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| GIVING
YOUR KITCHEN A COMPLETE MAKEOVER...AND DOING IT ON A LOW BUDGET AT
THAT---FINISHING AND TEXTURING YOUR WALLS AND CEILINGS PHASE
FOUR "Giving Your Kitchen A Complete Makeover...And Doing It On A Low Budget At That" are a series of articles focusing on the dismantling and rebuilding of a residential kitchen. From start to finish these articles will guide you and instruct you on demolishing your old kitchen and rebuilding your new kitchen--and doing it on a low budget at that. So stay tune and climb aboard for more information on how we gave one of our clients a new and exciting kitchen that he fell in love with...and hopefully, so will you when your kitchen is completed. In 'Phase Three' of "Giving Your Kitchen A Complete Makeover..." we installed drywall on our ceiling and walls. After thoroughly checking the ceiling joists and studs for any type of damage...and after receiving a good bill of health we proceeded to fasten the drywall panels securely to the ceiling joists and the studs. Assuming that the insulation was properly installed, then and only then are we ready to put up the drywall...retrospectively speaking, this has to be done in sequential order unless you plan to spray/blow cellulose insulation. Now that the drywall panels are up and securely fasten to the ceiling joists and studs, we are now ready to begin phase four of our kitchen renovation project. If you have done your work suffienctly then you are now ready to begin the taping and finishing of the drywall. Taping and Finishing Drywall Up to this point most of the work involved in demolishing your old kitchen and/or replacing studs/ceiling joists didn't require a great deal of skill or experience; mainly, a good strong back and just plain old common sense was basically all you needed to do a really good job. With the exception being mechanical work (electrical, plumbing and hvac), you should have been able to navigate your way thus far with relatively few stumbling blocks. However, now we are about to enter a different domain and to be honest with you this is where the grits hit the fan, but don't be too alarmed because I can help you there as well. In the article "How To Tape And Finish Drywall (sheetrock).. Correctly, I tried to give an in depth tutorial on how to tape and finish drywall. If you are a little hesitant about finishing your own drywall then please, first of all read my tutorial on how it's done and give it a honest-to-goodness try before you throw your hands up in exasperation. To be quite frank with you it will take some practice and time to get this right, after all; finishing drywall is a highly skill craft...and most of all you must be patient. But if you're not comfortable taping and finishing your own drywall then by all means contact a reputable drywall finisher in your area and allow them to be your bridge over trouble water. Even though your kitchen is a relatively small area it will require quite a bit of work when it comes to taping and finishing your drywall. Sanding Your Drywall Once your drywall has been masterfully finished, it may require just a little bit of sanding around the edges just to give it that completely finished look, but on the other hand if the finishing didn't go so smoothly you might have to do a lot of sanding! But that's okay too, you see, when I first started out taping and finishing drywall about a quarter of a century ago I spent many, many hours sanding down walls and ceilings..and to be quite truthful about it all, sanding-- itself, is a kind of art form in my opinion. Knowing how to sand to prevent damage to your drywall is just as important as taping and finishing in my book. You don't ever want to sand the joint compound away that covers the tape-- at least not completely, besides, that would be defeating the purpose of trying to conceal the tape in the first place. But if there's a slight mound appearance where the joint compound covers the tape then by all means proceed to sand cautiously to remove the mound and avoid exposing the tape. You see, the objective is to give the appearance that there are no seams in your walls and ceiling, that is, you want your room to appear as if it is one unified panel..and this look can be accomplished by a novice with a little practice and commitment to doing a quality taping and finishing job. Remember, for the most part you want to sand the edges of the joint compound that you previously spread over the seams. As I stated above, please feel free to click on the above link for an in depth tutorial on taping and finishing drywall. Texturing Your Drywall With your kitchen walls and ceiling looking great now, there's only one more thing to do in this phase of the project and that is to texture your walls and ceilings. Truth be told you really don't have to add a texture to your ceiling and walls if you don't want to, however, a smooth finished walls/ceiling can and will highlight imperfections in your taping and finishing work. It can even reveal imperfections in the way the drywall panels were installed. If you are going with a smooth finished look be sure that everything is as close to perfect as humanly possible, if not, you might have to live with some unsightly walls and ceiling. But to avoid this particular scenario I like to apply a thin application of texture. In the article "Life After Acoustic Ceilings...", I gave an in depth tutorial on how to apply texture (orange peel) to ceilings. There's a wealth of information out there (internet) that can help you with this process--just feel free to click on the link above and find out how it's done. Texturing your ceiling and walls with a light uniform texture that is evenly applied can really give your walls and ceiling an updated and charming look. And the good part about it is that you don't need a mountain of experience to do it. All you need is the right information and the willingness on your part to implement it and see it through. That's all! You can do this but it is not something that you can accomplish over the weekend--no, it is far more time consuming than a two day crash course in taping/finishing/texturing drywall. Instead, be prepared to spend several days getting this work done--maybe a week or two. But whatever the case be patient and allow yourself to do the best job that you're capable of doing and enjoy every minute of it. Conclusion Remember, there's no place like home and there is no place in the home like the kitchen. After all, this is where we all like to gather for good things to eat and good things to drink along with family and friends for great times and great fun. So with that in mind why not go the extra distance to ensure that your kitchen is well built and well designed also. As you endure the toil and strife of trying to do most of the work yourself, keep this in mine; when its all said and done you can kick back and relax and just enjoy the family and friends who are there enjoying the fruits of your labor...and I tell you it just doesn't get much better than that. Good luck. If you have found this article to be helpful, please consider making a small donation to the author. Thank you kindly. |
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