Now we're getting somewhere

All in all, it was a really good thing that we had to do the bathroom first, because now we're well past the point of no return, and I'm starting to get very enthusiastic about the progress.

Once the framing was done, drywall called. Not my favorite thing in the world, but not the worst, either.

Since the walls have to look nice and meet the ceiling cleanly, I really have to bite the bullet and scrape the stupid popcorn out in the hall. Ugh.

However, we have a new weapon in our arsenal. Our friend Jo Ann loaned us her Hudson (actaully it was an Ace Hardware one) sprayer. Holding a little quart-sized spray bottle over your head and squeezing thousands of times is absolutely for the birds.

With the sprayer, you can lay on a ton of water at once -- and no more sore shoulders, either. Trust me: When you're scraping popcorn, this is THE most important tool you'll ever find.

Jeff and I got on our ladders and started late Saturday afternoon. And surprise: About two and a half hours later, we were completely finished. Thank you Jo Ann!

The approach up the steps from downstairs is a bit more dramatic now, eh?







A better view of the new laundry room, all framed, drywalled and ready to tape and mud. I used an old piece of paneling over the plumbing as an access panel, just in case there's ever an issue. It's behind the laundry machines, so nobody will ever see it anyhow. I just consider it an insurance policy.





I also did the wall Jason had to rip out in the bathroom. This was the most time-consuming part of the whole thing, as the pieces were odd sizes and the wall needed switches and a new GFI outlet. The part I dislike is getting the electrical boxes in place, but these actually went in without a hitch.









One part of this really stunk. Jeff was working at his apartment, so I had to figure out which breakers worked which outlets and lights. By myself. Running up and down the steps after every flip of a breaker wasn't my idea of a good time. And of course, the breaker box has zero sense of logic in its numbering.

Tomorrow, the mudding starts. Lucky for me, we're putting in crown molding everywhere, so I won't have any inside corners to do, except for around the top of the laundry and the two new corners there. But at the ceilings, I get to let the joints stay unfinished. That isn't cheating, is it?