A Taker Gives
Over the years, I accumulated an impressive number of IOUs. I've moved 3 times (5 if you count my wife). I've needed assistance with hanging kitchen cabinets, installing microwaves, putting up ceilings, painting walls, and other various and sundry home repair projects. I haven't often been able to pay back my friends because they are willing to spend the money that could otherwise be spent buying their friends pizza and beer on actual professionals. This clear deviation in principles has meant that my IOUs just keep piling up.
This weekend, however, I got to start paying back some of my IOUs. My friend, S, had an electrical problem a couple of months ago. The basement ceiling was removed in order to figure out what was wrong. I don't think that S & A were terribly upset to have the acoustic tile removed, but a couple of weeks without a ceiling overhead was enough to make them want to install a new one. When he told me that he wanted to install a new ceiling, I volunteered to help. In all honesty, I figured I'd be one of the worker bees in this project.
The installation began earlier in the week, as I lent him some tools in order to help him rewire the overhead lights. My wife and I had some extra junction boxes from when we had work done at our house, and we sent those along as well. I dropped by to offer some suggestions on what he planned to do. His plans were pretty well thought out, so I didn't have much input to offer. I also asked who was going to be helping us. "Just you and I." On Friday, he finished the rewiring project in preparation for installing the ceiling on Saturday.
Saturday morning I had to work, but the plans were for me to be done by 10:00 to start work on the ceiling. Work took longer than I had planned and we didn't get going until almost noon. The first item of business was to go to Lowes and pick up the drywall, a truck, a drywall hanger, and some supplies. When we got there, we talked to the people in the drywall area and they told us that we should get the 5/8" stuff instead of the 1/2" stuff because we were putting a ceiling in the basement. We were ready to make our purchase when we discovered that they don't have a tool rental center so no drywall hanger. So to Home Depot we went. We got all of the stuff and headed back to the house.
At this point I had to break for lunch. My mother and her sister had flown in from Chicago for the day. My aunt had never seen Oliver and figured that as long as she was in the area that she should see Oliver. So they flew in at 10:00 and left at 7:00. I felt bad that I wouldn't be able to see them since I had committed to hanging the drywall, but my mother assured me that it was OK. Apparently, now that she has grandchildren, her children are a little less important. But I met them for lunch at Fitz's on the Loop. Oliver was a little tired and cranky, so I ended up walking with him for most of the meal. Then I dropped my mother and her sister off at the house and headed back to drywall.
Back at the house we picked a corner to start drywalling. The original thought was that we would slip the drywall under the exising moulding. And it would have worked if we were dealing with 1/2" drywall. Instead, we had to settle for putting it next to the moulding. What we should have done at this point should have been to take down the molding and put it back after we finished, but we opted not to do that. Over the next several hours we managed to get most of the drywall up and cut holes for the overhead lights. But there will need to be some crown molding before this basement is done.
Drywalling tip: if you have some things that will need to stick through the drywall, take some lipstick and smear it on the end like a Vegas showgirl. Then raise the drywall up into place. When you lower the sheet, you'll have a partial outline of the thing that you want to cut out.
The next day we finished the ceiling and took the hanger back to Home Depot. We taped up the ceiling. Then my wife came over to help with the spackling. As everyone knows, I am spackling-impaired. My wife is a skilled spackler.So I took Oliver home for a nap and she helped S out. This morning she dropped by to give him a sanding lesson.
All in all it was a good time. I got to spend time with one of my best friends. I got to pay off some (not even close to all, S) of my IOUs. He got a ceiling. Good times all around.
This weekend, however, I got to start paying back some of my IOUs. My friend, S, had an electrical problem a couple of months ago. The basement ceiling was removed in order to figure out what was wrong. I don't think that S & A were terribly upset to have the acoustic tile removed, but a couple of weeks without a ceiling overhead was enough to make them want to install a new one. When he told me that he wanted to install a new ceiling, I volunteered to help. In all honesty, I figured I'd be one of the worker bees in this project.
The installation began earlier in the week, as I lent him some tools in order to help him rewire the overhead lights. My wife and I had some extra junction boxes from when we had work done at our house, and we sent those along as well. I dropped by to offer some suggestions on what he planned to do. His plans were pretty well thought out, so I didn't have much input to offer. I also asked who was going to be helping us. "Just you and I." On Friday, he finished the rewiring project in preparation for installing the ceiling on Saturday.
Saturday morning I had to work, but the plans were for me to be done by 10:00 to start work on the ceiling. Work took longer than I had planned and we didn't get going until almost noon. The first item of business was to go to Lowes and pick up the drywall, a truck, a drywall hanger, and some supplies. When we got there, we talked to the people in the drywall area and they told us that we should get the 5/8" stuff instead of the 1/2" stuff because we were putting a ceiling in the basement. We were ready to make our purchase when we discovered that they don't have a tool rental center so no drywall hanger. So to Home Depot we went. We got all of the stuff and headed back to the house.
At this point I had to break for lunch. My mother and her sister had flown in from Chicago for the day. My aunt had never seen Oliver and figured that as long as she was in the area that she should see Oliver. So they flew in at 10:00 and left at 7:00. I felt bad that I wouldn't be able to see them since I had committed to hanging the drywall, but my mother assured me that it was OK. Apparently, now that she has grandchildren, her children are a little less important. But I met them for lunch at Fitz's on the Loop. Oliver was a little tired and cranky, so I ended up walking with him for most of the meal. Then I dropped my mother and her sister off at the house and headed back to drywall.
Back at the house we picked a corner to start drywalling. The original thought was that we would slip the drywall under the exising moulding. And it would have worked if we were dealing with 1/2" drywall. Instead, we had to settle for putting it next to the moulding. What we should have done at this point should have been to take down the molding and put it back after we finished, but we opted not to do that. Over the next several hours we managed to get most of the drywall up and cut holes for the overhead lights. But there will need to be some crown molding before this basement is done.
Drywalling tip: if you have some things that will need to stick through the drywall, take some lipstick and smear it on the end like a Vegas showgirl. Then raise the drywall up into place. When you lower the sheet, you'll have a partial outline of the thing that you want to cut out.
The next day we finished the ceiling and took the hanger back to Home Depot. We taped up the ceiling. Then my wife came over to help with the spackling. As everyone knows, I am spackling-impaired. My wife is a skilled spackler.So I took Oliver home for a nap and she helped S out. This morning she dropped by to give him a sanding lesson.
All in all it was a good time. I got to spend time with one of my best friends. I got to pay off some (not even close to all, S) of my IOUs. He got a ceiling. Good times all around.
posted by mypetrock at 6:43 AM
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