someone had our downstairs paneled and we don't like it. thankfully there was drywall behind it so that will keep our costs down

 

Looks like a lot of fun. Are you planning anything big, or just finishing the dry wall?

 

just finishing the drywall.
i have to add a sconce to the hallway for more light. relocate a wired smoke detector and add an electric baseboard heater with a wall thermostat.
rip out the carpet on the one side and replace with tile

we are going to sell in 4 or 5 years so we don't want to do much.


any suggestions

 

Kitchens and bathrooms tend to really add to resale...

 

this is just going to be a hangout room

 

^ Even if you can add in a half bath somewhere down there it would likely help tremendously with resale.

 

That's what I was going to say.

 

you know, the paneling isn't so bad, i've seen worse. My old place had that downstairs, so i just sanded it and wiped it down with mineral spirits. Then put a base primer and painted. It actually came out looking kick-ass, it gave the walls some texture. The only bitch is prior to painting, filling in all the nail holes and the gaps on the panels/wall/ceiling. But after that it was easy. I put up some baseboard and crown molding, looked pretty good IMO.


BTW, build a wooden door over that fuse panel, nothing ruins a finished wall then seeing that ugly gray box.

 

The house I grew up with was wall to wall paneling...

 

we already have 2 full bathrooms now, our place is pretty small and i think this was used as a bedroom before.
growing up we always had paneling and hated seeing it. so the wife and i decided to scrap it.



i may paint that panel the same color of the walls

 

^ Yeah, but do you have any bathrooms on that floor? If not, that is where you will really benefit from adding a small half bath.

 

Just dig a hole in the floor and put a pot down jk I detest wood paneling, so props!

 

the door to the right is where the 2nd full bath is. the other is upstairs

 

^ Ahh, so you're golden then for bathrooms.

Home Theater it is!!

 

 

Wow that is one horrendous drywall job.

I would just paint the paneling white.

 

it was a thought. i wanted to make sure the insulation was properly done to help reduce drafts.
i am going to fix the drywall job the best i can.
we were gonna tile the other half of the floor but i think we may just carpet it

 

update on the project. purchased 5 sheets of drywall, which 4 have been used.

there was a smoke detector located inside the closet, so i relocated it in the hallway.


installed a lightswitch and light inside the closet.

replaced the flourescent lights with bigger ones for more light

replaced the ceramic light in the garage with a 4 bulb flourescent light fixture.

all the drywall is taped. i just need to do a couple more coats of compound to smooth the joints

added a sconce to the hallway for more light

 

Nice courage you got there taking the projoect in your hands....I would add some plaster on those corner edges cus you dont hev enough there, you should spread it out to 12inched wide and try and flaten the surface as much as u can with the plaster cus i can see many places where there is too much plaster and your gonna have a B*tch time to sand ,even it out and you will need to replaster on top of it as well cus you will have some empty spots there

Stay focused and keep us posted on your great project

 

i'll tell you, this is my least fav project. i have gone through 2 buckets of compound. i see an end in sight.

the sanding actually goes pretty quick, which is nice

 

coming along nicely!

 

thanks, i wish the mud would dry quicker. i can't do much else in there until it dries

 

drywall is done and a coat of primer has dried. now we just have to pick up 2 gallons of paint and then finish the ceiling.

i hope to never do drywall again

 

Nice work. Paint the walls first then put the door trim on. You'll thank me later.

 

i did that for all the trim in the house. but at first i taped it and it was real shitty,.

i agree that was the best move by removing it. it gives it such a crisp clean look

 

we're getting there,i just reinstalled the drop ceiling after replacing the edges of the supports for it. they had stain on them and trying to clean em was a waste. so i just replaced em.

i have one or two coats of paint to do on the trim and buy a pack of ceiling tiles to replace a few.

we are replacing the carpet next month with berber, something tan.

and then after all that is done, i will do the wall trim around the floor.

almost there


http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL160.../246120361.jpg

 

 

"Downstairs space"? I'm guessing you watch HGTV...

 

yeah, we have no idea what to call it since it is basically a 2nd living room

 

 

suite

 

we're getting there. i need to get an electrician to wire the baseboard correctly. and we also need to buy new berber carpeting.

 

great.

 

nice job. did you put any texture on the walls? It doesn't look like it, but it can be hard to tell in pictures. Any tips on getting all that drywall and mud smooth enough to not need to hide anything with texture?

 

no texture at all. it is very smooth. i have a few flaws to fix, but most would never really see them..

i would recommend you hire someone to do the drywall. be leive me if you attempt and complete it you will say the same thing.


i guess it really just takes patience more than anything and a lot of time.
it took 2.5 months to go from demo to this. it will take a few more days to get everything just right, but now i have time since i am this far

 

I think I'd like to at least try it myself. What's the process?

Tape and bed all the joints, sand everything after it dries... if you don't do any texture do you put anything else on the sections of the drywall that don't have any joint mud? Or do you just start painting?

 

once the drywall is up you need to use drywall tape. there are several types. the one i used was self adhesive so i did not nee to use and mud for that.

others are brown and required mud for adhesion.

then i used a 8 or 10 inch blade, i can't think of the name of the tool, and spread joint compound over the tape.

try to keep it as smooth as possible and wide .

i sanded by hand with one from lowes and real rough sandpaper. but that will leave a ton of dust.

i did this a few times until desired smoothness.

then i primered the wall with one coat and then 2 coats of paint

 

cool thanks! I can see how that would be a pain... but I gotta at least try before I shell out $$.

 

we got our carpet from lowes. i forget the brand, but we chose berber and some new padding.

my knees hurt like hell from the knee kicking tool.
i would recommend using the more expensive rental carpet stretcher, your knees will thank you.

i still have to touch up the corners with paint, and install some more trim.


i need to do something to cover a 4x4 hole in the wall that is a storage space. i was thinking of using folding doors and cut them down to 4 ft tall.








and the new berber carpet installed

 

lookin awesome!!! I just may pm you for some tips! We are doing our basement too and hope to turn it into a second living room/theater room. I've never done any work liket hat before though...looks so clean!