So this is where we were after the demo had been completed. Walls and floors had been torn out. Ants and mice and their nests had been removed. We were down to the studs and a clean slate.
Rebuilding took a lot longer than I imagined it would. I needed a lot of help from Ben. He had work and his own projects going on elsewhere on the property, but he took a couple of weekends to get me going with things that I am not physically able to or comfortable with doing, such as haul in new chip board sub-floor, all the electrical, install a window and hang the walls and ceiling. You know, not much, just a couple of things.
I’m not a fan of working with electricity. I understand the basics but when it comes to adding on new outlets, rerouting switches or splitting wires for more than one function I leave it to others. Ben explained every step to me along the way and why it worked the way it did, but for the most part his words just bounced off my head. How much longer until I get to paint? I did install the out door light next to the door. That’s the extent of my electrical know-how.
Ben then offered to pick up a new window and install it on the front of the shed. That was a great idea. The shed has windows at both ends, but nothing that looked towards the house and back yard. He built in the frame, cut out the siding and installed the window. It brightened the space up a lot.
Winters in the Pacific Northwest are cold and damp. I love the look of sheds that have open rafters and painted stud walls, but that couldn’t happen here. This place needs to be warm. Despite my desire for a open airy look I did the sensible thing and stapled in all the insulation. Despite having every square inch of myself covered that stuff will find a way to work it’s way in make you itch like crazy!
We were then ready to put the walls back up. I thought we would put drywall back in, but since the space won’t have heat turned on all the time, Ben was concerned about it getting damp and falling apart. So we went with plywood. The shed is old and not square, so hanging walls was a bit frustrating. Boards were tight at the bottom and spaced at the top. Not to worry, I had a plan for that.
The ceiling was extremely hard. Ben bought a framing nailer (does anyone else get a new tool for every project?) to make it go faster. Faster is definitely better because plywood sheets are heavy and I can only hold one up for so long while on a ladder.
Finally, we were at a point where I could take over. Bead board went on first. Ben had already cut the panels down for me so all I had to do was put them up. They went on rather quickly. Too quickly one might say. As I made my way around the room I had to move the air compressor and plug it in on the wall where I had started. Wait a minute. I know I should be able to plug it in down here. Where is the outlet? I had forgotten to make cut outs for the outlets. So very carefully I had to pull the panel off, cut the hole and reinstall.
I’m going to offer you a little tip here. Turn the power off before you pull an outlet through to the front of paneling. Please do as I say not as I do. I neglected to think about the power and got a really good reminder as it shot up my thumb.
Yes, I did need all those tools and yes, I did get tired of moving them and tripping over them.
Next came the window sills, trim, chair rail, and crown. Those are all basic skills: measure, cut and nail.
The entire space was painted with primer. I was going over raw plywood so the guys at Sherwin William’s suggested an oil based one. It had the most putrid chemical smell to it. I kept the windows open to let it air out, but the stench lasted weeks.
I finally just went and painted over it and hoped the paint would seal in the smell. It worked fairly well. Since it is a shed in the garden area, Ben was really wanting the walls to be painted green. I tend to paint everything blue so this was a nice change.
Remember how I told you that the plywood panels on the walls didn’t come together at all the seams. No problem. I picked up some strips of wood for trellis repair and gave the upper walls and ceiling a board and batten look.
Everything got caulked and painted one more time.
Last thing to work on was the floor. I needed Ben to come back out for this part. We put in another layer of plywood. We couldn’t decide on what type of flooring to install. Should we do a laminate, vinyl, real wood? I was done with all the cutting and measuring so I opted for deck paint and called it good. The base boards went on quickly and it was done!
The two older kids put together their new Ikea desks and chairs and hauled them out. The first piece to go in was a chair. It was “gently” placed down with a loud thud and there we have it, the first gouge and black mark on the floor. Nothing like breaking it in first thing! Teary eyes and a look of dread/panic covered a little face. Thankfully, it happened to be a day when things just roll off my back. Hugs were given and we continued.
So, here it is. Our school house is put together.
I am planning on building shelves and bookcases and maybe sewing some curtains. There will be plenty of opportunities for some fun d.i.y. decor to be fashioned along the way and I can hardly wait to get going on it.
Since this shed is close to the house in the back yard I plan on using it for more than just a school house. I can picture it as a food and beverage room for our large family birthday party barbecues. It could be a camp out cabin for the kids when they have sleep overs. Some day it may become, dare I say, a She-Shed for my craft projects. Who knows? All I can say is that it’s nice to have another usable space and hopefully the distractions from schoolwork will be minimized.
So, have you been inspired to take on some junky area and turn it into a usable space? Let me know what you’re planning. I’d love to hear about it!
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