UPDATE: Still Applying Mud

~ Sue ~ 8 Comments

I didn’t intend to take two weeks off from blogging but I got caught up with other things and my time became limited. As we all know, time flies!

However, I always find time to blog no matter what, and because we’re STILL spackling, I felt uninspired to continue writing about the ongoing and never ending spackling phase. It gets a little boring and I’m sure boring to read about.

John has completed the first coat of “mud” in every room. Our original plan was to hire someone to do the final coat. However, we have discovered that one person with spackling experience doesn’t want to come in to “just do the final coat.”

They realize John has already done all the work which includes all the taping, corner bead and first coat of spackle. Nobody is interested in coming in the house, picking up the provided spackle knife and using the provided bucket(s) of spackle.

The reason why: They can’t charge what they want to charge. They can’t even mark up the buckets of spackle because we already bought the material. One qualified guy isn’t interested in working on their day off or on a Saturday to earn extra cash. They all want a “team” of guys to come in and do the whole job and those are the jobs they take.

In our case, obviously, John already did all the work. In this area, and in many areas, there’s no such thing as one guy coming in to do a “final coat” to earn “extra” money. We have exhausted all avenues.

So John will have to do the final coat as well. We’ve called local union halls, we’ve called local companies that sell drywall, we’ve asked other contractors, we’ve walked up to other homes under renovation, they all want to bring in a “team” of guys.

The 3 quotes we had gotten from drywall contractors were all over $11,000. So we did it ourselves which takes  a lot of time for one person but that’s we signed up for so no surprises, no complaints–this is DIY.

 

 

 

Finishing the Drywall in Master Bedroom

~ Sue ~ 3 Comments

We now have the north and south side walls to do before the master bedroom drywall job is finished.

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John started with a 12′ Sheetrock panel and found the center of the ceiling on the north wall which is basically between the RG6 cable and 14/2 outlet boxes above the French doors.

He then placed two wood blocks at the drywall seams as nailers for when the Sheetrock is placed on the wall.

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John cut the obtuse angles on both sides.

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This is the tool that John used to find the angles. The junction between where the wood handle meets the metal blade is placed on the drywall seam to determine the exact angle on the wall.

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The drywall panel is cut and ready to be installed. However, John needs help with the dead man in order to do it.

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He screwed two 2x4s together to make the dead man to support the drywall. When he hoisted the dry wall panel to the ceiling, I put the dead man in place.

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John’s aligning the 2×4 followed by cutting it so that it’s the proper length.

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The dead man is now in place and supporting the dry wall while John is using the T-square to mark the center.

We took photos of the wall and studs prior to installing the dry wall to know the location of framing for screwing in the drywall. It’s good to do this so you don’t forget what is behind it.

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It took about 2 hours to measure, cut angles, cut out boxes, dry fit and screw the drywall to the studs on the north wall. Today, John will do the south wall.

 

A Painted Orchid Terra-cotta Pot

~ Sue ~ 6 Comments

As most of you know, terra-cotta is a naturally porous material. It acts like a wick absorbing moisture through the wall of the pot .

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A terra-cotta orchid pot provides exceptional drainage and circulation for an orchid plant.

This is the second terra-cotta pot that I’ve painted. Next time I will lightly sand any rough spots, especially on the bottom of the pot. I read this tip after I painted both pots. It’s not necessary to sand but it’s nice to have a smooth surface.

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You’ll recognize the Ocean Mist color that I also used on the pine outdoor table. I sprayed two coats on the orchid pot.

It’s absolutely necessary to spray terra-cotta pots on the inside with a sealer before painting. If you skip this step, when watering a plant, the moisture will bubble the paint.

I bought PLAID Clay Pot Sealer at Michaels but there are many sealers, such as Thompson’s WaterSeal for multi-surfaces.

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I sprayed the terra-cotta pot with the sealer and let it dry for 24 hours before painting.

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Followed with two coats of RUST-OLEUM 2X in Ocean Mist.

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Next I’ll paint something decorative with the DecoArt Patio Paint and ArtMinds exterior paint that I bought at Michaels.

 

 

The Master Bedroom Update

~ Sue ~ 11 Comments

Over the Labor Day weekend, we moved our operation back to the master bedroom in the new addition. I call it the “the new wing” because it’s separate and above the rest of the house.

To access the wing, we climb the original attic access stairs which need to be replaced; the stairs are too shallow. Not a day goes by that we both don’t say how much we love the design of this house with the various levels and privacy of the interior design and layout.

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Another project on the “To Do” list is the balcony outside the French doors in the master bedroom. I can’t wait for the day that we can sit out on it while overlooking a garden with a cup of coffee in the morning.

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The master bedroom ceiling was put on hold for a little while until John could get help from someone to assist him with installing the ANGLED drywall panels. With the unusual ceiling angle, using the drywall panel lift would be a little too precarious.

It requires a lot of upper arm strength to install ceiling panels; I actually assisted too. While John and his helper, Joe, were both on ladders at each end of the 12′ Sheetrock panel, I was on a ladder in the middle holding the center of the panel while they temporarily put in 1 1/4″ screws so that the panel would not fall.

It’s awkward at best. I then got off the ladder and I used the “deadman” which is a 10′ 2×4 with a 3′ small piece of wood screwed in perpendicular to make a “T.” I held the deadman on the Sheetrock while John checked positioning for the two high hats. He did a little bit of trimming with a razor knife, and once the Sheetrock was in proper position, John used a T-square parallel to the ceiling joist to mark with a pencil where to put in the screws. This was after applying drywall adhesive on the ceiling joists.

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After a few hours, we were finished, which allowed John to continue yesterday with the smaller drywall pieces. He used a scrap piece of green board to fill the 34×84 void on the east side.

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John used his trusty 20V Lithium Ion Dewalt screw gun which has been indispensable with this huge job we have undertaken. John said, “The screw gun is lightweight and powerful enough to drive 3″ star head deck screws into 2x4s like butter.” Many battery-operated screw guns are not powerful enough to drive longer screws in framing.

Thank you Dewalt for sponsoring us with products.

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Every time John touches the Dewalt drill’s trigger, the light illuminates anything he is working on and in any light conditions; this is a fantastic feature too because not all drills have lights.

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You can see a 3/4″ ledger in this photo that is 32″ long that supports the base of the drywall panel so that one person can install it. However, I did assist John in holding the panel up during the dry fit so that he could trim around the high hat prior to applying the drywall adhesive.

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The east side wall has smaller Andersen windows than the west side wall.

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This is the west wall that looks out over the patio and side garden.

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I was standing on a ladder when I took this photo looking down at one of the west windows.

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After climbing the original attic stairs, this is the hallway in the new wing leading to the bedroom. On the right is the walk-in closet and master bath.