Putting the rooms in the bedrooms… and the beds too!

Yes, you read right. The last week and a half has been a drywalling blitz. It upset me terrible not to mention this in the last post, but there’s so much visible stuff going on I we needed a post taking the long view.

As of now, the back bedroom is done! My roommate’s moved on up from the kitchen.

Remember, when I gutted it, the roof slanted in every direction, and it was kinda crazy looking. We had to build a false ceiling that made sense aesthetically.

Because it was kinda low, I made it slant in part of the room, and was careful to make sure the spot where the ceiling slope changes lines up with the break in the wall.

I also love how the shadow of the original tiny closet is still visible. Inside the closet the box around the plumbing stack got a little less attention to detail.

On to the front bedroom, which is a little behind the back one. First, remember how it was when I started. Silly closet and dead space around the chimney.

Front bedroom closet

I decided to put the bed on this wall, so I now have it framed out for twin bookcases recessed into the wall on either side of the chimney. I lost about 3 square feet but gained a wall, and I think having books within reach of the bed will be great. Here’s the wall before we covered it all up with Sheetrock. You can see that there was already some wasted space around the chimney and I’ve added a little bit more.

The outside wall of this room was plaster on brick, so I used rigid insulation glued up and Great Stuff sprayed into all the gaps between and behind the foam boards for a good seal that will protect the brick. Where there were gaps I cut holes in the foam board and then sprayed in the Great Stuff until it foamed out, and screwed boards in temporarily to hold it all up.

To put in the drywall, we used 2 1/2 and 3 inch fluted masonry nails. Then we piled stuff against it so I didn’t even get you a good photo, but trust me, it looks like drywall. Protip: the 3 inch nails work better for this.

And let’s get one more shot of that chimney wall. So clean! The bookcase alcoves are gonna stay covered up until the windows are replaced and moldings reinstalled. Once I know the exact height I’ll cut them open. You can still kinda see their outlines here though.

Onward and upward, I’ll have the odds and ends finished off soon. And we’ll use up or throw away most of those drywall scraps. But first, it’s time to clean the living room and clear the kitchen!