I get a little lax at times when it comes to documenting my work. Mainly I think it is because I feel more like working than writing, or that I don’t want to take the time to take some pictures and put them up on the computer. So, I figured in lieu of pictures, I would just write and worry about putting photos up when I get around to it. After all, the people need information, right?
So Labor Day weekend my parents came down with the purpose of helping me with the basement. I had gotten a start on the drywall, but it was certainly a long, tough job for one person to do alone. My dad and I spent parts of 3 days working in the basement finishing the drywall in the bedroom, and continued on into the rest of the basement. The drywall lift mentioned in my last post has again proven invaluable. It almost feels like cheating.
One part of the job that had become increasingly frustrating was cutting out the holes for electrical boxes and recessed lights. I was spending about 15 minutes or so per fixture in measuring, lining up, cutting and adjusting to make sure the opening was in the right place and the drywall would fit into place. Considering I have 20 or so lights in the ceiling and at least that many outlet and light switch boxes, we are talking about 10 hours of work. I decided this was just too much, so I did some research and eventually bought a rotozip spiral saw. http://www.rotozip.com/en-us/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=DR1_1. This little tool allows me to put a drywall sheet up, fasten it in place, and then cut out the opening for the light or electrical box with the drywall in place. With some practice, this cuts my time down from about 15 minutes to about 30 seconds for fixture. And, as a bonus, it makes the openings much cleaner. Yet another specialty tool that has made the job a whole lot easier.
In addition to putting up more sheets, we actually got started on the mudding and taping process. Melissa and my mom actually lent their hands here, where Melissa started taping and mudding the seems in the bedroom, while my mom worked on mudding over the screw heads. All-in-all, we all had our hand in the mix that weekend.
