I know we’ve already talked about the drywall project several times, but I wanted to make sure you guys understood this wasn’t a one-person project with Wyatt doing all the work. Plus, it’s a huge part of how we’ve been spending every day around here. I mean, seriously, we’re drywalling an entire room and ceiling with just 2 amateurs (seriously, never done this before!) and we both work during the day. I have to keep telling myself, it’s okay this is taking a long time.
I know that not everybody’s drywall projects would take this long, but we’re still proud we tackled it on our own. And that we saved the cash by doing it DIY style.
(FYI, I talk about the process of hanging drywall, and planning out your installation to avoid as many seams as possible, here. And, Wyatt is working on a post about a few more tips and tricks we learned along the way.)
First of all, I helped with the actual drywall by handing Wyatt tools and holding things, like sheets of drywall onto the wall.
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I also marked each large sheet on the studs so it would be faster for him to drill in the screws.
It was also my job to add a layer of compound over the screws. In order to not see those when you paint, you need to make sure all the screws are all the way tightened, then smear some mud on them. It will look something like this:
Then, you sand them down until they look something like this:
It makes the surface perfectly smooth so you won’t see the screws when you paint.
Sidenote: there’s a weird example of why this is so important in our bathroom. Whoever redid it before we moved in left this little wonderful treat for me to enjoy every time I take a shower:
Ugh.
Then, when it was time for mudding all the seams, I was able to help even more. We both did a lot of work with the trowel and the putty knife. It kills your shoulders do work on the ceiling parts, so it was really helpful to have two of us working on this.
And, we both spent a lot of time sanding, which I told you about Friday…
I also helped with wiping down the walls and ceilings after we sanded them. And, I’ll be doing a lot of the painting and priming in the next few days and weeks.
My shoulders are certainly feeling all this work above my head. Yikes.
Wish us luck as we finish this step, and in the meantime, tell me, are you the main “projector” at your house or are you the sidekick supporter. I think at various times, I’m both, but for big stuff, I’m usually the sidekick.
Look at those buff arms! Way to go! Getting closer!
Ha! Not sure what you mean by buff arms…they feel like weak, super tired arms every day around here! But thanks, and yes, we are getting closer…slowly getting closer.
You may already know, but if you put several THIN layers of mud, rather than a couple of thicker layers, you will sand less and the final finish will be easier to make level and smooth. DIY is the only way to go. Not only do you save money, the feeling of accomplishment is great. Yes, it takes longer, but think of it as a relationship–patience, patience, patience.
Yea, we did several thin coats in a few areas and that did seem to help the sanding some. Glad to hear it from someone with experience. The worst part was where we had uneven drywall (because we were joining new with old on the ceiling where we removed the soffit) and had to build up the mud really thick. Ugh. But yes, after that initial thick coat, we’re going to try and stick to thinner applications in the future. Thanks for the tip! (And the encouragement. Yes, it is a pain in the rear right now, but I’m hoping it will be as rewarding as a relationship soon!) 🙂