PRINCIPLE SUITE – FRAMING AND DRYWALL PROGRESS
Over the long weekend we committed to working hard on the renovation upstairs. We bit the bullet and moved our bed into my home office so we could tackle all the remaining framing and drywalling at once.
Initially the plan was to finish the spare bedroom side of the renovation, where the bed will be once the entire space is finished, and sleep in there. Then we could work on building the bathroom and doing all the framing and drywalling for the closet on the other side which was our original bedroom. This way we would always have a bedroom to retire to and wouldn’t feel pressured to devote all our spare time to renovating.
We did complete the built-in bookshelf and all the framing, drywall and mudding needed for that area on the spare bedroom side. We also painted that side and fit the custom headboard for later install. Once we started planning our next steps, and seeing how time consuming it was going to be to try to keep the wall up between the two sides through construction, we pivoted and just ditched the idea all together.
We wouldn’t get very far installing flooring without taking the wall down. It also made moving the door over more difficult, as the wall was in the way. There would also be 2 rounds of drywall and mudding (the most messy part); one, to complete the bathroom wall and closet area, and a second round to patch the walls and ceiling when the wall came out and we moved the door.
We made the decision to move our bedroom to my home office and just do all the framing, drywall, mudding, painting and flooring all at once. The work we already did on the custom bookshelf/storage area definitely helped speed up the process. That was a tedious, time consuming part of the project so it was nice to still be in our old bedroom for those few weeks.
So…..its a pandemic. And I no longer have an office outside of the home. I am very fortunate to have a home office that is closed off from the rest of the house. BUT, now my bedroom is also in the office. I literally just live in this room now.
Regardless, it was a good decision. We made so much progress this weekend. I mean, everything hurts and we’re dying, but the framing, and drywall is done.
We went from this:
To this:
After a brief pause to discuss storage vs. open space we changed the size and shape of the closet a little bit and finished off the framing. The closet became a little longer, and a little less deep. About a foot either way. This layout leaves more open space in the bedroom while still giving us a decent closet size.
Then we moved the door. From here:
To here:
And then hung all the drywall!! We also installed the pocket door hardware on the bathroom (still waiting on the door), and got the electrical work sorted out for the bedroom area.
We have all the mudding, and corner beads still do to, which will take a while between coats, drying and sanding. But once that is done I can paint! Then we move on to flooring!!! Somewhere in there we will also install the doors, once they are available to pick up.
It seems like its so close!! but I know with the time we have to dedicate to the project, that it will be a little while before the bedroom is finished and we can move back in.
As for the bathroom. We won’t be proceeding with that renovation before we finish the bedroom. The plan now is to get the bedroom completed so we can live in there, and then start the bathroom. The goal is to have a functioning bathroom before September 2021!
