The fire alarms in our condo are hard-wired to the walls. Over the years they’ve become very ugly and yellowed. Particularly the 3 upstairs alarms – one in each bedroom, and one in the hallway about 15 feet up. They all say “Do Not Paint” on them. So last weekend I finally got the last of them painted. You saw that coming, right? I made sure not to paint over the green light. Or the red light. Or the slots where the smoke and fire get in.
When I first considered moving into the condo, back in January 2012, I convinced my husband to let me turn the 2nd bedroom into a GIRL CAVE. Thankfully, he agreed 🙂 I mean, a girl has to have somewhere to hang her dragon stuff, her knife collection, her disco balls, and set up her art studio, right? After spending many hours in the cave over the following 18 months, I finally decided on a color scheme for the walls!
In January 2012 we hired a contractor to install hardwood flooring on our 2nd floor and down the stairs. We already had hardwood floors on the 1st floor. This is one of the few projects we have hired out.
Last year, before I knew much about DIY stuff, I decided to regrout a small portion of the master bathroom tile with… *gasp*… Spackle. I realized my mistake right after doing it… it looked horrible and I could tell it wasn’t going to last. Last week I went to Home Depot and bought some sanded grout in “Natural Grey”. I was hoping it would be a close match to the current grout, but it’s a lot darker. It still looks better than Spackle!
After 2 applications of joint tape, 3 coats of joint compound, and a whole lot of sanding, the repair to the drywall tape crack is finally done! I touched up the wall paint around the repair site and it’s looking amazing! Next up will be painting the ceiling and hanging tiny LED star lights to look like the night sky. The project cost about $20 and took about 3 weeks to complete.
Last week I was in need of drywall tape. I never made it to Home Depot myself, so hubby got me some last week! I applied it along the edge of the ceiling, along the crack, then spread joint compound over it. After letting the compound dry for a few days, I sanded it down smooth. Then I applied another layer of joint compound. Once that’s dry, I’ll sand it down and will probably have to apply a 3rd touch-up coat since I can still see a bit of the tape.
There is a crack in the drywall at the peak of the 15′ girl cave ceiling. It’s not actually a crack, it’s just the drywall tape separating from the ceiling. My first attempt at repairing it involved a drywall patch kit. The adhesive patches stuck to the ceiling for about 30 minutes before cascading to the floor. I definitely need drywall tape! After work I’m heading to Home Depot to pick some up, then it’ll be back up the ladder for me!
Yesterday I bought my first tub of joint compound. I feel like this is one huge step in my ability to fix things myself! I don’t know why I equate owning joint compound with DIY success… but I do. I’m going to use it to patch a crack where the drywall tape has separated from the ceiling in my girl cave. I also bought a patch kit, a joint knife, and a fine grit sanding block to use between layers of compound. Wish me luck!
