Our bathroom reno is humming along. Kirby has been working hard and I’ve been holding the fort, doing school and watching the puppy, but that is about to change!
Over the years Kirby has excelled at learning electrical and plumbing and woodworking, but it’s been my job to drywall, paint and put the finishing touches on. So, as I watch the marine drywall go up, I am becoming increasingly more nervous.
Drywalling is an art. My first major attempt at seams and corners was when we built our pantry. There are shelves and lots of food in front of the walls so no one else has to see what a lumpy job I did.
I read a few more books and watched a few videos at youtube before tackling out new bedroom. It had been an entrance to the outside pool, had suffered from mildew, and had saggy patio doors that small animals could enter through. The patio doors had been boarded up and the room had been used for storage, but baby number 5 required it to be turned back into a bedroom. Our good friend Brad helped with that job and it went very well. I can still see the spots that aren’t perfect but overall I am proud of it.
For our front entry way redo we had a two year old and I was hoemschooling four children full time, so Brad did most of the work for us.
Good Friend Brad Drywalling the Front Entryway
Then the boy went and got accepted at a university in another province where the commute seemed a little long. We actually hired a small time handyman to do the final coat and sanding. I learned a lot just watching him work and so I felt fully capable of doing the ensuite.
The ensuite took us forever to do and we had several redos. I was most pleased with two walls of drywall and rather disappointed with the one other wall. Then over the winter we noticed a very odd cold spot on the wall. We couldn’t find the source of it and so eventually decided to rip out and re-insulate the outside wall. This gave me a chance to practice mudding yet again and while I was doing that I slipped and put elbow through the badly mudded wall. So then I took the opportunity to completely redo that wall and learned even more.
The two most important things I’ve learned over the years are to place the drywall board carefully with proper backing and that less is more. Really. Professionals want to be in and out and learn tricks of the trade to do that, but I need to go slow and not slap the mud on too fast or too thick. That way if I make mistakes it doesn’t take me hours of sanding to undo it and try again.
Over the years I collected a few articles like this one from our library’s Family Handyman magazine. It’s helpful to read through them all before I begin a new job.
And so very soon I will begin learning even more about drywall mudding. Kirby asked my help in planning out wallboard placement. I’ve got my tools and mud ready and though nervous I’m excited about being able to help get this job done.
You can catch up on everything Kirby has been doing over at the bathroom reno page on Lego and Sawdust.
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