I know. I know.
Yet another UGLY post!!
But sometimes you have to get past the ugly, before you can see the beauty of a room.
Right?
Okay-maybe not, but that is what I keep telling myself, because so far, our living room makeover has had a whole lot of ugly!!
If you’ve been following along-you might remember how we removed layers and layers of wallpaper.
And if that wasn’t enough ugly, our next step was repairing what we found UNDER those layers of wallpaper!
But what we found under this drop down ceiling-just might be the worst ugly of all!
Is there really anything worse than a drop down ceiling?
Why yes, yes there is…..
If only you could have seen my face when hubby started tearing down the ceiling panels and we found this! YIKES!
Finding the plaster in such bad shape was not at all what we had planned for.
Not at all.
Truth is-our plan was to remove the panels-slap on some primer and paint-and VIOLA-ceiling complete.
So what’s a gal (and a guy) to do, when life gives them yet another FULL basket of lemons?
Well, we had two options.
Keep the integrity of the ceiling and repair it, or…..
Replace it with drywall.
It was a difficult decision.
Unfortunately, there were no certainties that if we repaired the plaster, more wouldn’t crumble over time-and so safety became the deciding factor.
Drywall it is.
So we purchased the drywall-rented a dry wall lift..and replaced the ceiling!
Using the lift made hanging dry wall SO much easier! If you’ve never used one before-I HIGHLY recommend it! It not only does all the heavy lifting-but it makes the job go much faster!
Hubby calculated twenty minutes to hang each piece of drywall that didn’t require any cutting. Those that did, took about thirty (measuring and double measuring included).
Total time to hang the entire ceiling was about five hours.
Not bad!
I’m crossing my fingers-but I think this is the LAST ugly project of this makeover folks!
The next steps are painting the entire space and refinishing the floor.
And then….it’s decorating time!
I can’t wait!!!
Blessings and hugs,
I hate showing the ugly before pics too! However, if you just avoided them it would be unrealistic. That’s at least what I tell myself. 😉 Best of luck with this remodel. I can only imagine how excited you are with every step!
Thank you, LZ! You are right, it is SO hard to show the ugly-but I agree-sometimes a room makeover is more than just the ‘pretty’ stuff. That is the case with our living room, and I want my readers to see where we began-and what it took it took to get where we ‘HOPE’ to be. I am truly over the moon excited to get to my favorite step-decorating-but it may take a few more ‘ugly’ steps to get there!!!
I can really feel your pain CD! We’re trying to get through all the ugly stuff with our house right now too, just to get to the point that we can even start painting. But it’s gotta be done! That dry wall lifter is cool, I never knew such a thing existed. Hang in there!
Getting through the ugly…. I can relate but at some point you just have to dive in and hope for the best. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished masterpiece. Just keep swimming!
LOL, Carole! I totally agree! When it comes to projects in this house-you just have to jump in with both feet and hold your breath!!
The drywall lift is a lifesaver for sure, Meredith!! Good luck with your house projects-and thank you so much for the support! I need all I can get!!
You know, I like “ugly” posts. Especially difficult, unusual home improvements like this one.
There are so many things to learn and to pin point. Not to mention, repairs like these are the heart of a house.
While you were contemplating the drywall or re-plaster issue, I kept thinking “go with drywall, go with drywall”. It just made – good – sense in this case.
Your hubby is the secret hero here! High five him from me for yet another perfect job. 😀
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post!!! I totally agree with you! Ugly posts can be the most informative posts, and I hope this one helps others when they uncover the surprise we did!! I have to admit-I was also saying ‘drywall-drywall’ in my head the whole time, but in the end, I left the decision up to the one who would do most of the work! You got it-my hero-hubby!! He said to say thank you for the high five! 🙂
It’s always very exciting to fix things in your house! I have a popcorn ceiling and I can’t wait to get rid of it. I’m convinced that it will change the whole mood and style in my living room. I’m going to hire professionals to come in and do the ceiling repairs in a few months and the countdown is on!
Wow, the drywall really helped heal your ceiling. That must have been so stressful to see your ceiling damage. I’m doing some home improvement myself, and I’m going to inspect everything to see where it’s best to spend time and money.
It definitely is exciting to do updates, Pam-especially when you live in a VERY old home like I do!!:) I wish you much luck on your projects! Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. I’ve been away from the blog world for awhile, but I’ll be back soon with a post about the final makeover of our living room.
The drywall did WONDERS for sure! As for stressful…oh indeed! I still can’t believe that the people who lived here before covered up such damage without repairing it. UGH! Anywho..thank you so much for stopping by. I’ve been away from the blog world for awhile, but I’ll be back soon with an update our on completed living room.
Yeah i feel you too Pam…I was also very excited when I got rid of my popcorn ceiling really which was just awful yeckyy 🙂
Great drywall repair post! The ceiling looks good as new, thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Beth! I’m so glad you found the post helpful!