DIY in NB

Because I can't not have a project going on...

...why not get one going in the homeland.

Take my parents' living room.

Sound Proof

More specifically, the ceiling tile.  I remember the day it went in.  My dad said it was a weekend.  And after the weekend was over, the project never really got finished. 

Rough Around the Edges

Today, he said something like "I told your mother I'd finish it off tomorrow and tomorrow never came.  That was over 20 years ago." 

Uh-Huh.

Bay Window

Here's the nicest part of the room.  Most of it is going.

Prep

But today I focused on the tile. 

Removal!

It only took about 40 mins from the time I started to the time I finished.  I pulled each tile down and handed them off to mom.  Dad was golfing. 

Tile Gone!

Of course, the minute he got home, he went to work.

Demo

I got worried how we were going to get the metal off the ceiling.  The installer (ahem, dad!) put everything up using nails.

NAILS!

Big nails.

Serious Nails

These nails are meant for serious wood.  The ceiling is serious plaster. 

The whole time he ripped the metal and nails out of the ceiling we kept muttering, "what crazy guy put this up?"  "what was he thinking?"  "why would he put the nail so close to the end of the rail?" 

Who knows....dad!!??

17 Rows of Nailed Metal

But soon enough we were done.

Patchy

So I got to work on spackling. 

Left = Filled, Right = Holes

There must have been at least 100 holes.  All. Over. The. Ceiling.  Plus black cobwebs.  And dead spiders.  Ew.

But I did it.  Here's the before and after so far from today.

Before Tiles

After No Tiles

I know, hard to see.  But living in it...it's a biiiig change.  The ceiling feels a foot higher!

Before

After

Crown moulding will make a big difference here.  Oh yes.  I said crown moulding.  And new window coverings.

The majors we're addressing tomorrow are the prep on the old water leak seen above and the crack seen below.

Wall to Wall Ceiling Crack

Dad's good friend Rick S. is coming over to address the crack.  He's a paint and woodworking pro that I'm excited to learn the ropes from.  I have sanding and scraping (along this crack) to do in the morning before he comes. 

I better get some good rest.