Drywall: The Sprint Becomes a Marathon

Moving into our semi-built house in late November 2021 was a major milestone. After months of camper living, mobile home demolishing, planning, and building, we met our goal of having a livable home before winter. 

As the insulation dust settled, I took in the view of our humble abode with its cement floors, exposed studs, and makeshift kitchen. The interior was far from finished — and little did I know the dust was only beginning — but we could slow down and continue at a more sustainable pace. 

The sprint was over. Time to start a marathon.

Hanging drywall sheets

Next on the agenda was hanging drywall. This is where large, heavy panels are screwed into studs to cover the insulation.

Our first drywall sheets were installed in the bathroom so that the plumber could hook up the shower head, toilet, and sink. Priorities! 

Then we focused on exterior walls to help conserve precious heat from the wood stove.

Sometimes Brett hung a full sheet and then cut out holes for light switches, electric outlets, windows, and doors. Other times he’d measure and make the cuts ahead of time. Either way, a fine, powdery dust would fly and coat every possible surface.

My main role during this portion was to help carry and hold the sheets in place while Brett sent screws into the studs. And, of course, vacuum, dust, and re-dust everything!

Filling drywall joints — aka “mudding”

Once all the drywall panels were in place, it was time to make them appear like one continuous wall. 

The spaces between each sheet of drywall are called joints. To create an even surface, builders use a special tape and a puddy-like compound to fill the joints. Brett’s dad, Dave, joined us for the first few days to train us on his well-seasoned technique of applying and smoothing the “mud” with a large putty knife.

Every joint required three coats, each progressively wider. The mud was also used to fill the small indents from screw holes. I was thankful we had to wait 24 hours for each coat to dry to break up the tedious work!

Sanding drywall — aka “dust disaster”

Next, we needed to ensure the mudded areas were completely smooth. There are different sanding techniques to achieve this. We went with a dry sanding method, which resulted in — you guessed it — a dusty disaster.

The messy, repetitive work took several hours and my arms felt like jelly. I can’t say sanding was my favorite way to spend a Saturday, but it was nice to knock it out in a single day. 

Texturing the walls

With freshly smoothed walls, it was time to add texture. Texturing walls helps blend the various drywall sections and hide imperfections. There are many different wall texture techniques and tools to apply them. Since we had such a large surface to cover, we used a gravity-fed texture spray gun.

My job was to hold up pieces of cardboard or plastic to help Brett avoid spraying windows and other non-wall objects in the “splash zone.”

Priming and painting (and repainting)

Finally, our walls looked like walls and we could move on to priming and painting. Finally, a task I felt experienced in!

My confidence was short-lived. On Memorial Day weekend, we applied two coats of carefully-selected light gray paint on the walls. To my horror, our pristine walls suddenly looked purple. I wanted to cry. 

The next day we flew to California for a work project that Brett needed to be on-site for. How I hoped that two weeks away would help me feel differently about the color. 

Upon returning, I did cry. Not just because of still disliking the color, but because our fridge had gone out. Everything in our fully stocked freezer, including fish, venison, lamb, and homemade vegetable stock, was rotting. 

After a pity party, I decided to repaint the walls while it was still a relatively easy task without having to cut-in around trim or protect flooring. No more risking the tricky shades of gray. It was back to white. (Which, turns out, brings its own nuances. Paint colors are hard!)

Catching our breath

It took us about six months to cross the drywalling finish line. The slow pace was in large part to not focusing exclusively on house building. 

Besides California, Brett made multiple work trips to New York. Our rental season began. We ice fished in winter and helped my dad plant apple trees in spring. It was nice to find our footing in this more balanced, less all-consuming way of house building. 

The marathon continued with the wood ceiling, repurposed kitchen cabinets, and a spiral staircase — and that was just the rest of 2022. With so much still left ahead, it was worth taking a moment to celebrate our strides and one more milestone reached — dust, sweat, tears, and all.