It’s week two already? We decided to widen the scope of the project, which makes total sense when you have only six weeks (three of which I’m out of town for work). But, it turned out to be a good call. We decided to gut the room. We’re moving electrical and the walls were scarred pretty badly because the previous owners wallpapered directly onto unfinished drywall, so starting with a clean slate made sense. But also added a LOT of work.
In demo (which Zach did all by himself while my dad and I were shopping for supplies), we found termites. Cue me panicking in the store. We bought some spray and hired a professional to spray outside. Luckily, the damage was super minimal – we didn’t need to replace or reinforce any boards – and we only saw them in one small area, but we’re really glad we opened the walls now. We also found some mold, or mold stains at least, along the exterior walls, so we pulled the insulation, painted it with oil-based Kilz (which will block any living mold spores from getting into the house and help prevent any future growth) and installed new insulation.
The Good
My dad is really good at this stuff (read: perfectionist) so we’re doing it right and doing a great job. We caught something that could have been a major issue and fixed it. The room is looking great already and I feel confident in everything being right. My mom is coming down today to help and Zach’s mom is also coming over to lend a hand. I’m learning a ton, I got to build walls (!!), realized hanging drywall sucks and am seeing my vision come to life. Also, I’ve gotten to spend the entire week with my dad!
The Bad
We’re way behind schedule which means my dad won’t be able to help with as much as we had hoped. Our house is just barely uneven. About 3/4″. Doesn’t seem like much, and in the grand scheme of things it isn’t. Know where it does matter? Hanging drywall… Oooh boy it’s been a pain. Good learning experience though, right?
The Bugly
The termite situation cost us time and money. So, I decided to forego my planked ceiling ($380) for a drywall ceiling ($80). Turns out renovating is expensive, even when you do the work yourself. I’ve spent half our budget on supplies so far. Womp womp.
Progress
Ultimately, we’re making progress which is really exciting. It’s coming together and we’ll be even more proud knowing that we did it. Hopefully in six weeks… Remember to check in on the progress of other One Room Challenge participants!
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