Friends - Hard work continues

This challenge is much different from my last one.  I was doing all the work on my last challenge.  Since my friends live about 40 minutes away and I still have my non-designer day job, this challenge is one that I can only advise and offer help on sporadic weekends. 

My previous post left my friends with the remaining insulation installation.  They finished the same night I left with 1/2 of a panel left to spare.  Great job on their part for estimating this extra but necessary step to finishing off this laundry/entry room.

I joined them again at a later date to start drywall installation.  We started with the ceiling which has the most angles and was the most difficult due to the weight of the material.  With such a small room and 2 out of the three of us over 6 feet tall, we did not consider building a drywall support. 

This might have eliminated some sweat!

After about 6 hours of work, we had only about 6 panels up on the ceiling.  We were quite aware that the walls and ceiling were not square.  We also had enough drywall to make a mistake or two on our first attempts.  Early on we all appreciated the fact that this is a job that should be done by professionals.  When two people take measurements twice and both of those people take part in cutting the material, you would think you will have a near perfect shape to install.  NOPE! 

Let me remind you of how the ceiling looked before...

If only we thought to save the paneling that was removed to use as a template!

Several swear words and hours later...

This is the corner where the washer and dryer will live.

Chris and Lu finished the remainder of the drywall installation and a coat of joint compound over their week of vacation that followed.  There were quite a few large gaps to fill, so additional joint compound was needed.  One lesson my friends reported learning: don't use plastic corner beading where paper corner tape could be used.  It worked fine on outer corners, not inner.  This proved very difficult to cover with the joint compound.  Had I been there, I might have suggested something like this for inner corners:

Nevertheless, they got the job done including putting up a plywood backing for a future shelving install.  We won't have to search for a stud to secure the shelf with this plywood in place.

Wood panel in preparation for shelving to come

First layer of 'mud'

WORK ON THE FLOOR

While Chris and I hung the drywall on the ceiling (and hours after) Lu worked on removing the old tiles off the floor.  She started this only after the tile material tested negative for asbestos.   I didn't get a chance to find out which kit they used, but this one is from Home Depot:

Additionally, they needed to repair the cement slab that cracked in the corner.

In two weeks I hope to get back to helping Lu and Chris, either painting or building storage.  I know they want to get their laundry room back in working order as soon as possible.   In the meantime, see my home office challenge update below.

An update on my home office

Would you believe I found an area carpet and I'm still on budget?  When I completed my home office (see final post for The Challenge), I had only $28 left.  I went shopping at Menards for a light for my friends' laundry room and found a very shaggy 5 x 7 area rug with all the appropriate colors for my office.  It was under $25.  I snatched it up with no guilt.  It adds a bit of luxury underfoot.

Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend, and as usual, let me know what you think.