Drywall is Up

Drywall is finally up, inspected and approved...another milestone in this very long marathon! Corner bead is being added to the window openings and the new drywall is being taped and mudded before its final inspection.

It is always amazing to me the difference drywall makes in the process. Its often difficult to get a feel for a space while it is in the framing stage, but once the drywall is in place the rooms become real and space can be visually recognized. In the room below I created a larger closet and moved back the original wall about 12". In the framing stage visitors weren't able to see much of a difference, but now the room feels much larger now that the drywall is up defining the new space.

With any luck, I can start paint next week. This will be the one "sweat equity" project that I will be attempting and at just the right time. The budget is getting thin and with my labor we should save a substantial sum of money (that has already been spent anyway!)

I was really unhappy to find a crack on the top of the low stucco wall close to the front door. Its been an especially rainy couple of months, and unfortunately, water has leaked into the wall structure swelling the studs, causing the top of the wall to crack. We could re-stucco at an additional cost, but my concern is that it may not be a permanent fix. Plan B is to seal the crack and cap the wall with a simple piece of exterior paint grade wood. Certainly not my first choice, but it is the most practical at this point in the project as well as the budget. You can't always get what you want, but to get to the end sometimes you have to compromise to find a solution that will work with the visuals as well as the budget.