Owner Building a Home - Week 16 - Drywall Begins!

The beginning of the week saw us a bit in panic mode as we knew the drywallers wanted to start later on in the week and we had many things to accomplish before then.  The electricians needed to finish up so the inspection could happen.  The electrical inspector only comes on Wednesdays so if we were not ready this Wednesday, we would have had to wait until the following week.  We NEEDED to be ready.  The electricians worked hard and long and were able to have everything completed before the inspector arrived. 

While the electricians were finishing up, the foam insulators arrived to seal each joist cavity between the basement and main floor and between the main floor and the second floor with expanding foam insulation.  They started early on Tuesday morning and were finished mid-afternoon. 

Once the electricians were finished, we started to add the poly (plastic) to the ceiling on the second floor.  Jay went around and cut all the plastic for each room and stapled it in place. 

I followed behind and applied acoustical sealant (black, sticky, tar-like goop!) where the walls and ceiling met, joining the poly on the walls to the poly on the ceiling, sealing it all up.  Sometimes a little Tuck tape (wide, red "packing" tape made for this purpose) was needed but for the most part, it was accomplished with acoustical sealant and staples.  I had my arms over my head for most of that day and long into the night and then back into the morning.  I worked until 1:30pm that night, trying to finish up but I just had to quit.  My arms were too sore to go on.  I was able to accomplish a lot but not all.  The next day the building inspector was coming to inspect the insulation and the poly so we really needed it finished.  Turns out my middle girl was sick the next day so I stayed home while Jay and Mr.W worked at the house.  All I could think about was whether or not they were able to finish before the inspector arrived.  They finished the ceiling on the second floor but were unable to finish all the other poly that needed to go up.  Fortunately the building inspector has seen our work until this point, asked a few questions, and knew we would finish up just as we were supposed to with no shortcuts.  He gave the approval to continue with drywall!  So, on Thursday, while Jay and Mr.W got the 2nd floor ready for drywall and received all the drywall, I slept.  I was so tired that it took until about 4pm on Thursday afternoon, after sleeping away most of the day, that I felt like I could continue. 

Friday morning the drywall crew arrived to board all the ceilings. 

Saturday they finished boarding 95% of the second floor.  What a difference drywall makes! 

While they were working on the drywall, we were running all the low-voltage wiring through the house.  That includes doorbell wire, thermostat wire, HRV wire, computer, TV and telephone cables - an electrician is not required for that.  We also decided at the last minute to rough-in central vac.  We have no intentions of buying a central vac system for quite some time but if we do decide to get it in the future, the rough-in will already be in place.  So we worked around the drywallers to get those outlets and sweeps in place.  I was also working just ahead of the drywallers installing the sound-proofing insulation in the bathroom walls and in our bedroom walls.  We are also trying to get the main floor ready for drywall in about another week so we were trying to finish up some duct work, make a laundry shoot, build (or at least think about building) bulkheads, etc. 

"Funny" story - my HVAC guy (my dad) went caribou hunting in the great white north.  He was supposed to arrive back at home on Monday night and finish up our ducting before leaving for Kentucky on Friday morning.  Well, due to heavy rains in the north, he was delayed in coming home by 3 days, arriving home late on Thursday night only to leave again on Friday morning.  Needless to say, our ducting is not complete . . . yet.  But Mr.W is quite knowledgeable on many things and we have already completed some of the duct work.  A little bit remains but that should be finished this week.  That way the drywall company can work on the main floor in a week and won't have to leave sections undone. 

In just over 1 week our fireplace will be installed but before then I need to figure out how I want the whole fireplace wall to look.  We bought our stone to surround the fireplace on Friday night but now I need to know how tall to make the mantle, what I want the sides to look like, etc.  A lot of decisions but it all factors into how it is framed and drywalled.  So much to think about!  Makes me so thankful for Google and all the inspiration that I can find there!  Since the drywallers will be mudding/taping all this coming week on the 2nd floor, I also need to think about paint colors.  In another week we could be priming and then painting.  And, of course, all the bedrooms are on the 2nd floor and each child wants a different color so I think I need to spend some time in a Benjamin Moore store this week figuring that all out!  Whew!  What a week!  It is tiring just thinking about it all so it is a good thing this is Sunday and my afternoon nap starts right now!  :)