Home Theatre and Bar Area Painted

The theatre and bar were painted with Behr's Skipper on the walls and Dark Ash on the ceiling.

Exercise Room and Washroom Painted

Exercise room painted in Behr Wildflower Honey.

Hallway.
Washroom in Behr Desert Camel.

Priming

I've completed sanding the plaster and have been priming. I'm using Behr Premium Plus New Drywall Primer and Sealer. It's probably a bit more expensive than the large drums of bulk primer but it doesn't soak in like the way cheaper primers do. It goes on like paint and it looks like one coat will do it. For most of my colours, I'll need an additional tinted primer anyway.

I've primed most of the basement and just have the bar area to do.

Taping and Mudding

Well, it certainly has been awhile since I posted. As it stands right now, I'm still taping and mudding. Between learning how to do it, only working on weekends and being interrupted to take care of yard work and such, it's been a slow going process.

I've come to learn that there are two approaches to doing taping and mudding (plastering). One method is to get the stuff on there as quickly as possible and then sand like crazy. The other method is to take your time and apply the plaster as thinly as possible, gradually building up the wall surface. While this takes more time, the end result requires a lot less sanding. So far, my results are coming out quite nicely and I don't see myself standing in a cloud of drywall dust in the near future.

The drywall compound that I'm using is a pre-mix variety that has dust control propertires (http://www.cgcinc.com/home.asp?nav=291&mkt=30&bc=165.291). So hopefully, when it comes time to start sanding, however little it may be, the dust won't be out of control.

Here's a few tips:

1. Thin down the mud with water. A consistency of soft ice cream works really well. You want the mud to flow into the depressions when you run the knife over it and not pull itself back out as thick mud would. I'll probably thin the mud even more when I get to the very final coats.
2. Get three different sizes of knives. I'm using 4.5, 10, and 12 inch knives. If you understand the geometry, you'll understand why you need the larger knife. I suppose you could just use the 4.5 inch but it would be more work to get the smooth results.
3. Wetting the paper tape and knives with water gives a smoother stroke.

That's all for now...

Drywall's Complete!

I finished the last of the drywall yesterday. It was down to those little pieces around bulkheads and such.

Here's some pictures:

The front of the theatre where the screen will go. I placed drywall behind the screen so that it can be painted flat black to eliminate any reflections that may come through the weave of the acoustically transparent fabric.

Looking towards the back of the theatre from the left (top) and centre (bottom). The front of the bar is visible in the back.

Behind the front of the bar. I didn't need to complete all of the drywall because the exposed framing will be hidden by cabinets. I sound-proofed the left corner of the bar to reduce noise coming from the compact refrigerator that will be placed there.

Fitness room.

Next, I'll begin installing corner bead and then start taping and mudding.

Best invention... ever....

Ok, I know I haven't posted in awhile. It's been pretty non-stop getting the remainder of the drywall done. During the two week break over Christmas, I was able to hang all of the large pieces of drywall. I tell you, a drywall lift is the best invention ever. I was able to lift these 60-pound sheets of drywall to the ceiling in seconds. It also allowed me to place the sheets horizontally on the walls instead of vertically. With vertically placed drywall, while easier to install, is a bit more awkward to finish with taping. With vertical 8-foot seams, smoothing the mud will require a long up and down motion which would make it difficult to control the taping knife. Horizontally placed drywall yields long horizontal seams that can be smoothed by walking along the wall. The vertical seams won't be taller than 4 feet.

Now, I've been busy taking care of all the little pieces around bulkheads and columns (chases). I also built the front wall of the bar. The bar will be made of RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets which, when covered with a laminate counter top, will give a standard 36 inch high work surface. The front wall will be 42 inches high when capped with laminate counter top.

Another weekend or so and then I'll be able to clean up the basement and get some pictures taken. Then, I have to install corner bead and start taping.