Living Room Update

From my experience, there are two magical moments in a room reno: When the drywall goes up and you have that first real-life experience of the physical feel of the room, and when the first coat of primer goes on and those walls suddenly looked finished.

Today I got the primer on the new walls in the living room. :D Big smiley face.

But let us back up. We tore the room apart on the last day of December and through January worked on getting it sealed and all the cracks insulated. Yes, there were big cracks in and between the wall boards. In early February, Troy installed a new front door which made a huge difference. By the end of the month we were installing new windows. In early March we reinforced the ceiling joists. Then Troy started the framing.

Then spring came and summer and we got busy with other stuff. But in late August and early September, Troy picked it back up (the threat of cold weather becoming ever more looming) and got the framing done.

Northeast corner

East wall

South wall

Then it was time for drywall. Troy and I did some together and then Troy's dad came for a day (or two?) and they finished it up. Boom! a room.

Panoramic view from northeast corner to southwest

Northeast corner

Southeast corner

Southwest corner

Northwest corner

The pictures are a little ahead of the story since you can see that the mudding is done in them. Before that could happen, we had to blow insulation in. We did that a few weeks ago on one Sunday. What a difference compared to the weeks of Sundays it took to insulate the shop. Troy just finished the mudding/sanding this afternoon and then I was up with a paintbrush and roller.

Primer. Boom! now you sense what the finished room will feel like.

Panoramic view from northeast corner to south wall.
(The freaky blue streaks are artifacts from the overhead light.)

Northeast corner

Southeast corner

Southwest corner

Northwest corner

I decided to prime the ugly wall in the last photo as well, but couldn't do it today. It's not the finished wall and we don't know what will happen there (plumbing and electric has to happen upstairs first), but even primer will look better than what's there.

Looking around the room before I cleaned up the paint supplies it looked very finished to me. But I realized that to a lot of people this would still be considered the "depths" of construction--there's no flooring, no ceiling, no trim, and an unfinished wall. But we are going to finish the painting, hook up the electrical (Troy's working on it as I type) and move in the furniture. The rest will come later.