These Walls Went Back Up Again-Part II

Hi Everyone!

Im back with part II of my first ever attempt at rebuilding a wall.  If you havent checked out part I, you can catch up on that post here. 

Forwarning:  This post is a little lengthy.

After we let the first coat of joint compound dry for 24 hours I went back and put on a second coat.  I was going to sand the first coat, then put on the second coat, but I read somewhere not to.  It was suggested that I dont sand until Ive put on all my coats.  In hindsight, I would have sanded between coats.  Just a personal choice. 

First I decided to use my orbital sander to try to make sanding a little easier on my self.  Huge Mistake.  Can we say hot dusty mess.  So I went back to the good ol sanding block to finish up the job.

Now here is where the original plan got tweaked a bit. 

After this step we were set to go into the step where we apply the texture to the wall to match the rest of the wall.  However (comma) a very wise person suggested that since I already have a huge square flat surface, why not just paint it in chalkboard paint and frame it out? I thought to myself, “duh, Shavonda.  Wasnt that the point anyway”. 

I was actually a bit relieved because I was super worried about the texturing step.  I mean, the hopper machine alone was intimidating.  So skipping this step saved us a ton of work, stress and money since we didnt have to rent the machine .

Since I got a little crazy used a bit too much joint compound while mudding, the wall wasnt as flat as I would have liked.  I took this design change as an opportunity to use those flaws and turn them into something interesting.  I decided to sand deeper in some areas than others, giving the wall a “plastered” effect.  I also put some small gouges in some of the areas where id gotten a little mud happy.  I wanted the chalkboard to have a weathered/rough look to it. 

After that I vacuumed up all the dust and made sure the wall was clean and dust free.  Then I primed the area.  Its important to prime drywall before you paint to seal it.  This is what we used:

This is what it looked like after a couple coats of primer

Over the next couple days  I put on the first and second coats of chalkboard paint.  I had been wanting to try the Valspar formula for a while so I took this opportunity to give it a whirl.  I’ve used the Rustoleum Chalkboard paint for previous projects and I heard Valspar was better.  I concur.  Just a personal choice.

Then it was time to frame. 

Now this is where shit things gets sketchy.  Mind you Ive never attempted to frame anything other than sticking a picture in a frame and hanging it all the wall.

Since I dont yet have a miter saw, or any saw for that matter, I decided to purchase an inexpensive miter box set with a saw to make the perfect 45 degree angles for the frame.  I figured I could easily make the few cuts it would take to get the job done.  Since I also dont yet have a nail gun I also decided to purchase a nailset to set the nails just under the the surface of the framing. 

Off to Big Orange I went.  I gathered all my wood, and headed to the hardware section to purchase the miter box set.  The framing was too wide to fit in the box. Dammit .

So it was on to plan B.  And by plan B I mean frantically call everyone in my contact list that I thought could potentially own a miter saw. 

Noone.  So I moved on to plan C.  And by plan C I mean desperately try to sweet talk the guy in the lumber department to make the cuts for me.  Guess where that got me?

Nowhere. So I moved on to plan D. And by plan D I mean just buy the freakin hand miter saw and declare that since I already have a 45 degree triangle at home I’ll figure it out later.

Once I got home I took out my handy “holy hell Im really going to try to make perfect cuts with a freakin triangle and hand saw and the exact amount of wood needed for the framing so there is zero room for error miter kit”  Hey you gotta do what you gotta do, right?

Considering I made the cuts by hand with a completely rigged system and no actual work table, I’d say I did pretty good! Is it perfect?  Hell no!  But I love it, anyway.

 Ive still got to go in and fill all the nail holes and seams with wood putty, then stain it a dark color.  But considering we finished this up just before midnight and my daughter’s birthday party was the next afternoon, I was just happy the darn thing got up!

Ok, so here’s my no BS bottom line wrap up.

1. I will never drywall again unless I absolutely have to!  This was hard work.  It takes finesse.  It takes a special person to drywall.  I aint that person.

2. If I ever were to have to do it again I would definitely get multiple sizes of drywall knives for the mudding portion.  You need at least a 6″, 8″ and a 10″.  It is imperative to use the appropriate knive during teach phase of mudding.  IT. MAKES. THE. DIFFERENCE.

3. I learned a lesson in improvisation.  I surprised myself….thats a good thing.

4. Never use an orbital sander unless you are prepared to take on the mess that will ensue afterwards

5. Remember to prime your drywall before you paint. 

Thats all I’ve got.  Im glad I jacked up the wall in the first place.  If I hadnt, I would never know that I was capable of fixing it. Hmmmmm maybe we can tackle the flooring ourselves afterall. 

I leave you with some words of wisdom..

Posted By: Shavonda Gardner · In: interiors