My husband busted out our bedroom all by himself and we finished the living room/dining room together the same weekend. We pulled up the last of the carpet before we started each room.
TIP-Cut the carpet in narrow long strips. Roll it up and tape it. This makes for small pieces that are easier to lift, carry and fit in the garbage can. No need to roll the whole room up and break your back.
When we removed our carpet we were left with enough sand to have our own private beach. No wonder my allergies have been horrible the last four years. This is whats lurking below all you carpet lovers.
My environment is chaos. Unfinished ceilings above me, dusty concrete below me. In our living room sits only our love seat, the television and a billion drywall tools. Our 6 person dining room table has been downsized to two chairs. Our bedroom consists of our bed and two nightstands pushed together that I am using as my computer desk. The office, guest room and garage are so packed full of our belongings we can hardly walk into the room. And if you are brave enough to attempt it, you will come out injured, if you find your way out at all. It is crazy people! I'm surprised we haven't lost our dogs in this mess.
So after we finished scrapping the popcorn we were left with an unpleasant ceilings. This surprised me because all the "Popcorn Scrapping Tutorials" I read never mentioned this issue. They advised a "little Spackle to the holes" and then moving onto paint but that's not realistic. You are left with drywall tape damage, uneven joints and lose boards that need to be screwed back in place.
For what the ceiling had been through it was okay but not okay enough to cover with paint. I jumped on the phone to the only experienced drywall professional I know to get some advice. Not only did he give me some tips he was over the following weekend to mud the guest room and hallway. We are eternally indebted to him for that! What an awesome guy! Look at the fabulous job he did. This is before we sanded, primed and painted. After pictures to come in another post.
He tried to instruct/show us how to mud the ceiling. My husband and I gave it a go but failed hard. This is a talented skill you don't pick up over night. We were making the job a bigger mess for him so we had to retire early from that profession. Because of that, I don't have a good drywall tutorial. I am all for DIY but my advise is, if you have never done this before, then hire out! And that's what we did.
So as we wait for our ceilings to be finished I day dream of what flooring we will install. (Stained concrete? Wood looking tiles? Vinyl planks?) I cant wait to have my house back. Its been a huge challenge for this "everything has to be in its place or I will have an anxiety attack" girl. But I know it will be worth it in the end. The ceilings look 1000 times better and they are not even finished. I'm also really happy we knocked them out before the new flooring goes in.
Till next time
Amber
