renovation project :)

[TinyGiant]

the wife and i wanted a larger living room so we started a project last week.

The plan was to remove a wall and combine the space from the livingroom and the bedroom that was next to it.

so we found that there was a chimney and piping in the wall so we could only remove half of the wall. but it turned out awesome.. i'll post a lbefore and after sequence here :)


From when we bought the house
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_8393.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_8394.jpg

from a few weeks ago when i removed the drop ceiling and re plastered the ceiling
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG_5471.jpg

here is from when i cut out the wall last week
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG00057.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG00065.jpg

Now the finished product :)

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG00015.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG00016.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG00017-1.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e208/3mrhythm/IMG00018.jpg


we just have to do the small section of flooring and we'll be done with the room :)

gotta get a TV too lol i sold my old hometheater setup when we moved the bedroom to the old media room

i love learning as i go and the wife and I did 100% of the work .. kept me busy for a week :) lol today i got up and had nothing to do and was a little bored.. lol

[nemelek]

It is nice when you do your own work. You save money and have a feeling of pride. Nice work.

[TinyGiant]

we did the whole project for around $100


there was a closet in the wall i removed .. i took the time to remove all the drywall screw by screw and all the studs so i could reuse the wood and dry wall ..

we spent
$63 on trim, screws and a countersink bit and a sheet of drywall
$21 on paint for the walls
$16 on trim paint, rollers


we had joint compound left over from the ceiling project from a couple weeks before :)

i did get a nice shock from the fire detector circuit before i decided to go flip the breaker on it lol

[YarisSedan]

Wow looks nice. Where and how did you learn to do all that yourself. Just off online DIYs? I am looking to buy a home soon. And i want to have my dream garage. Like drywall over the exposed beams in the garage and epoxy the floor and install garage cabnets for tool storage.

[TinyGiant]

i've watched my dad do things here there when i was younger.. but its pretty easy to screw things to other things :)

the only thing we did that my father inlaw recommended that i wouldnt have done was throw a beam across the inside of the wall we cut out to take the weight off the opening. he brought me a beam (works at a lumber yard and it was actually a scrap that was the right size) and I screwed it up there..

but drywall is rather easy .. just screw it into place and then use joint compound to make the seams disappear.. that part takes a while. I would recommend google searching things .. i do that alot .learned alot about fixing holes in plaster using screen and joint compound etc.

usually i just start a project and learn as i go lol. and google what i dont know. google is an amazing tool.. I did go buy a wiring book from home depot when i rewired the upstairs.

basically you just need to do it. lol thats like 80% of the battle getting the courage to rip down something just do your research first to make sure you have the tools and such. ability will come with the project :) at least thats how i see it :)

[TinyGiant]

hopefull my father in law will have the wood for the flooring this week so we can finish it up . we are going to cut out the part that is all jagged and put the same color but go the opposite direction.. to kinda break up the look in the flooring (alot easier too )

[TinyGiant]

the cubby on the walkthrough was a cool use of the spot. i was proud of that .. lol the wife really liked the idea.

[TinyGiant]

the only oversight was that the beam was put in at a slight angle so that there is a one inch difference between the left and right side. probably because of the flooring missing on one side lol. so the trim across the top didnt go right to the top of the window trim as i hoped.. probably wont be enough to bother me now that all the work ha been done.. lol t would be a huge project to remedy it .. and its nothing by cosmetic

[1NZYaris1]

Very nice ,great finish congrates .:clap::clap:
i miss not having my own home .

[TinyGiant]

yeah it use to KILL me that i couldnt do improvements to the apartment we used to live in. having to ask the landlord all the time lol

[Bob Dog]

Very nice. I have been giving some thought to knocking out a wall or two in my my boxy old house to gain some bigger living spaces. Your project is inspiring me to do it.

[TinyGiant]

Here is the room after accessories ($24 spent on lamps and pillows)

http://www.tinygiantclothing.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/livingroom1.jpg

i did a blog on the whole process

http://www.tinygiantclothing.com/?p=293


more pics there and some other funny stuff :)