Drywall-a-palooza: Part 2

Found the camera. It was on the third floor, on Mike's desk. Of course!

Before I show off the finished bedroom walls, I want to share some of the work that has to happen before drywall goes up.

Modern construction follows a set of strict rules and measurements to ensure that the building process is ultra-efficient, from both a time and materials standpoint. For example, modern studs are generally spaced 16 or 24 inches apart, to ensure that sheets of drywall that measure 4 x 8 feet will fit evenly.

In 1890, the whole house was made of plaster and lath, so it didn't matter if the studs were irregularly spaced. But since we're using modern 4 x 9' sheets of drywall, we have extra work. See the extra piece of pine that's screwed to the stud on the right side of this picture?

And the pieces on the third and sixth (from the left) studs? Yep - those are extra pieces we need to add to make sure there's something that will hold the drywall.

  

For our next lesson in old ass house construction, take a look at the next image. That's new insulation hung on an interior wall. Wondering why we'd ever do that?

Here's the deal. Plaster and lath construction is incredibly heavy, durable, and thick. It's very soundproof. That's one of the main reasons that old houses feel "solid" while modern McMansions feel hollow and echo-y. Most home restorers try to keep the plaster around and have it repaired.

That wasn't possible for us given the thirty or so fist-sized holes in each ceiling, and the scary wiring, and the lack of exterior wall insulation. So we're using insulation around the master bedroom to bump up the soundproofing.

Once all of that extra work is done, the actual walls can be added. Look! Our bedroom!

Last topic for the day: paint stripping. I may have mentioned earlier that all of the woodwork in the entire house has been painted. While Mike and my dad hang walls, I've been stripping paint. Here's the bedroom doorway so far. The next picture represents about 5 hours of work with the heat gun and putty knife.

 

And sometimes the painted woodwork is hard to reach. So I get to use the stilts!

Next up, hallway walls and more paint stripping.