I needed to go to Michaels in London for paint markers for the girls' flower wall, naturally she wanted to come. What should have been a two-hour trip became a seven-hour shopping adventure.

We spent approximately three of those hours inside Michaels alone. Please don't ask me how because the store isn't even that big and the rest were spent at other locations feeding and entertaining my kiddos who were not a fan of our extended trip and needed 'treats' as a reward (according to my mom).

All I could think was that we'd better finish the house before fall because Mom was accumulating enough craft supplies to decorate approximately six houses. At least I'd have somewhere to put all of our future DIY creations... Eventually.

Sometimes You Need a Day Off From Your DY Renovations

We actually weren't at the house much that week. Grayson had hurt himself while working on the renovation and took a night off, so the following day we decided to take a proper break.

It's hard to belive they were this little once!

We packed up the girls and headed to Niagara Falls because I wanted to take them to the butterfly conservatory.

Later, I discovered there was also a butterfly conservatory in Cambridge. Which would have been significantly closer. Apparently Google would have been useful for more than kitchen measurements that week. Oops.

Still, we had a great day. And absolutely no renovations got accomplished. Which was fine.

Something I was slowly learning was that every day didn't have to revolve around the house.

The renovation would still be waiting for us when we got back. Unfortunately.

Update: Learning to take time off from renovating is still something I struggle with. It's like my DNA is wired to just keep going until it's done which often leads to burnout. Grayson on the other hand is great at taking breaks, to the point where it annoys me so it's been a learning curve to find a balance for both of us where I feel like we're still making progress without him (or me) getting burnt out.

Framing the New Ensuite Bathroom

When we were back working at the house after our day trip, Grayson continued framing the new ensuite bathroom. By the end of the week, the framing was done.

Which felt exciting... Even though the room still had a long way to go.

Next we needed the plumber and electrician, and both were working around busy schedules, so I knew the ensuite might sit unfinished for a while. Thankfully, it wasn't one of our move-in-critical projects.

Would I love to have my own finished ensuite immediately? Absolutely.

Did I technically need one in order to live there? No. And we hadn't even moved in yet so I really didn't need it finished.

So onto the waiting list it went. Again.

The 10-Minute Kitchen Island Project That Took Two Hours

The ensuite framing actually happened partly because we needed to get several projects ready before the electrician returned.

One of those decisions was the kitchen island location.

In my mind? This was a ten-minute job.

Pick the spot.

Mark it.

Done.

In reality? It took two hours.

And this is exactly why renovations take approximately seventeen times longer than I expect them to.

I had no idea how far the kitchen island should sit from the cabinets. Instead of immediately Googling it like a sensible person, I started calculating everything myself.

• How deep is the refrigerator?

• How far do the fridge doors open?

• How deep are the island drawers?

• How much room do we need to comfortably walk between everything?

• Will the pantry still fit?

• Could the island move this way?

• What about this angle?

• What if we move it two inches back?

Dad and Grayson spent a significant amount of time standing around while I periodically asked them to move the island again. They were thrilled, I'm sure.

Eventually, I discovered that a common recommendation is around 42 inches of clearance for a kitchen work aisle, although the right spacing really depends on the layout, appliances, number of cooks and applicable design guidance.

Useful information I wish I would have been even more useful two hours earlier.

The Pantry Wasn't Going to Fit

The bigger problem was the pantry. I desperately wanted to fit a freestanding pantry cabinet into the kitchen.

For the first hour, I moved the island around trying to make the whole plan work.

Eventually I had to admit something I really didn't want to admit: The pantry wasn't going to fit where I wanted it.

So we removed it from the plan. Then spent another hour repeating basically everything we'd just done but without the pantry.

At this point, Dad and Grayson had probably reconsidered every life decision that led to helping me renovate this house. Apparently "move the island two inches" wasn't what they considered a pressing renovation project.

I'm not sure why they were complaining though, moving an island around is a lot better than some of the other renovation projects I could have asked them to do. It's not messy or really physically demanding so I feel like it's a fair trade.

Anyway, we did finalize the location of the island and taped it on the floor for the contractors to see. It would be a bit longer until we were actually able to install it but we're getting close!

Designing in My Head Is Apparently Not a Measurement System

This whole experience highlighted one of my biggest renovation weaknesses. I can picture a room beautifully in my head.

What I cannot do is accurately judge dimensions. At all.

Once I physically measured out the kitchen and started accounting for things like appliance doors, drawer clearance and walking space, I realized the room wasn't nearly as large as I'd imagined.

I had the exact same realization in the primary bedroom after adding the walk-in closet and ensuite. Turns out mentally placing furniture in imaginary rooms is not the same thing as space planning.

Who knew?

I started wondering whether all the furniture I'd planned for the house was actually going to fit.

There was a very real possibility that Future Brittany was going to have a lot of rearranging to do.

On the bright side, the closer we got to finishing the house, the fewer imaginary-room problems I'd be able to create. Eventually, I'd have actual walls and actual furniture to work with.

Looking Back at Week Six

This week brought a pretty accurate picture of what whole-house renovations actually look like.

We tore something apart so we could rebuild it properly.

We finished framing a bathroom that would still sit unfinished while we waited for contractors.

We spent seven hours buying supplies.

We took a family day off.

And I learned that deciding where to put an island requires significantly more thought than saying:

"It looks good there."

The basement leak felt like a setback, but finding it before we finished the room probably saved us from a much bigger problem later.

Taking a day away from the renovation felt unproductive, but we needed it.

And spending two hours measuring the kitchen felt ridiculous... But figuring out the layout before everything was permanently installed was a whole lot better than realizing afterward that the refrigerator couldn't open.

Renovation progress isn't always about how much gets finished.

Sometimes progress is finding the problem before it becomes worse.

Sometimes it's making a decision.

And sometimes it's finally admitting that the pantry you've been determined to squeeze into the kitchen... Just isn't going to fit.

Follow Our DIY Home Renovation From the Beginning

Want to see how this renovation unfolded week by week? Catch up on the full story below—from getting the keys and tackling smoke damage to kitchen surprises, flooring, trim work, and finally seeing the house start to feel like home.

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Weeks 10-13 

Missed all the before photos? Check out the blog post Semi Excited to see our starting point.

Whether you're planning your own DIY home renovation or just love a good before-and-after story, there's plenty more renovation chaos, lessons learned, budget decisions, and progress to come.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you find the source of a basement water leak?

We opened the affected wall so we could inspect the area and identify possible entry points before rebuilding. After making repairs, we wanted to test the basement again during rainfall before closing everything back up. Water intrusion can have several causes, so significant or recurring leaks are worth having professionally assessed.

How much space should you leave around a kitchen island?

Kitchen island spacing depends on your layout, appliances and how the kitchen will be used. Around 42 inches is a common guideline for a work aisle, but some kitchens need more or less space. We measured appliance doors, island drawers and walking clearance before choosing our final placement.

When should you decide where a kitchen island will go?

Ideally, before electrical, plumbing and finished surfaces lock you into a layout. We physically measured and moved our island around before the electrician returned so we could confirm how the space would function and make sure we wouldn't be running into each other when we were in the fridge and working at the island.

Is it okay to take breaks during a whole house renovation?

Absolutely. We took a full family day away from the house this week, and the renovation survived. Large projects can consume every free moment if you let them, so taking breaks helped make the process more sustainable for us.

Should you rebuild immediately after fixing a basement leak?

We chose to wait until we could confirm the area remained dry before closing the wall again. After going through the work of opening everything up, I wanted to be as confident as possible that the actual water problem had been resolved first.