Day 1: Hallway

Liam and I worked very hard over the weekend to begin two new major renovation projects, now that the master bedroom is finished.

Liam is going to be refinishing the hardwood floors in the guest room while I work on the upstairs hallway. My goal is to have the hallway ready to paint with color within 2 weeks. So far, I'm actually quite surprised at the progress that has been made over the weekend.

The linen cabinet in the bathroom hallway of our house, is one of my favorite things in the house. It was added into the house sometime during the 1930s. It would have been solid oak coated in a rich laquer with solid brass pulls.

It has definately seen better days. Sometime ago, the original plaster and laths behind it leading to the bathroom were busted out probably for plumbing purposes, but the gaping hole was never repaired, instead covered with a piece of poster board. This is always the story.

So, Liam and I spent most of the day yesterday repairing the hole. This is how the job was outlined:

Tools:
1. razor blade
2. large screwdriver (use as lever)
3. putty knife
4. hammer
5. measuring tape
6. drywall hawk
7. saw
8. sandpaper
9. drywall hand sander tool
10. orbital sander
11. drill


Materials:
1. wooden laths
2. drywall screws
3. drywall
4. nails
5. sheetrock
6. drywall tape

First we knocked out any broken laths, and removed those nails. Then we cut around the hole creating two adjacent rectangles using a blade, removing any loose or cracking plaster. This would allow us to be able to easily cut our drywall to fit into the large hole.

Next, we measured and cut new plaster laths to replace the 4 plaster laths that were either damaged or missing.

Then, we nailed them into place keeping an equal distance between the laths as much as possible and making sure they were secure.

Finally, we measured and cut the drywall to fit into place. We used a saw and work bench to do this.

When the drywall was cut we screwed it securely into place with several drywall screws.

Lastly, using the putty knife and drywall hawk we coated the drywall with a thick coat of mud (sheetrock) and used the drywall tape to create new joint seams also filling those in with mud.

Now, it will need to dry for at least 24-48 hours before sanding it smooth.