Chapter 17 - The Walls Came Tumbling Down

Early on in our renovation, we realized that we would have to take down some drywall. The house is over 30 years old and for most of that time, it had been a rental home. So, the walls were covered in mismatching wallpaper, layers and layers of paint with whole lot of bangs and holes. We had a very hard time salvaging the walls as we tried taking down the wallpaper and ended up ripping the drywall as well.



Another problem we had with the walls was the electrical work that had to be updated. During our preliminary electrical inspection, the city inspector decided that ALL of the electrical wiring had to be updated to today's code. When the electricians began running new wire through out the house, a lot more ceilings and walls had to come down as they cut large portions of wallboard all over. Approximately 85% of the house was gutted right down to the studs.

The electrical and plumbing inspections passed perfectly and we had to start putting the house back together. Steve replaced and added insulation where it was needed. It was a miserable job since the temperatures were still in the 100's. Heat, insulation and dust made this very nasty business.

We figured that drywall can not be that difficult to hang - just put the board on the wall and drill in some screws, right? Well, that is right but
not so easy. It takes talent to line up the drywall with the studs and get the seams right. We forged a head and did several rooms, impressing ourselves if I do say so, until a sub-contractor came to bid on the mud, plaster and sanding part of drywall. He gave us a bid for everything, including hanging the drywall for so cheap and so fast, we just set our drills down right then and there. These guys were amazing. What would have taken us a week or two, took them 3 days.
With all of the drywall up, the house feels like a house again. (But I miss being able to take short-cuts and walk through walls). Next, here comes the stilt-walking mudders. These labors strap on stilts and walk around the house, taping the drywall seams and then adding plaster mud. After that drys, they sand the plaster down for a smooth finished wall.