The ceiling in my basement was quite horrible.  Not only did it have a crazy amount of wires hanging down loosely, and pipes, of course, but it had a massive steel I-beam running right down the middle of it.  My husband actually admired that I-beam and wanted to showcase it.  Hmmm…. not my style at all.  Now that I am working solo, I had to cover it up.  How to enclose that ugly I-beam in my basement ceiling?

 

 

 

What Is An I-Beam And Why Did They Put It In My House?

 

An I-beam, also known as H-beam, W-beam, universal beam, rolled steel joist, or double-T, is a beam with an I or H-shaped cross-section. These beams are all slightly different, but I am going to call them all “I-beams.”  The horizontal elements of the I- beam are flanges, and the vertical element is the “web”.  I-beams are usually made of structural steel and are used in all kinds of construction.  There is a very cool video here showing how the shape of an I-beam makes it very strong.

 

 

Short History of the Steel I-Beam

 

Believe it or not, it all started when the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 destroyed thousands of wooden buildings.  After the fire, Chicago responded by creating stricter building codes and requiring non-combustible construction materials.  By then, the I beam had been developed by the engineer, Alphonse Halbou.  As the city grew, Chicago needed to look to steel construction to go upward.  The world’s first all-steel framed skyscraper, the Rand McNally building, constructed in Chicago in 1889, gave the I-beam the perfect opportunity to show its strength.

 

 

The Common Way of Enclosing An I Beam

 

From what I had read, the accepted way to enclose a steel I beam was to build a soffit around it.  What is a soffit?  A soffit is basically any finishing material, such as wood or sheetrock, that is installed to cover the underside or visible side of a beam or other structural element that you’d like to hide. This is done by building two ladder-like structures, one to go on either side of the beam, and connecting them on the underside.  Once you have constructed this soffit or frame, you can cover it with sheetrock, wood, or whatever material you like.  There is a good video showing in detail how that is done.  Watch it here.  

So that is what I expected to do.  HOWEVER… when I looked at the length of my I beam, which is 24 feet, and realized how heavy and cumbersome that would be for me to handle, I figured there had to be a better way.

 

My Way of Enclosing the Beam

 

An inspiration came to me and I thought a good way would be to take a piece of scrap wood, cut it to size to fit within the width of the flange of the beam (4 inches), and pound it in there real snug so that I could attach some kind of sheathing to it.  I used a piece of 2 by 4 and used a hammer to bang it in.  Low and behold, I found a video of a carpenter who did just that!  Amazing.  Got to love Bernie and his wonderful accent.  Watch him here. I did exactly what Bernie did except that I added construction adhesive to the 3 edges of the 2X4 that were touching the beam.  Probably overkill, but I wanted to be sure it would stay forever.

 

 

What Material To Use To Cover The Beam

 

When it comes to covering the beam with material, there are many choices.  Bernie used 2 layers of sheetrock.  I have also seen hardwood flooring, lumber, and faux pre-fabricated beam covers among other materials.  My way was far simpler.  I bought PVC boards to cover it.

 

Why I Chose PVC Boards

 

PVC boards have many advantages:

• They come in white so I didn’t have to paint them.  If you want to paint them, they are paintable and they are also washable with a cleaner such as Windex.
• Will not split, crack or warp
• Can be cut with standard tools
• They come straight as an arrow so they are ready to install

All in all, very easy and low maintenance.  No sanding!

I purchased (at Lowes):

• (4) 3/4 inch by 9 3/4 inch by 12 foot long PVC boards for the sides
• (2) 3/4 inch by 5 3/4 inch by 12 foot long PVC boards for the bottom

I was able to get these boards into my car, with help from the Lowes guys, taking up the entire space from front to back plus some, and avoided the delivery fee.  

 

How I Constructed the Box

 

The first thing I did was to attach the narrower pieces of PVC to the underside of the beam with construction adhesive.  

 

 

I held it up with lots of clamps.  That was the easy part.  The wider pieces of PVC were much heavier.  I positioned 2 six-foot step ladders under the beam where I wanted to place one of the PVC side pieces.  Then I lifted the big (giant) PVC board on top of the ladders.  I lifted one end up and tried to hold it while I nailed it into one of the blocks I had pounded into the I beam.

Then I got off the ladder and called a friend to help.

My friend held one end and I held the other and, between us, we nailed the board onto the blocks.  And then the 3 others.  

 

So much better!

 

 

Now what to do with the ceiling?

 

The one thing I was sure of was that I needed access to the plumbing and electrical.  I needed to have some sort of suspended ceiling.  In my dream, I was going to hang my own ceiling grid and fill it with lightweight beadboard.  Rob from ourpinterestingfamily.blogspot.com did it and his ceiling looks gorgeous!  See how he did it.

 

 

Isn’t that a beautiful job?  That’s exactly what I wanted!

 

Then I woke up from my dream and realized that, while I could do a lot of things, I could not do that.  I know my limitations.  So sad, though.

 

So I broke down and hired a ceiling contractor to put in a suspended ceiling.  It’s not beautiful, but it covers up the pipes and wires and makes the room look finished. 

 

 

As always, take care. You can do it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had one big thing left to do in my basement.  Rip up the ugly carpeting on the stairs. During construction in the basement, I realized that I might cause a lot of damage to the stairs, so I had saved them till last.  When refinished, I wanted them to be gorgeous.

I literally couldn’t wait to get that old dirty commercial-grade carpeting off the stairs.  But I am not going to kid you…  It was a much more difficult job than I had anticipated.  However, if you have basic tools and take your time, you can definitely rip up that old carpet just like I did.  This is how to do it:

Gather Your Tools

Did I mention that I had no money for this project?  By the time I got to the stairs, the budget for the basement had been depleted.  Luckily the tools I needed, I already had on hand:

• Very sharp utility knife
• Pry bar
• Hammer
• Needle nose plyers
• Gloves
• Vacuum
• Chisel
• Contractor grade trash bags
• Awl

 

These are basic tools you probably already have in your workshop

 

Steps for Ripping Up Carpet from Stairs

• First vacuum the entire staircase thoroughly.  You want to get rid of as much dirt as possible before you start pulling up the carpet.  When you start pulling, dust is going to fly.  This is a dirty job, so you will need to run that vac a lot.  

 

• Start at the top.  It’s so much easier to pull downhill.

 

• Take the utility knife (with a new, sharp blade) with two hands and carefully slice the carpet at the joint between the tread and the riser.  

 

 

If you don’t yet own a prybar, check this one out:

 

• Slide the pry bar into whatever space you can find, and tug until you have enough space loosened to fit your hand in there.  Be really careful here, and wear gloves.  The carpet is probably held in place with a tack strip, essentially a thin strip of wood with razor-sharp tacks sticking out towards the carpet.  Ouch!

Those tacks are nasty!

 

• Pull with both hands in short jerking motions until the carpet on the whole step comes loose.  

 

• When you have the carpet detached from the first step, cut it with your utility knife if it hasn’t already separated.  Roll it up, being really careful as there are probably lots of tacks and staples in it, and tape it with duck tape and set it aside for the trash man.  

 

• Now that the layer of rug padding under the carpet is exposed, you have to decide what your next step will be.  Are you planning to put a new carpet on the stairs?  Is the padding in good shape?  If so, you may leave the padding in place and continue down the stairs, removing just the old carpet.  Also, if you are planning to re-carpet, you may leave the tack strips in place too if they haven’t gotten damaged in the process.

 

 

• I was planning to stain and paint my stairs, so everything had to go!.  It is helpful to put a little bucket in close range as there will be lots of tacks and staples flying everywhere.  Lots of dust too.  I ran that vac a lot!
• The padding is easy to get up.  It just tears around the tacks and staples which you can come back and get later.

Removing the tack strips

You can continue removing all the carpet and padding and then go back later and remove the tack strips or… you can remove the tack strips as you go along.  I decided to remove them as I went along so that I wouldn’t injure myself by stepping on them or landing on them in some other way.  Much safer.

The first method I tried to remove the tack strip was using the pry bar.  I tapped it under the strip with a hammer and then pried it up.  It worked, but I found I couldn’t do it without denting the treads.  So I switched from the pry bar to the chisel.  This worked much better for me.  I could be much gentler. 

 

 

I love this set of chisels.  I am much more likely to put things away if I have a nice box to keep them in.  It comes with a honing stone, chisel holder, and a couple of carpenter pencils as well as a WARRANTY!  Click on the picture for details.

This is a messy job as the tack strips tend to splinter and break, so it takes time and patience. Have a heavy-duty contractor-grade trash bag ready to put the pieces in.  Gradually move along the strip’s length, prying up each section in increments, instead of just pulling up one end.  Then toss them right into the heavy-duty trash bag.  With gloves.

How to remove the carpet tacks and staples

First of all, there are millions of them.  Just when you think you’ve found them all, you’ll find a few more!  The tacks and most of the staples came out OK with the needle-nose pliers.

Yuck, look at all this dirt too!

Some of the carpet tacks, which are U-shaped, were too buried in the wood to get out with the pliers.  There were flat staples too, all hard to get out.  For these hard-to-remove buggers, I used my awl.  I love my awl!  What is an awl, you ask?  An awl is basically a steel spike with a nice handle with its tip sharpened to a fine point.  As a matter of fact, it looks like a screwdriver with a sharp point.

An awl is generally used to scribe a line (thus called a scratch all) in wood or metal or to start a hole for a nail or screw.  It can also be used to punch a hole. I, of course, used it for an entirely different purpose. This awl is much nicer than mine.  I like the cushioned handle. Click the picture to see it.

I took the awl, squiggled it under the staple or tack, tapped it with my hammer, and it came right out.  Times about a million.

Finishing the stairs

Even though I was lucky and had oak treads under the carpet, they were in terrible shape.  Now full of holes, they were also extremely worn and dirty.  So I got to work with my electric mouse sander, starting with 80 grit sandpaper and working up to 1000.  It took me hours, (actually days) but it was pretty smooth when I was done.

 

 

My plan was to stain the treads to match the new dark Pergo floor I had installed in the basement and to paint the risers white.

I filled all the holes in the risers which were to be painted white but left the holes in the treads until later.  I find that the filler never takes the stain the same way the wood does.  Never!  So it’s safer to do the filling later.

I had several different colors of stain (oil-based) in my workshop, so I experimented with different mixes until I ended up with a color that matched the Pergo floor pretty well.

Next, I vacuumed very thoroughly.  Did I say “vacuum” yet again?  Yup!  There was sawdust everywhere. Then I wiped down the stairs with a tack cloth and mineral spirits.  

An optional step is to water pop the floor, also known as popping the grain.  This is an especially good idea if you are working with a dark stain like I was.  Using this process, the result is less likely to be blotchy because it opens up the pores of the wood.

How to water pop a floor

Check out this article by theflooringgirl. She does a fantastic job describing the process. I followed her directions, wiping on the water in the morning with a rag, and then sanding and staining in the afternoon.  I am very happy with the result, no blotchiness.

Staining the steps

By the next day, the steps were dry and ready for stain.  I applied my stain mix with a brush and removed the excess with a rag.  I stained every other step so that I could get up and down.  Amazing that I thought ahead.  It took 3 coats of stain to get the coverage I wanted.  I waited about 2 hours between each coat of my oil-based stain.  

Finish coat

I waited a day or two before I started with the finish coat.  After much research, this is what I used, a quart of Varathane 200241H Water-Based Ultimate Polyurethane, in satin finish.  I applied 3 coats of this.  It went on smoothly with my favorite brush, the Wooster Shortcut.  

 

 

I have learned the hard way that it is never smart to use cheap brushes.  Do you want bristles stuck on your floor?  No, me either.  

 

 

Wow, I’m getting excited!  I still have to paint the risers and touch up the paint in the stairwell.  I’ve also decided to stain the banister to match the stair treads. So I still have work to do.  But I’m so happy with what I’ve done so far.  

Never underestimate a woman with a crowbar!  Why?  She can do it.

 

As always, take care. You can do it!

 

This post contains affiliate links.  This means that if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. This does NOT result in any additional cost to you, and the affiliate money we earn helps pay the fees to keep this site up and running – thanks for your support! 

One of the goals I have for the new year is to continue working on and finish up my DIY basement room.  Make it look like the above picture.  This has actually been my goal for a couple of years and, to be honest, I have run out of steam for this project.  Has that ever happened to you?  The grandkids are using it in its current almost done condition and it would be so easy to leave it as it is.  I want to be proud of this room, though, so I am determined to finish it up.  Here it is now. 

 

Almost done!

 

Where it started

I wish I had a before picture of this room, but it was such a disaster in the beginning that a picture wasn’t really possible.  Imagine if you moved into a house and put all of the boxes in the basement, piled up from the floor to ceiling.  That’s what happened when we downsized. 

 

Similar

 

The dream in my head

• Shiplap walls
• Beautiful built-in cabinets, shelves and closets for storage
• A stone corner wall with a built-in fireplace and a TV over it
• Wood floor, or one that at least had a wood look
• A finished ceiling that didn’t look too commercial
• Comfy furniture for the grandkids
• Everything light and bright

In my dream, I was going to accomplish all of this by myself on a tiny budget with a little help (or a lot) from Pinterest and YouTube. 

A summary of what I have done

I have done nearly everything in this renovation myself, having started out without much knowledge.  It has been very slow going.  Here is how I did it…

Shiplap wall

There was one outside concrete wall.  This is where I wanted to put the shiplap, so it needed insulation and studs. Since there is more than one way to stud a wall, I didn’t go with the old-fashioned way, the way that requires two people or at least one very strong person. I did it another (easy) way, one that I, a grandmother, could do all by myself!  I didn’t invent this product, nor am I being paid to tell you about it.  However, this 2-in-1 product, called InSoFast, literally made it possible for me to finish my basement by myself!  I can’t tell you how much I love InSoFast.  

 

 

I did all of this in one day with the very easy instructions provided by the company.  Believe it or not, the panels are applied with glue!  Those black lines are the studs.  After the insulation/studs were up, I applied the shiplap planks with my Ryobi brad nailer.  My favorite tool!

I used this tool for everything except nailing into cement.  Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do that.  With this tool and my table saw, I put up my planks pretty easily.  You can find more details here.

Wall of built-ins

This was fun.  I took my ideas to Lowe’s and sat down with the cabinet guy.  In a few minutes I had this:

 

 

I had them deliver (2) pantry closet cabinets (one for each end) and (4) 36-inch upper wall cabinets which I installed on the floor, plus all the lumber for the shelving units.

 

 

Since I was installing wall cabinets on the floor, I built a box out of 2X4s to serve as a base for each of them.  I used a lot of shims as the floor wasn’t even close to level.  For the wood counter, I used (2) 2X8 pine boards 12 feet long.  I glued them together to form a 15 inch wide counter. It looked really pretty after it was stained and polyurethaned.

 

 

The shelving units were made entirely from half-inch plywood.  I used this product to accommodate my budget.  

 

 

I made a 36-inch wide box with a back to fit over each cabinet.  Then I used 1X2 inch pine to hold up each shelf.

 

 

I used the 1×2 pine to trim everything as well.  See that nasty pipe hanging in front of the built-in wall??  It was a pain in the a** to workaround!

 

 

When the wall unit was almost done, I actually hired people to do the ceiling, the electricity, and the floor.  I realized my limits.  The floor is Pergo which I purchased from Lowe’s on a big sale.  I really wanted a much fancier ceiling, one that looked like beadboard.  Not in the budget, though, so I settled for this drop ceiling.  I don’t love it.  In the meantime I had:

• boxed in the 2 lally columns
• boxed in the I beam
• built 2 closets with sliding barn doors

Fireplace wall

I originally wanted a gas fireplace with a remote, like the one I have upstairs and love.  It turned out that with all the venting issues involved, the price was going to be way too high.  This is what I found instead when I went to the August West Fireplace Store.

 

Gorgeous!  Not gas, electric, but it looks real.  More or less.  Let me say that it was not cheap (about $1000).  But I splurged on this one thing.  My sons built the diagonal wall in the corner to install it in and I put up the drywall.

 

 

After the drywall was up, I started to apply the ledger stone panels.  I bought them for a great price at Floor and Decor.  Each “tile” is 6 by 24 inches and put up with mortar.  I had to cut nearly everyone.  Luckily I was able to borrow a wet saw.  The mortar I bought was already mixed.  That helped.  Really difficult to open that container, though.  Wow.  I have since discovered that there is a special tool for this purpose.

 

 

People told me this would be easy.  It wasn’t hard, but it took me forever.  As I said, I had to cut nearly every panel.  Still have all my fingers, too.

 

 

What is left to do

I am still working on the stairs.  I have torn up the ugly carpeting and am refinishing the worn-out oak treads that were underneath.  They will match the new floor and have white risers.

All the finicky details:

• baseboard
• closet doors
• door hardware
• sanding and painting
• fix mistakes (yup, there are some)

The grandkids don’t notice these things but I do.  I have vowed not to start another room until this one is finished.  Bummer.  

So, onward I go!  Finish it up, Ellie!

 

As always, take care. You can do it!

 

So, is it really possible to put up shiplap all by yourself?

I have done it and the answer is yes!  I applied shiplap and finished my basement all by myself!  And I’m a Grandma!

How I applied my shiplap

• Lightly sand the edges and the good side of the planks.  I had already cut the planks from 1/4 inch plywood on the table saw.  You can sand by hand or with a power sander.  I, of course, used power.

 

• Now you should apply primer to the planks before hanging them.  I didn’t do this and immediately regretted it.  It’s really difficult to get paint in between the boards once they are hung.

 

• Install the first plank.  I know some people start at the top, but I started at the bottom.  This is why; I knew that I would be installing planks to above the ceiling line. (drop ceiling) No one would see any unevenness up there.  So I wouldn’t have to worry about cutting and fitting.  I did not want to bother cutting and fitting the last planks down at the floor where everyone could see them.  Also, I really think it’s easier to do the leveling if you start at the bottom.

 

• Keep the planks level.  The first plank is the most important as it needs to be absolutely level.  My basement floor was by no means level so I had to adjust with lots of shims before I started to nail.  Here, I did need a helper.  My neighbor, Susanne, came over and helped me hold and level the planks while I nailed them in with my handy Ryobi brad nailer.  This is a fantastic tool!  It is so light that I can use it with one hand!

 

• Use spacers to keep the look consistent.  I used nickels for spacers between the planks and continued nailing the planks, being careful to keep them level and to keep the seams staggered.  A couple of times I forgot to stagger the seams.  I hope no one will notice.

 

• Nail into the studs.  Nails elsewhere will be useless and the planks will pop out.  The studs in my Insofast Panels were easy to see as they were black.

 

 

                                 

See those black lines?  They are the studs.

 

 

Now it just needs paint

Having great, easy-to-use tools sure helped make this project easy.

Here are the tools I used:

• Ryobi Chop Saw to cut the planks when needed. This is the only corded Ryobi tool I have.
• Ryobi Jig Saw to cut around outlets, etc.
• Ryobi Brad Nailer.  My favorite tool of all!  It made nailing up the planks a snap!
• Ryobi Cordless Sander

They can be seen here: https://peoniesandpowertools.com/how-i-fell-in-love/

So this is how I installed shiplap in my basement by myself.  You can too!  It was easy!

 

As always, take care.  You can do it!

So, what in the world is “shiplap“? Of course, I’d heard of it, cause I don’t live under a rock and I watch the show “Fixer Upper“.  But what is it really??

Defined in the dictionary as “a type of wooden board used commonly as exterior siding in the construction of residences, barns, sheds, and outbuildings”, it may once have been used to construct the hull of a ship, the boards overlapping each other to form a watertight surface, making the vessel seaworthy. Possibly where the term shiplap originated – however for a different slant, see What Is Shiplap? Make Sure You Know About This Hot Decor Trend.

To read what REAL shiplap is, see what Scott Sidler of THE CRAFTSMAN BLOG says. Great article!

Today “shiplap” refers to a wooden board applied horizontally to create a decorative effect. You can buy these boards at big box stores already cut in various widths. Look up “shiplap boards” on the Home Depot site and you will find 140 results, ranging in price from $5.63 a board to about $50 a board. Wow! On my tiny budget, even the least expensive board was too much.

So what did I do with all this new knowledge about shiplap? I bought myself some new cool tools and got to work. I cut my shiplap boards from 4 by 8 quarter inch underlayment plywood purchased from Lowes.  Only $14 apiece – such a bargain! https://www.lowes.com/pd/Underlayment-1-4-in-Common-Sumauma-Plywood-Underlayment-Application-as-4-x-8/1000750294  Another nice thing about this plywood is that it is super smooth.  I sanded the cut edges and ran over the flat parts of the boards with my mouse sander ever so slightly.  That’s all they needed!

Some stores will rip (don’t I sound professional? I just learned that word) the strips for you, but none near me offered this service, so I ripped them myself. I cut the first several with my Ryobi cordless circular saw. I divided them equally into 8 strips horizontally, giving me boards approximately 6 inches wide. This worked out OK, but what a pain in my back!!

So I broke down and bought a table saw. I highly advise you to get yourself a table saw if you plan to do this project. So much easier! I didn’t feel guilty about this fairly large purchase as I knew I would be using it many times during this total basement remodel.  This is the one I bought.

Luckily, it came with the table as well:

I have since discovered the Ryobi has come out with a table saw!  If it had been available at the time, this is the one I would have purchased as I really love Ryobi products and it is so much more budget-friendly.  This is the Ryobi model: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-15-Amp-10-in-Expanded-Capacity-Table-Saw-With-Rolling-Stand-RTS23/309412848

My basement remodel was on its way!

 

NEXT:  Putting up the shiplap.

 

 

There is more than one way to stud a wall. Not wanting to bore you with the old-fashioned way, the way that requires two people or at least one very strong person, I am going to tell you about the way I, a grandmother, did it all by myself!  I didn’t invent this product, nor am I being paid to tell you about it.  However, it literally made it possible for me to finish my basement all by myself! So, what is this miracle product?

 

                                                           

InSoFast Insulation Panels!

 See the following info from their website

“An excellent, cost-effective way to insulate your basement interior is with closed-cell, injection-molded EPS foam panels from InSoFast!

Feature-Rich InSoFast Panels

InSoFast is a style of engineered continuous insulation that comes in 2-foot x 4-foot interlocking panels of varying thicknesses. The closed-cell, injection-molded EPS foam panels can be applied universally to any interior or exterior wall assembly in both new and retrofit construction projects.

The InSoFast UX 2.0 Panel is 2-inches thick with a flat surface that exposes the face of the embedded studs. R-8.5 continuous insulation, rot-resistant framing, drainage channels, electrical raceways, and a simple, stackable interlocking design make this panel the most cost-effective solution for base-level code requirements.

The InSoFast EX 2.5 Panel is 2 ½-inches thick. If you need a solution that goes beyond base-level, this panel’s continuous R-value of 10 outperforms traditionally framed R-15 batt walls and provides 20% more insulation than our UX panels. Its tighter interlocks and recessed studs keep the EX barrier truer and straighter, enabling it to bridge over cups, bows and other irregularities in concrete basement walls.

Panels include built-in chases that run both vertically and horizontally across each panel, enabling you to install electrical boxes anywhere you need them. They also provide a simple, easy way to insulate cold concrete floors. The attachment studs provide a secure surface to screw the subfloor.”

 

Not sure if you noticed this, but the STUDS are EMBEDDED in the panels!  See those vertical black stripes?  Those are the studs!  This means you can insulate and stud the wall, ALL IN ONE STEP! AND it’s done with GLUE!

The embedded studs made it so easy for me to accomplish my next step, which was nailing up shiplap planks.  The black studs were clearly visible for me to nail into with my favorite tool, the Ryobi brad nailer.

 

The other great thing about this company is that they are so consumer-friendly.  On their website, you will find step by step easy to follow directions and videos.  If you have trouble, give them a call.  They are friendly and helpful folks!

 

 

Pros

• Order online or by phone and they are delivered to your door
• Lightweight and easy to work with
• Easy to cut
• Interlocking panels 
• Apply to walls with adhesive
• No need to build a stud wall, studs are embedded
• Easy to follow directions on their website and great customer support
• R-value of 10
• Can be installed by 1 person

Cons

• More expensive than traditional insulation, but this might be outweighed by the savings of the lumber that you no longer have to buy.
• You have to buy a full box so if you run out and only need one more panel, you’re stuck with a whole box

 

Despite those few negatives, I felt the product was well worth its cost as I never would have been able to build the room without it.

Finishing this first step with such ease gave me the confidence to move on to the more difficult steps.  Honestly, for a while there, I thought I was Superwoman.

 

As always, take care. You can do it!

 

Resources

Ryobi Jig Saw

 

 

Ryobi Power Caulk Gun

This post contains affiliate links.  This means that if you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission. This does NOT result in any additional cost to you, and the affiliate money we earn helps pay the fees to keep this site up and running – thanks for your support!