Tools of the Trade

Happy (almost) Friday!

You should really play this in the background as you read.  I'll wait.

I've been a destructive little minx this week.  We have some grand plans for the spaces between our joists on the wall because, frankly, they ugly.  But there was one part of the drywall that was bowing out and wasn't installed flush because, as we later found out, there was a nail in there that sticks out just far enough to be a nuisance.  I thought a long screw through the drywall might attach to something behind it but nothing was long enough.  Then I thought I'd "tap" it in with a rubber mallet and just before, I thought, "this is going to go really well or really bad."

It went really bad.

I couldn't stop laughing.  It's like that laugh that is borderline "of course that happened/FML" or calling the dudes with the white jackets.  It was in a delicate area, as far as there being physical obstacles, because that's how we do.  We have a capped gas line from the kitchen hanging as well as a live electric wire for the outlet for the scale.

There were box cutters, mallets, and hammers

... and it left quite the mess.

I worked up a sweat finally getting it done and underestimated just how much drywall dust I was sucking in because that's all I could smell the rest of the day, hacked up during my workout and had crusted in my eyes the following morning.  When Hurricane Anele finally blew through, I had what I was looking for.

I took out the old insulation and grabbed my hammer and chisel and got to work on removing the construction adhesive around the edges so I'd have a clear path of wiggling in my new piece.  I replaced the insulation with some extra we have from putting it up in the garage.

I measured three times to hopefully cut it as precisely as possible.   Unfortunately, as we know, nothing is ever square from top to bottom or side to side.

I made my marks with my measuring tape and used my drywall square to make a line from mark to wonky mark.  I used the box cutter along the square and prayed to the DIY guardian angels to let the line snap cleanly in both directions.  Thankfully, it did and I was pretty proud with the final result.

I prayed that I would be able to just slide it in with no issues but I knew that would be a Christmas in July miracle.

I thought it was just the live line that is stapled to the joist that was the problem and I couldn't get the leverage I needed.  I turned off the breaker to the outlet and got some needle nose pliers to try to wiggle the staple out but it wasn't budging no matter how much leverage I got.  I noticed it was zip-tied to the metal part a foot down the joist so I snipped the tie hoping it would give me enough slack to be able to pull the line out.  It did but the drywall was still a little too wide and tall by about 1/2" which made no sense given the measurements to the closest ends.

I used the drywall saw the Mr picked up yesterday along with the 2x2 drywall patch to hopefully be able to shave off enough.  It took two tries but it finally fit!

I put two screws in and caulked around the outside and turn the breaker back on.  All I have to do is trim some of the insulation paper that is sticking out of the bottom making it look like it's still bowing out.

I've gotta say, I'm pretty proud of myself.  I know it looked like a small job but it wasn't and there was a lot more to it than there should've been but those lines caused some headaches.  It's a small thing in the scheme of everything but it means we can start the next phase of the project which is both exciting and a little scary.

How have you made yourself proud lately?

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