One Room Challenge Fall 2023 – Week 2

Welcome to the One Room Challenge.

This is Week 2 and the walls are being prepped for a wallpaper mural and paint.

If you missed Week 1 of the One Room Challenge and you want to catch up you can go back and read that first.

We are helping our daughter and son-in-law create a nursery for our first grandbaby! We live in Illinois and they live in Dallas so we have some challenges.

It’s interesting that homes in the south tend to have textured walls and ceilings. Why is that? My research and experience would lead me to believe that it’s an inexpensive way to not only cover drywall but to hide imperfections.

Popcorn or Orange Peel textures are a very common spray-on method used mostly for ceilings but is also used on walls.

In older homes, it may be a lath and plaster wall which was done primarily for insulation to keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. It also provides better soundproofing than drywall.

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How to Smooth Textured Walls

The walls in this Dallas home appear to be either plaster or drywall mud over drywall. They aren’t traditional plaster walls. Nor are they popcorn or textured sprayed walls.

We discussed the options to smooth the wall for wallpaper and paint with Annie & Tommy.

Hire a Contractor to Remove the Texture

Pros

• Once they start it will be done in a day
• Not having to do the prep and labor

Cons

• Very costly
• Couldn’t find a contractor who could do the work in our 8-week timeframe

Spray the Walls and Scrape

Pros

• Only need a water spray bottle and a scraper
• Easy to do on popcorn or orange peel-sprayed textures

Cons

• Very messy
• Almost impossible to do on a plaster-smeared wall

Apply Drywall Mud and Sand Smooth

Pros

• Cost Effective
• Will work on their wall
• This can be done on our timeline

Cons

• Plenty of prep work
• Labor time

All of these options will cause a mess in the house so putting up plastic and taping off the area is important. There will still be dust even with the best prep.

Trials and Errors

Annie and Tommy applied the drywall compound without a problem and seemed to think that the sanding would be minimal once it dried.

Per “Handy’s” instructions, they were using a drywall pole sander with a 4″ x 12″ surface. They are using 120 Grit Sanding Screen Mesh Sheets which don’t clog up as much as regular sandpaper and tend not to make as much fine dust.

Annie started to sand the walls. She called her Dad and shared with him that after some sanding all she was getting was black marks on the wall. Turns out she didn’t put the sandpaper on the sander 🙂

Lessons Learned!

Taking Precautions

Because Annie is pregnant she is being extremely cautious with a proper mask and suit when she’s working in the room. She also has a box fan pulling the air out of the room.

Remodeling from a Distance

While Annie and Tommy are doing the prep work themselves, “Handy” is supervising from 1000 miles away. We use FaceTime a lot so he can see what they are doing or the challenges they are facing.

Remodeling On a Budget

• We will be doing all of the work ourselves
• We will be looking on FaceBook Market Place for bookshelves, and lighting that we can refresh with paint.
• Making our own window treatment
• They are selling some of the things that are in this space that they no longer need or will use anymore. That will give them some additional cash for the things that do need to be purchased new.

What to Expect Next Week

Next week will be Baby Shower Week & Travel to Dallas so there probably won’t be an update.

The following week we will be making a lot of progress. “Handy” will be on-site and he’s a workhorse. You might recall he completely gutted and renovated the kitchen in this house in 8 days in December.

• Week One – The Plan
• Week Two – Room Prep
• Week Three – Shower & Travel
• Week Four – Painting & Wallpapering
• Week Five – The Closet
• Week Six – Furniture
• Week Seven – Accessories
• Week Eight – The Reveal

Peace and Love,

Check out what all of the participants are doing this week

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Living Large Podcast

This past week I had my friend Lori Corrigan who is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor on my Podcast.

I am writing a series called Lynn’s Recollections and Reflections and the last month or so I’ve been sharing my experience of being in an abusive relationship. I felt is was important to talk to a professional about this subject.