Eric wanted to hold band practice at and Marguerite wanted to explore what their options were and how much the project might cost. They were existing clients of my handyman business so they gave us a call to see what advice we could offer.

Homeowners & Home Pros Working Together

The homeowners appreciated our attention to detail during the project planning phase. “When we started researching the soundproofing project, you who really helped us get our bearings and guide our research. We were able to identify exactly what would provide the best results and what we could accomplish within our budget,” reflected Eric after the project was completed.

Marguerite added “… having heard others say they spent more than they planned on soundproofing, we appreciated your caution. You told us the project could quickly turn into a bottomless money pit if it wasn’t properly planned and managed. We knew we were in good hands when someone told us soundproofing isn’t a destination, you stop when you run out of money.”

A Soundproofing Solution

We learned that sound and vibration travel through points where materials come in contact with each other –  the ceiling, walls, and floors. The best resource we found for soundproofing is SoundIsolationCompany.com. There are a variety of ways that rooms are soundproofed depending on the level of quiet you want to achieve (and budget). Some of the more common methods include:

• Installing specially designed channels between the studs and drywall to deaden vibration.
• Installing multiple layers of drywall joined with a soundproofing glue called Green Glue.
• Filling air pockets in walls and ceilings with foam insulation.
• Using Homasote boards instead of traditional drywall for their sound barrier properties.
• Using acoustical doors and windows with sound deadening properties.

Over the course of three weeks, my handyman company helped Eric and Marguerite refine their project goals, budget and project plan. The couple agreed that they weren’t attempting to make the room completely soundproof, but rather they wanted to minimize, not eliminate, the transfer of noise to the living spaces on the other side of the walls from the music room.

To help manage costs, they decided to focus their soundproofing efforts on the two interior walls and the ceiling and leave the exterior walls untouched.

Creating a Soundproof Room for Band Practice

To stay within budget, Eric (our homeowner) volunteered to do the demolition work, which included removing the dropped ceiling and wood paneling on the two interior walls. We also also suggested Eric act as the “helper”. He could learn how to hang drywall from an expert and because we prefer using 2 people to put drywall up on a ceiling, they would save money (you can do it with 1 person using a temporary sling or special tools only a drywall company has).

Working with our technician John, was a great experience for Eric. “He was great to work with and learn from, and he always helped with minor decisions for the space we were working with.”

The construction phase of the project achieved its desired results, finishing on time and on budget. Future phases will include installing new flooring and a soundproof door, things in our plans but not the immediate budget. “We know it isn’t easy to find a contractor who can do everything that your company did at such a high level of quality,” reflected Marguerite. “We hope to work with you in the future for any project too daunting for us to tackle on our own.”

Sometimes you just need more visual space and you can achieve that by changing the configuration of your walls or eliminating them altogether. Many homeowners are opening up their kitchens to one/more adjoining rooms with kitchen/family rooms and kitchen/dining room being the most popular. Last and most expensive, you can add more living space (square footage) to your existing home.

Re-Purpose Existing Space

Most homes when they’re built, leave the attic and basement unfinished. We treat our attic as a storage room and the basement serves many purposes from a children’s unfinished playroom to a workshop, gardening shed … the uses are endless. When you need more finished living space, here are some of the best places to look.

• Finish one or more rooms in the basement or attic. This is where you’re most likely to put an extra bedroom with full or half bathroom. Attics are less expensive as they don’t require the same access requirements to meet fire codes.
• Shift space from one room to another, i.e. bathrooms can be added or made larger by incorporating space from an adjoining room or closet. One project done by my handyman business expanded a master bedroom closet by taking space from an adjoining bedroom. We removed one wall and built a new wall, using underutilized space in a guest bedroom.
• Recover dead space lost in the walls, i.e. under stairs. When measuring custom closets for one homeowner, we explained that they could extend their closet another 4 feet with a sloped ceiling and they loved the idea.
• Create niches for special activities like a home office in the kitchen or a library along one wall of a large hallway. There are often unused walls and corners in the living room or family room that can be used to store all our new electronics including DVDs, CDs, etc. My younger son loved to work with his hands so we created an art center in the dining room with an oak file cabinet (matched dining room furniture) to store all his art supplies.
• Find more space in storage constrained areas by getting rid of things you haven’t used in several years. Alternatively you can move things you use only once a year, to less desirable storage areas such as the garage, attic, etc.

Create More Visual Space

If you’ve found places to store what you own and are just feeling a little cramped, you might find your rooms/house are large enough if you remove/reconfigure some walls.

• Open up walls to create a pass through between rooms giving you more visual space with the same floor plan. This is often done between kitchens and adjoining living/family rooms. A sliding window with a counter from the kitchen to an outside deck, makes it much easier to enjoy outdoor meals.
• Eliminate walls to combine small rooms into larger ones, or make open living spaces that integrate former hallways (lost space) with rooms so you can take advantage of the added space.
• Bring the outdoors inside with larger windows or patio doors. Garden windows and skylights add natural light and enable indoor gardening. Patio doors from the kitchen/family room to the backyard bring in light and make it easy to move between the house and outdoor areas.
• Visual space can be gained by raising ceilings. It’s cost effective when reclaiming unused attic space often found in split level homes.

Add More Living Space

When you absolutely need another bedroom or want some separation between the parents space and the children’s rooms, it might be time to consider an addition. While more expensive that re-purposing the space you have, putting an addition on your house is often cheaper than selling your house and buying a new one. You’ll make tradeoffs in cost and stress — chaos remodeling versus the challenges of moving.

• Outdoor living spaces are very popular today as families look for ways to relax and entertain more at home, i.e.  don’t require long trips with hefty gas bills.
• Over the years, Remodeling.com’s annual Cost vs Value survey shows how remodeling projects that add living space compare to replacement type projects. Here are the projects they track:
  • Attic bedrooms
  • Basement remodel in existing, unfinished space.
  • Bathroom addition.
  • Deck addition (wood or composite)
  • Family room addition.
  • Garage addition.
  • Master suite addition.
  • Sunroom addition.
  • Two-story addition

Ready to get started? Here are some remodeling books to help you find the ideal solution for your home. Another great way to get ideas is to go on some of the house tours (sometimes called kitchen tours but you see lots more than the kitchens) in your community.

This refrigerator only cost us $300 because we got a $1,500 credit for our existing refrigerator, only 3 years old but the freezer was a constant frozen waterfall. My husband gets credit for his perseverance, through 5 service calls – after the second visit, we jokingly said  “… see you next week”, but it got old real fast. Finally there were some lengthy phone conversations until we got a credit, including delivery and disposal of the old refrigerator.

Plan and budget home upgrades before there’s an emergency

Planning Upgrades for Your Home

We can’t predict every way in which a home component will fail so if you’re ready to plan out your major home updates, you can budget one project each year and avoid most emergencies. This table lists the most common interior home components you’ll need to replace as a homeowner, and you might also want to check the corresponding exterior home component table, Home Components: How To-Plan and Budget For Replacements.

Let us know if this table is helpful, or other ways we can help you manage your home.

At Russ’s home, the Broken D Ranch, they were replacing the back porch with a much larger sun room, and hired “Minnesota’s best carpenter” to complete all the structural work while doing the interior finish work themselves.

Home Improvement Tips

As I don’t want to copy Russ’s story verbatim (read Home improvement at the Broken D Ranch), I’ll use snippets to show the fun ways in which he informs and entertains with his writing.

• “… enclosed now and the giant dumpster is gone” tells us that most home improvements start with some type of demolition and framing. These tasks generate huge amounts of debris so a dumpster is pretty typical for larger projects … and you’ll want to decide where to place the dumpster on your property.
• “… interior phase has begun and we are on our own” shows that it’s common to share the workload of a large project with your contractor. In this case “Minnesota’s best carpenter” handled the demo and construction of the new sun room while Russ is handling the interior finish work.
• “Everyone should do this, but not more than once …” made me smile as you’ll either love or hate the work and you won’t know until you’ve tried your first project. Alternatively you can volunteer to help a good friend with their project but it’s got to match in size and complexity to really test your commitment.
• “… repeated trips to lumber yards and hardware stores to write gigantic checks” is part of the homeowner experience as I expect my husband to make 3 or 4 trips for even small jobs. Another approach is buying every type of plumbing PVC for a sink repair so you’ve got what you ultimately need.

When I started my handyman business, I had a steep learning curve – which stores carried different materials, what was in stock versus needed to be ordered, what we could pick up versus having delivered to the job site, etc. My technicians taught me so much and I remain amazed at how they simply walk to the right aisle and find what they need the way you and I grab a gallon of milk at the grocery store.

• “… called a ranch in the way that a window box can be called a farm” is what made me write this article. Russ described the ranch in terms of a long driveway but also needing a fence if you were raising cattle. The message here is your home is what you make of it, and you are free to use your imagination.
• “… a piece of suspect siding on the front porch and the discovery of a vast conspiracy of carpenter ants, so named not for their building skills but for the fact that if you have them you need a carpenter. The name is demeaning to carpenters of course and changing it to demolition ants might be demeaning to demolition experts. ‘Property devaluation ants’ would be accurate, and it would give them that colorless dead and blameless aura so favored by the politically correct.”
• “… porch was built from re-used 2x4s in 1950, 64 years after the main house was built; the year was printed on the Libby’s Gay Nineties cardboard posters they tacked in there for insulation” gives us insight into how resourceful homeowners used to be. Reusing materials isn’t new, just being rediscovered with the green movement.

Remodeling a bathroom must address similar needs when adding space or moving the plumbing. The cost of a bathroom remodel goes up significantly when walls, doors and/or plumbing get moved so the benefits need to outweigh the added cost.

As home sizes get smaller, bathrooms may be scaled back a little but there’s more focus on getting added function in less space. For example, a relatively new concept is the body-bath convenience center, which adds more storage in the form of cabinets and shelves between 2 bathroom sinks.

Scope of Bathroom Remodels

Your existing bathroom, its size and features along with new requirements, will determine the scope of your bathroom renovation.

• Least expensive is updating your bathroom with new fixtures while maintaining the existing floor layout.
• More expensive is a remodel that works within the existing space but involves moving a window, wall or door to make the bathroom more usable and visually appealing.
• The most expensive type of bathroom remodel involves adding space from an adjacent closet or bedroom. This type of remodel will typically include moving one/more bathroom fixtures like the bathtub or adding a shower.

The Bathroom Remodeling Design Process

The process of identifying your requirements and priorities gives you the opportunity to get to know your prospective remodeling contractor. There needs to be open communication. You want to work with someone who listens and offers not just answers but alternatives, with the opportunity for you to participate in decisions. Here are the steps to creating a solid bathroom design.

• Reviewing what you like, don’t like and what’s missing in your current bathroom.
• Determining project scope in terms of floor space and changes to walls or plumbing.
• Prioritizing requirements for the new bathroom.
• Evaluating product/material alternatives and making decisions to fit within your budget.
• Drawing up a design to reflect product choices and providing you with floor plans and 3D visual presentations.

Your Bathroom Proposal

Once you’ve approved the design, your remodeler should provide detailed plans and specifications for all products, materials and work to be completed. There should be enough detail (in writing) to insure there are no surprises during the project. Once the contract is signed, change orders should be used to communicate new project costs, with appropriate sign-offs required.

• You should know all the different contractors who will be involved in the project, and exactly what they will be doing.
• Electrical and plumbing quotes should detail out what fixtures are being provided and who’s supplying what.
• Carpentry details should include work being done, both visible and added structural support for any changes in placement of the bathtub/shower. Materials should be listed including their resistance to water damage and termites, i.e. you want greenboard drywall in your bathroom where the paper is water resistant.
• Tile is one of the largest costs in a bathroom remodel, especially when you plan to tile the tub and/or shower surrounds. If tile selection is not complete, the type (porcelain, stone, marble, etc) and size of the tile should be clearly documented. Details like the height of the tile and borders should also be spelled out.
• Cabinets and accessories should be listed or an allowance included so you understand the total project cost.
• A projected timeline should be provided so you can plan accordingly.

It’s natural to take time to review the proposal and clarify any outstanding questions. Once you accept the proposal, you should receive a project schedule outlining work hours, daily procedures and when you’ll receive project status reports. When the bathroom renovation is completed, a walkthrough should be scheduled to explain how to operate new fixtures and recommended maintenance.

Good luck with your upcoming bathroom renovation. With proper planning and the right team in place, you should have a positive experience and enjoy your new bathroom for many years.

You’ll need to decide on your deck flooring materials, from pressure treated wood to a composite with no wood content. There are different choices for deck railings from basic wood balusters to glass panels when there’s a view you don’t want to miss. There are also add-on products to consider for lighting, built-ins like seating (kit from Azek shown here) and more.

Deck Flooring Material Choices

Deck flooring materials aren’t cheap so you’ll want to take some time to research before you buy. You’ll find many manufacturers online but you’ll do better if you narrow your search to several manufacturers that are available through your local building supply companies. You’ll benefit from their experience supporting 100s of builders and you’ll find they stock the most common sizes so availability won’t be a problem. Each supplier will carry several different product lines to offer you a choice in value and cost.

• Pressure treated lumber, most often made from southern yellow pine, is perfect for decks with it’s ability to withstand the rigors of extreme weather, humidity, decay and termite damage.

In 2000, the EPA began investigating the risks from using pressure treated wood, and specifically arsenic which is extremely toxic and has been associated with lung and skin cancer. In 2003, the Consumer Product Safety Commission released results from its studies examining decks and play sets made from pressure treated wood. Manufacturers of pressure treated wood reached a voluntary agreement with the EPA to end manufacture of pressure treated wood for most consumer applications by year end 2003.

Note: Your deck framing hidden under the floor boards, is made from pressure treated wood because of it’s strength and cost.

• Soft wood decking materials include western red cedar and redwood which resist rot and age nicely although they require maintenance.
• Deck hardwoods including Phillipine mahogany and Ipe from South America, which is bug and rot resistant. Check to make sure that your Ipe has been harvested correctly due to rain forest preservation concerns.
• Called mock lumber, composites are able to resist rot and bug damage as they contain little or no wood content. Another benefit that led me to Azek’s deck products was it’s ability to resist staining when food is dropped on it.
• A new product found while writing this article, deck tiles made from wood, granite and other materials appears to be an interesting concept where you can create the look and feel of a wood deck, constructed on top of a concrete slab.

Deck Railings for Safety and Sizzle

Deck railings are required for safety so there are rules that need to be followed. Decks with more than 3 steps are required to have railings and you should confirm (call your local building department) what your local building codes are as they vary. Railings must be a minimum of 42 inches high and spacing may be no more than 4 inches between balusters or the lower rail and the floor. The latter is meant to stop a child from falling or getting their head caught in the railing system.

Deck railing choices are plentiful which makes the decision process more challenging. You will be able to select the style of your top railing, the posts, the balusters and the post caps which are the most fun.

• Pressure treated railings match pressure treated flooring and you often have a choice of 2 or 3 different top rail and baluster styles.
• Composite railing systems are made from the same materials as composite deck flooring.
• Custom wood railings can match your flooring or it’s possible to build the top rail out of wood while the remainder of the railing system is a composite.
• Vinyl railing products are common with posts that typically include a metal insert for strength.
• Decorative wrought iron railings are making a resurgence. You’re not going to find them at your local building supply companies but if you want the look, you can order online or through a local fence company.
• Glass panel railing systems are found along the shore where people enjoy views of the lake or ocean.

While you will focus on your deck layout, or top down view similar to a floor plan, your deck design will also include a framing plan that describes the underlying support structure for your deck. To build your deck then, your deck design needs to include a deck layout, the framing plan and a material list.

Deck Design Starts with Picking the Deck Type

A deck is basically an outdoor floor attached to a home made of wood or wood like material. There are many different types of decks used to enhance a home and the lifestyle of those who live there. Your choice of a deck type will be based on available space surrounding your home, your home’s style and the key lifestyle features your deck will include like a pool or spa.

All decks can have one or more of the following characteristics:

• Decks are either attached to your home or free-standing. While a free-standing deck requires more support piers near the house, the benefit is you won’t have to worry about drainage and water damage along the ledger board used to attach decks to houses.
• Decks are either open or covered with a roof or pergola that provides partial shade.
• Covered decks may be open on the sides or enclosed with screens or a combination of screens and walls.

There are many factors that influence your deck’s location and design:

• Most homes have the space for a deck to extend out from the house, covering part of the backyard or possibly a side yard. Be aware that local zoning may have setback requirements for where your deck can sit on your property.
• Not always a disadvantage, the slope of your backyard may suggest a multi-level deck design, with steps connecting the different decks to each other, the house and the ground.
• Views from the deck might influence where you build your deck. Balconies are popular outside a master bedroom and roof decks provide similar views without needing extra ground coverage to support them.
• A front deck or porch might be your ideal location based on the views from this location.
• Decks need not be adjacent to your home. Pool and spa decks are often set further back in the yard to separate activities and position the pool on level ground. Gazebo’s are also placed away from the home to integrate them into the landscape design and/or create an oasis of peace and quiet.

Decks Can Enhance Your Home’s Curb Appeal

One of the earliest types of decks was the front porch, a place where people could relax informally outside the house. Porches were in a sense, the first form of air conditioning because you could escape the heat of indoors and hopefully catch a breeze outside. Most porches include a roof and one of the most popular porch styles is the wrap-around porch that invites interaction with neighbors in front of your house while providing more private space on the side of your home. To learn more about the history of American porches, you can visit the PorchProject.org.

Another type of front porch is the entrance porch or portico. A portico leads to the entrance of a building, providing a roof structure over a walkway which is supported by columns and may be enclosed by walls. Porticos date back to ancient Greece and serve public buildings like the United States Capitol well, protecting visitors from the elements.

Even if your first deck is an 8 by 10 pressure treated deck off the family room, you will begin to dream about deck ideas. The question is rarely if you’ll have a deck but more about the size of the deck, the deck design and how it compliments your home as well as the materials used for the deck and railings.

With a builder deck, it’s common to extend the deck on the same level or sometimes a second deck at a different level which adds interest. Regardless of the deck you start with, the deck design is your first priority, followed by picking materials.

Decks Ideas Begin with How You’ll Use Your Deck

When you start planning your deck, it’s common to get confused between what looks good and the activities or functional requirements you have so your family will use the deck more in their day-to-day lives. A good way to make sure you don’t overlook things is create a list of the activities you’ll use your deck for. The idea is to identify how much space you need, and other features like a grill for meal preparation.

This exercise will help you visualize how your family will use the deck. You’ll begin to see that you need more room to use the grill and set the dinner table at the same time, or you’ll consider how many neighbors will gather at your home. There’s a big difference between a deck suitable for a family of 4 and frequent gatherings for 20 or more.

Deck Designs that Support Your Family Activities

The fun begins as you consider how many different activity spaces you want your deck to provide. Most homeowners will start with a cooking corner and a comfortable area for family dining, which might be placed around the corner of the house to take advantage of a great view. There are thousands of deck plans to peruse to give you ideas for arranging your deck.

Play space for small children needs to be close to the door, as parents must keep an eye on elementary school children who can play independently. Older children prefer their own space so a multi-tier deck can provide needed separation while keeping youngsters within shouting distance.

Decks will also need to accommodate other backyard features like a spa or pool. As these activities won’t occur as frequently as cooking and eating outdoors, the decks surrounding these features can be further from your access door(s).

Deck Materials to Match Your Home and Budget

Once you’ve decided on the design for your deck, it’s time to pick materials. Traditionally decks have been built of wood which offers lots of flexibility in adding built-in features like seating, storage and flower boxes. As wood requires ongoing maintenance (cleaning, staining and sealing), new composite and vinyl components have become more popular.

When picking your deck materials, factor in the initial material and installation costs plus ongoing maintenance. You’ll quickly see that after several years, a composite deck might actually cost less. You can also use different materials for the deck flooring and railings, so one way to balance the budget is to use wood flooring which is easier to stain and a composite or vinyl for the railings. It’s hard to explain to my handyman customers that the labor cost in cleaning and staining their deck is in the railings as they have 4 sides times a very large number of balusters.

The first factor to consider is how high your home sits above ground or how many steps are needed to go from your door to the ground? According to Jack Tremblay, a registered landscape architect, “It’s supposed to be easy to access your outdoor living space. If you can get from your door to the ground in 4 steps, a patio or terrace is appropriate. With 4 or more steps, a deck is more practical.”

How Steep or Sloped is Your Ground?

We’re used to looking at a patio or deck after it’s built, so we assume the setting is natural. In fact patios require level ground so if you have any type of slope, there will be added cost to level out the ground. That’s not all as more than a few inches might also require some type of retaining wall to maintain the level ground or your patio might settle unevenly.

Decks are more common for numerous reasons:

• Decks can match the floor level of your home, from which you’ll step out onto the deck.
• Decks don’t require a level surface as they’re supported by posts sitting on concrete piers in the ground.
• Decks don’t require excavation to clear space, as you can build a multi-tiered deck that accommodates boulders and ledge.
• Decks can take advantage of views by moving them up to see over other structures. Along the seacoast you can see widows walks where sea captains’ wives watched for their return.

Patios or terraces offer different benefits:

• Patios look and feel more permanent as they get integrated into the  landscape.
• Stone and masonry materials last much longer than wood when installed properly.
• Patios allow plantings close to the paving, softening the overall paved area.
• Patios often have better resale value.

“The value of a deck or patio is relative to the design, functionality and quality of installation. The lack of any or all of these elements can decrease it’s value.” according to Jack Tremblay.

Building Flexibility and Doing It Yourself

One reason there are more decks is homeowners find them easier to build. Where a patio may require excavation and then multiple layers of gravel and sand, a deck only needs enough ground to be dug out to sink the concrete support piers below the frost line.

More homeowners have basic carpentry skills and the tools to build a deck. The masonry skills for laying a patio that will last for many years, and the equipment to excavate and prepare the base are more complicated. With a patio you also have to coordinate the delivery of significant amounts of material. The gravel to build a base 4 inches  deep for a small, 10×10-foot patio weighs approximately 2 and a half tons. The delivery truck will dump it in your driveway and then you have to shovel it into a wheelbarrow and move it to the patio location … a long and tedious job as we do a few of these each year at my handyman business.

Materials, Climate and Which Costs More?

You have quite a few material choices for decks and patios. Patios can be made from concrete, pavers, stone, tile or brick and since patios are at ground level, they don’t require any handrails. Decks have traditionally been made of wood, either pressure treated pine or more weather resistant redwood, cedar and mahogany. Today there are composites and vinyl that are becoming popular as they require less routine maintenance. While building codes vary, decks generally require railings when they’re 3 steps or higher.

Climate should also be factored into your choice of materials. Consider typical temperatures and whether people can walk on your choice of materials comfortably and safely. Research how well your choice of materials will hold up to cold and heat. Some materials are more resistant to insects, warping, splintering and water damage. In all cases, make sure your deck or patio design incorporates good drainage.

Consider working with a landscape architect. You might save time and money!

Photos courtesy of Jack Tremblay, Landscape Architect, Amesbury Massachusetts.

A stick-built home is made up of hundreds of 2 x 6 wall studs and even bigger pieces of lumber for all of the horizontal framing that goes into a house. Inside the wall cavities go all sorts of important things like your electrical wiring, your plumbing, your heat and air conditioning distribution (HVAC) components and more.

The magic is something called drywall or sheetrock (name varies based on where you live). Once the rough plumbing, electrical and HVAC is installed, the drywall gets installed to hide everything inside the walls. The most common drywall panels are 4 x 8 feet, which means there are seams or gaps where 2 pieces of drywall meet and also, where the walls meet the ceiling.

Habitat for Humanity International started Women Build in 1999 with support from former first ladies and women governors, leading women crews in building Habitat houses. On May 2nd, 2011 (my second year), I worked at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland and was absolutely amazed at how quickly the women volunteers learned the skills to tape and mud. My guess (yes, I’m biased) is women tend to focus on details, and taping and mudding a house requires removing the dimples, filling the cracks and through several coats of mud, creating a nice, smooth surface so the drywall seams are hidden.

Congratulations to the “Tape and Mud” team!

Led by Habitat staffer Steve who was a great coach!

Here’s a quick overview of the steps used to get the job done: and we all got to build some new skills.

Respect Your Tools and Materials

Steve started out by reviewing the different tools we would be using (see photo above). He explained how to take mud out of the 5 gallon tub and which tools hold the mud while you’re working. He reminded us to put the cover back (upside down) each time, to prevent the mud from drying out. Steve also showed us how to skim dirt and small imperfections off the top of the mud at the beginning of the job.

Mud Your Seams to Hold the Tape

When you first learn to tape and mud, you’ll want to practice on walls that are easy to reach. As you get better, you will progress to taping corner seams between 2 walls and/or between the ceiling and the walls below it. Here are some videos to share with you some of the instruction we got from Steve.

Mud Takes Practice, Practice and More Practice

Now it was time to get to work and that’s just what everyone did. Some people wanted to get more practice on walls and even those posed their own challenges. One woman had to rework the tape below a window opening as the sheetrock crumbled at the top and there were too many chunks to clean out. Another women worked on the ceiling and we all learned how to use a utility knife to get rid of an air bubble caught under the tape. Sometimes it just takes perseverance and determination and everyone had it, like “… it looks to good to take it down and start over!”

One brave volunteer was ready to try a corner seam and wisely choose to practice in the closet. You’ve got less room to maneuver in a closet but there will be less light on that seam so it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Find your local Habitat for Humanity project!