Wet Sanding???

Today and yesterday were dedicated to sanding, and this time it was wet sanding. We heard about it from a friend, you use a sponge and wipe the area down, and feather the edges. This is done on the first and second coats, the third is done with sand paper. Our first coat was a bit rough and this method wouldn't work. The second coat went on smother and the wet sanding method worked great. Thank you Beth for the tip.

For this job here are the tools of the trade. Once the mud is wet again,
it's easy to scrape down any little ridges.

Round Two - Part Two

It only took just over 5½ hours to put on the second coat of mud in the dining room, hallway and living room, not bad actually and I don't feel too bad, I'll wait until tomorrow to call it though. You may be able to see some of the work today in these pictures, because some of the mud is still wet and you can see how the seams are getting wider as I flair out the edges. I didn't add comments under the pictures, I figure you can figure out what is what by now.

Round Two

Yesterday was a day for sanding and not worth taking a picture or two, too dusty. Today I put on the second coat in the kitchen. It took a little longer because I wanted the corners cleaner and overall smother to reduce the sanding time. To took about 4 hours and tomorrow I'll get the rest done. Here are couple of pictures of the second coat, not that you can seem much difference between coats.

A Quick Job

Today was going to be a rest day, but I had one more little job to do. I forgot to replace the edging on a beam that crosses the hallway. There was a rounded edge piece installed and we want clean, crisp lines so out with the round and in with the square. It didn't take long and the mud is on, so I'll just have to wait another day to start sanding. I'd rather do it all in one day rather than a bit at a time. Here are a couple of shots of today's quick job, not much to see, and now for a rest (½) day.

Looking from the addition doorway.

Nice clean lines.

First Layer Is On

Today we finished putting on the mud, as expected it took a while, but it up. We tried to keep it thin, some areas will require some build up and I'm afraid I got a little over zealous in some spots and it may not be dry tomorrow. If not I get a rest day, and will need it.

The dining room's east wall, doorway to the front entrance.

Looking into the kitchen, the ceiling doesn't
have that bow in it anymore.

Around the front door.

Looking into the living room from the dining room doorway.

Looking back out.

Above the TV.

Not as many joints on this ceiling as the kitchen.

Repairs finally under way from an old re-wiring job.

A New Time Line

When we pulled up the floors upstairs you may recall we found a paper dated 8 January, 1898, and under the floors in the living room, dated in the early 40's, as well under the vinyl in the dining room, dated between  1938 - 45. Well we thought we'd add to the time line, we put in the walls a paper dated 20 November 2012 and a five dollar bill. Lets hope it stays there for a long, long time.

Here is the paper and money, in a sealed bag.

Into the wall it goes, drywall back up, taped and mud is on.

Tape and Mud

I got the seams taped this morning and only got the mud up in the kitchen, and that part took a mere 2½ hours. Lots of seams and a few areas that will require a little build up, but once it done it will be fantastic. Tomorrow I should be able to get the mud up in the living room, hallway and dining room.

Lots of mud which means lots of sanding.

I didn't put it on too heavy so the sanding shouldn't take too long.

Starting to look like a room again.

It's The Little Things

Over the past couple of days I have been taking care of the little things that needed to be done before I start taping and mudding tomorrow. Some of those jobs took more than I expected and others were just plain time consuming. It seamed like I didn't get anything done at the end of the day but looking back they were busy. Yesterday I put up the last bit of drywall that caps off the opening between the kitchen and dining room. I then put up corner bead, that metal corner protection piece, I had 9 to install. Six around the opening at the kitchen, two by the cellar door, and one by the front door. I also cut away the old window frames that extend out past the drywall in the bedrooms. I need it to be flush with the walls, so we can install our 4 inch trim later. Today I cut back the last one and moved two light switches by about 2½ inches, to make room for the door trim later on. While all this was going on today our neighbour dropped off a load of manure for ReBecca's (our) garden, to give it nutrients for next year. A trade off for some gravel they need, a good trade in deed. Today ReBecca and I dug up two trees and put them in pots by the front door for Christmas, (pictures later on).

Looking into the dining room, opening finished off.

Looking back into the kitchen.

The cellar door.

You my be able to see the little piece in the corner.

The lights switch in my office moved over.

The light switch in the spare room moved.

Feeding the garden.

Just About There

We're almost ready to start with the mud. I have a couple more window to cut the old frame back to the drywall, so when we put up the trim it will be flush, I did the two in the living room today. I also spent most of the day working on one small area beside the front door. It was originally behind the bulkhead that housed the plumbing from the upstairs bathroom. It didn't need to be perfect as it was hidden but now that it's exposed I had a bit of work to make it solid. I had to put thin pieces of plywood into the wall cavity and behind the drywall by the dining room door to secure those pieces. Then some 2 x 4 's inside the wall to act as supports for the boards I installed to cover off the opening and have something to screw the drywall to. Once the inside boards were in place I had to spray foam some of the cavity as it is an outside wall and when that dried I filled the rest with insulation, taped down the vapor barrier and then put up the second boards. Then came the drywall, I also just put up two pieces that covered the floor joists by the stairs, to clean it up for now.

This may only be 8 inches wide but a lot of effort went into it.

The drywall is back up and I added a filler strip at the top of the door.

A couple of pieces to clean up the stairs a bit.

A New Look

With the drywall up it gives the hallway and living room a new look and we like it. Things are coming along, I have a few more strips of drywall to put up near the ceiling at the top of the existing drywall. We gained about 2 inches after pulling down the old ceiling and after the new one went up I still have about 1½ inches at the top of the walls to ceiling. So I cut small pieces, put them in as fillers. Much easier to tape and mud and sand and mud again in light layers, verses the alternative of waiting for an 1½ inch cavity of mud to dry.

From the front door looking in the living room.

Looking back down the hallway.

Look from the south east corner of the living room,
where my chair will be.