Drywall Installation Begins
March 30 - April 1, 2007
The goal for this weekend was to install drywall on the
ceiling of the main house ("main house" does not include
the two temporary bedrooms in the garage).
Installing 54-pound sheets of drywall overhead is no easy feat.
So we rented this cool drywall lift to help. I swear, there is a
tool for everything. Without it, we never would have finished.
Both of us still had pretty tired arms at the end of each day.
Here I am, screwing up a piece of drywall.
Wait! I mean, "screwing in" a piece of drywall.
It was Mike who pointed out that "screwing up"
is probably not the best way to describe what
I am doing in this picture.
The first two sheets went up really fast. That is because there was nothing
to cut openings for. It is not easy at all figuring out how to cut openings for
things like A/C vents, fan mounts, and light fixtures. Trust me, that adds a whole
new dimension to the task, no pun intended. Mike was completely in charge.
Mike used his handheld rotary cutting tool to cut the openings.
Until it got completely clogged with drywall dust anyway.
What looks simply like dirty window trim is actually from a very determined
bird that was trying to build a nest. The previous weekend, it was trying to nest
in an uncovered portion of the porch roof. Mike covered the holes with tar paper,
thinking we'd outsmart the thing. It worked, but the bird just focused on the
window instead. So I gave in and decided to build the thing a shelter while
Mike was busy calculating for and cutting openings in the drywall sheets.
It is a bit rustic, but we sure hope it works.
Notice how dirty his shirt is getting?
Mike attaches the next-to-last piece in the kitchen.
Here I am doing some cutting. Mike jokes that I make him take pictures of me
working so I can say to everyone, "Look at me building my house." He is
convinced that I am trying to take all the credit for this ambitious project.
Really, I just need the photos to prove why I am going insane.
The kitchen is finished.
Sunday, we focused on the bedroom.
Mike does a great job calculating where the holes need to be and making
proper-sized openings. If it were up to me, we'd be doing a lot of patching.
The bedroom is finished, too.
Now that the drywall is up, we are ready to put insulation into the attic.
That's what is on the agenda for next week.
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