No Tools? No Problem! How I Renovated My Basement with Tools I Rented from the Home Depot
Last updated February 18, 2026
Kayla is an Interior Designer and Fearless DIYer. She is passionate about leaving spaces better than she found them. She absolutely believes a happy home that reflects you, and offers a sense of peace + security isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. That's exactly why she shares on Home DIYary (Diary). It's her ultimate passion to share her design knowledge and DIY skills to equip her community with the tools, inspiration and confidence to create their own DIYary.
A Note From The Home Depot
Thanks to The Home Depot’s Rental Center, any home project can become a reality. Follow along as Kayla Nelson of Homediyary turns her recently flooded basement into the ultimate den!
Table of Contents
Demo
LVP Installation
Supply Run
Fireplace
DIY Banquette
Woah, sitting down to recap my Basement Renovation and I cannot believe how far it’s come!
A couple years ago my basement flooded during a hurricane, causing significant water damage to the wood paneling. The flood even made the tiles separate from the subfloor, cracking them. Since then, renovating the basement has been high on the priority list. Admittedly, I was overwhelmed by the thought of renovating this space by myself. Especially considering the logistics of a DIY renovation of this scale.
For starters, I don’t own the tools tile demo requires. A commercial grade concrete grinder is not exactly a tool I need to own, but it was necessary for my project. That’s where the Home Depot Rental Center comes into play. Now, I have access to the tools I need, and I can return them once I complete my project.
Demo
I went to my local Home Depot Rental Center to rent everything I’d need for tile demo. A rotary hammer, concrete grinder and a pickup truck to transport it all home. If you are intimidated, don’t be! The associate will walk you through the basics. How to operate the machinery, condition it should be in upon return, etc. If you are a visual learner, be sure to check out The Home Depot’s ‘How To’ videos, they are so helpful!
Demo couldn’t have been any easier thanks to using the proper tools for the job. The tile installer did a poor installation job, by using minimal mortar to adhere the tiles to the concrete subfloor. Which explains why the tiles were detaching and cracking left and right.
Now that I’m removing them, there are no complaints from me. It made for easy work. I had all of the flooring up within 2 hours! The most time-consuming part of the demo was the concrete grinder. Most could totally skip this step… lucky you! I could not. From my research, because this is a basement, I found that it was in my best interest to seal the concrete floor with this waterproof sealer. It “protects the floors from any hydrostatic water seepage.” It also claims to reduce radon gas penetration, which is also a concern in a basement. For those two reasons alone, it was worth my while to grind the concrete to the raw surface.
LVP Installation
Now that the old flooring has been removed, it’s time to install the new flooring. I went with the Malibu collection found at The Home Depot. Super straight forward install with the click lock technology, making this a DIY friendly project.
For this project, I rented a Laminate Floor Cutter from The Home Depot’s Rental Center. This was my first time using one, and I highly recommend. It makes floor installation go by very quickly. When you come to the end of your row, you don’t have to leave the space to go outside & cut the board on your miter saw. Instead, you can have the Laminate Floor Cutter right in the room with you, cutting the planks as there’s no dust associated.
Supply Run
With the foundation set, time for a supply run to gather all of my materials for the DIYs I have planned. There are some walls that I’d like to build in an effort to define the space, a fireplace, and a corner banquette. I made a list so I could grab all of the materials at once, which is unusual for me. (Personally, I’m a go-everyday-to-get-the-materials-I-need-for-the-day kind of girl) but I figured I’d rent a pickup truck to transport everything home in one shot. Last time I bought a sheet of drywall, I cracked my windshield, so I'm not letting that happen again.
Fireplace
I’ve wanted to install a fireplace in the basement for a while now. I think they are just so cozy, and I can only imagine the vibe in the winter. To be snuggled under a throw blanket, the fireplace going and a good movie, in the middle of a snowstorm…Ah I’m excited.
I found this insert and decided to go for it. Once I built the wall to conceal the back of the refrigerator, it created a natural nook to build a fireplace. On the left is a closet housing the electrical panel.
I built the structure using 2x4s and covered it with drywall. I bounced ideas back and forth for a minute trying to decide how I wanted to finish the fireplace. Ultimately deciding to plank it using thin underlayment material cut at 6” wide. I attached the panels to the wall using this adhesive. Which worked really well. Highly recommend, especially for vertical applications. It instantly held the material in place, and they didn’t slide at all!
I’m obsessed with the decision to plank the fireplace. As I continued, it also became glaringly obvious to me that I should create a hidden door. So, I also planked the front of the electrical closet as well. Now the design flows so well, you’d never know there was a door there if I didn’t tell you. Win, win!
DIY Banquette
The last project for the basement was building a banquette. This side of the basement is a hang out spot. It’s the kitchen and living room, so I want to have a lot of seating space to host. There’s also a window tucked into the corner, eliminating the option of a full wall of closets. My plan was to have a corner banquette and then begin a run of closets for tons of storage. I built the entire structure with 2x4s and I used some Eucaboard to cover the frame temporarily. I plan to build some inset drawers for that area for additional storage. So far, I’m really loving that solution. It’s been a great addition to the space.
So, what do you think? Huge difference, right? Hope this project inspired you to circle back to the project you wanted to tackle but wrote off because you don’t own the tools you need for it. Just take your happy self to your local Home Depot, walk to the Rental Center and Get Renting, Get Doing! Cheering you on!
Thanks for reading! See ya next time.
Kayla J. Nelson
@homediyary
This post was created in partnership with The Home Depot. The author may have received compensation for this article and associated images or video, potentially in the form of products and/or services. All expressed opinions and experiences are the author’s own words.
