DIY: Behind the Walls - Building an In-Law Apartment From Scratch

After the ceiling beam fiasco, we revisited our inspiration, reestablished our resolve, and refocused our efforts to get caught back up.  Getting electrical, plumbing, and HVAC installed and functional was our next objective because we knew they were the only things standing in the way of hanging sheetrock - and I could smell progress.

 

But, even with a renewed hope in completion, the "Behind the Walls" season of this renovation was dreadfully long and painfully costly. Emptying buckets of money between the wall studs, floor and ceiling joists, and pouring it down the crawlspace week after week really wore on both of us.

I think this phase was especially defeating for us because we had just completed an 18 month long money-bucket-emptying party on our side of the house (termite damage, new floor joists, insulation, updated plumbing, new kitchen...etc) and still didn't have any "after photos" to show for it (hopefully coming soon).  It really is amazing how much work goes on BEFORE the sheetrock actually goes up.  And by amazing...I mean exhausting.

 A peek behind the walls:

 

Red and blue money:

 

 

Square metal money:

 

 

Pink fluffy money:

 

 

 

More pink fluffy money:

 

  So, on our side we were are still living with bare drywall, trim-less windows, and sheets for doors - classy, I know.  But, in the East Wing we had to carry on. We couldn't stop for a season, wait until our nocturnal 5 month old decided to get with the program, or take some time to catch up with business orders.  We had to just keep moving forward.

And it was taking for...ev....er.

I'm the finish gal. I like to design the finishes, choose the finishes, apply the finishes, rearrange the finishes... and I wanted it all finished - yesterday.  Along with waves of impatience and frustration, there were waves of hope and encouragement.  I stopped daily to stare at my inspiration poster and thanked the Lord for the strength to endure.

 

 

As I write this out it it's starting to sound like all we did was stand around doubting ourselves, but that was surely not the case.  We worked. Really. Really. Hard.

 

I don't say that to toot my own horn. I say it for you...who put your blood, sweat, and tears (and money buckets) in to the work behind the walls - Only to have your friends and neighbors come over at completion and say, "That's a lovely paint color" or "The sofa goes nicely with the trim."

We can't hold it against them. They don't know any better. 

They weren't there when you were covered in filth, exhausted, and out of money, just longing to get to the point where there were walls you could paint with that  "lovely color".   They can't see the other 2/3 of the ice berg, lurking beneath the surface. 

But we can - because we've been there. 

And it was terrible.

But, we conquered it. 

So, here's to us! And to completed renovations everywhere!

 

Now, before I get to wild here, I have to admit that we're still cruising through the house renovation tunnel (chucking money out the window), but we can see the light! That light is the glow of a completed project, shining proudly and urging us to continue.
When we face this beat up old farmhouse and wonder what it will take to see our dream complete, we feel that glow and remember we made it through from start to finish.
 It was just one project - but it was a big one!
That apartment was truly built from scratch. I taped, mudded, and sanded every drywall seam that is now invisible to the naked eye. Mr. Steady ran every foot of plumbing line, joined every connection, and installed every valve that mysteriously allows for functional sinks, showers, and even a washing machine.

 And if we don't go back and revel in that, we will forget.  All that work is hidden behind the walls and if we can't tie the end to the beginning in hindsight, we will stay stuck in the middle of our current projects and lose hope.

So, even if your renovation was small - you finished it. Celebrate!

And, if you're not there yet, let us shine our celebratory light in your direction so you won't have to navigate in the dark!
 We looked to other DIYers, renovation blogs, forums, books, and even TV programs (Fixer Upper and This Old House are our favorites) to find tips, tricks, and ideas...but, mostly for encouragement.  To see that it could be done, it had been done, and we would soon join those courageous enough to face renovation - in victory!

So, this is our time now, to pay it forward.

Stepping off my soap box now...

 

We managed to save a few buckets of money by covering all the plumbing labor ourselves. What better way to test the accuracy of YouTube videos and blog tutorials, than trying it yourself.  Honestly, that is the only "training" Mr. Steady had - no joke!  Fortunately, he's kind of a freak...In a good way! He is a very quick learner and completely undaunted by the unfamiliar.

And when the real plumber came to run the gas line, he commented on what a nice job the "plumber" did.  *Swish!*

You probably noticed the Pex Plumbing Manifold in the photos above. I will write up a post just on that system for you and link it HERE when it is ready.  We were very happy with it and can't wait to share more with you about the installation process.

In contrast, the drain lines (4" PVC) were all run under the house. That meant we had to fit a round Mr. Steady in a square access hole - a tricky process.

 

 

 

And messy.

 

 

But, he did have help: 

 

 

Really, what good is a 7 year old in a construction zone if you can't send her halfway under the house to run pipe fittings to her Dad? Right?

 

 

 Overall, the behind the scenes work is a dirty, exhausting, mess of projects.  And I'm mighty glad to be on this side of the story. But, it's part of the journey, nonetheless.  And we are so grateful for the help, prayer, babysitting, meals, hugs, and encouragement we received that allowed us to forge through. Jehovah Jireh!

 

How did you get through your behind the scenes work?  Were you brave enough to take on a trade or wise enough to hire out? 

We'd love to hear your questions, thoughts, and comments!

 

From our home to yours,

Katie
 

 

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Matzo House Construction: Behind the Scenes Sneak Peek of this Year's Contest Entries

 

For those of you familiar with our Annual Gingerbread House Contest, you probably weren't surprised at all to see us veer from the typical "gingerbread" construction for this year's entries.   

But, Matzo? Why? 

 

Well, as you know, we carefully select our materials using a calculated system involving several predetermined factor considerations.....

 

Actually: We just use free stuff.

 

While moving my mother-in-law in to her newly completed apartment, we found 2 cases (yes, 2 cases - 36 unopened boxes) of expired Matzo. How's that for free stuff? 

 

 

So, what is Matzo anyway? 

 

Unleavened bread.

It is used during traditional Passover ceremonies and has great prophetic significance as celebrated in Messianic Seders. (We participated in one of these a few years ago and it was very eye opening!)

 

Plainly speaking it is basically a 7"x7" sheet of Saltine Cracker - lacking salt. Not really designed for enjoyment - but great for construction!

 

Here is a pile of Matzo (or Matzah, or Matzoh...)

 

 

There was definitely a learning curve as we explored the relatively fragile properties of Matzo as compared to gingerbread or even graham crackers.

After toying with it for a while we decided the Matzo was a little flimsy, so we created sturdier pieces by gluing (icing) two sheets together for each wall. You can see the double cracker stacker style in this photo:

 

  Except for a few minor construction fails (explained in the coming paragraphs), this year was great fun and a healthy challenge! We hope you enjoy viewing the results as much as we enjoyed making them.

 

Here is a behind the scenes look at this year's contest entries:

 

 

SNEAK PEEK AT ENTRY #1:

 

The "Country Cottage" was constructed in a classic "house" form. It was frosted and covered in blue cornmeal for a roughcast plaster look. Windows and doors were added to each side. As the roof details were being installed the doors and windows slid off the walls one by one.

 

Apparently, the loose cornmeal bits don't make a very solid contact point for the icing to adhere to.  So, the cornmeal had to be scraped off and the frosting cleared back to the bare Matzo anywhere a design element was to be added. 

 

 

This was a small step backward in the process, but nothing heartbreaking.

 

 

SNEAK PEEK AT ENTRY #2:

 

The "Almost Finished" Entry was constructed with double "exterior walls" and received a little more structural support with graham crackers studs (16" on center - to scale).

 

And, of course, before sheetrock could go up, insulation (cotton candy) was put in place:

 

 

And electrical work completed:

Construction Fail: The cotton candy (although a clever idea) was a big disappointment. It began dissolving immediately after being handled and had melted away almost completely by the time the sheetrock walls started going up. 

 

 

Oh, well.  Just like real life renovation fails: Lesson learned.

 

 

SNEAK PEEK AT ENTRY #3:

 

The construction of the "Ship Wrecked" entry was quite different. The initial hull of the ship was constructed with a single layer of Matzo (lots of tricky cuts and piles of Matzo debris).

 

 

The aftermath of the construction process:

 

 

A second layer of Matzo was attached to the main frame in 3" strips resembling wood planks. 

The ship was then strong and sturdy...and even the texture was right on. But the color was all wrong.

 

 

Enter: Vodka and food coloring!

 

The color went on smoothly and the alcohol evaporated quickly without warping the Matzo boards.

 

Every bit of the process went smoothly until the anchor was added as a final touch. The fondant hadn't set up completely and melted into a wobbly heap in the sand (blue cornmeal). Oops!

 

 

Good thing it's on dry land.

Well, that's it for this year's sneak peek. Do you have any Gingerbread House Fails or lessons learned you'd like to share? Please leave a comment in the box below. And don't forget to:

 

 

Click on the photo below to see the FINAL ENTRIES and cast YOUR VOTE!

 

 

 

 

 

DIY: Framing for the New Floor Plan - Building an In-law Apartment From Scratch

 

 

This part of the construction was the first big milestone. We pulled down every existing interior wall and did a final clean up (and another trip to the dump). Staring at a hollow shell was a little intimidating. This was the first (only, and last) point where Mr. Steady almost waivered. He looked around and said, "I guess we're building an apartment now."  It was also the first (of many) point where I almost lost it.  I burst into uncontrollable laughter - much like Tom Hanks in the movie Money Pit and threw my hands up. "Yep. Guess we're building an apartment."

 

 We started with a really precise floor plan. All the measurements had been adjusted on the Sweet Home 3D program after demo (More about that HERE). So, we printed the new layout and used it to mark out the new wall locations on the subfloor.

 

All there was left to do was put the new walls up! 

 

Enter: This little beauty...

 

This compressor has been a loyal friend to Mr. Steady through these renovation years. It is made by Porter Cable and we can testify to it's durability! It comes with a brad nailer, a finish nailer, and a staple gun. They have all been used and abused around here and are still going strong!  He uses them in the shop for product builds, in the house for trimwork....and when we started this project he purchased this other little beauty...

 

 

A framing nailer- this blessing was absent from our previous projects (all still in progress) and Mr. Steady said by comparison, it felt like these walls practically put themselves up. I'm sure it's all relative, but he had the whole apartment done in a day!

 

 

And just like that, it had rooms again!

We called our electrician in and he ran a subpanel off our main electrical panel (its wired for future independence, but we didn't have the budget to run a separate line now) . He also ran all the wiring for the outlets, switches, and recessed lighting (a necessity with 7,10" ceilings).

 

Progress!

 

 

Progress!

 

 

Progress!

 

 

Then we paused from celebration to purchase insulation - A huge expense we were not planning on. Thankfully, Mr. Steady has a great relationship with the folks at the local lumberyard and we got "a deal". 

 

 

The insulation was stapled in to each cavity (Cha-ching. Cha-ching. Cha-ching...) with the Porter Cable staple gun.  We were feeling productive and accomplished. We were starting to come to grips with the necessary expenses and were proud of the progress we made....

 

Then we took a look around.

 

 

Our shoulders drooped as we asked, "Why does it look just as bad as it did a few weeks ago?" 
And so goes the story of renovation.

This part of the process (the behind the walls part) was NEVER ENDING.  It's never fun spending money on things you will NEVER see. It's even less fun spending hours, days, and weeks putting them there yourself.  I hate to admit it, especially this early in the process, but with the thought of plumbing, gas lines, and other  "behind the scenes projects", I was already burnt out. Shameful, I know.

A possible contribution to my lack of perseverance was this little gal - still waking up several times a night to eat.  Not making excuses....it's just a thought.

 

In the end, we did make one framing adjustment - a pass-through from the kitchen to the living room.  It let in a ton of light and we figured it would give my Mother in law a great view from the sink.

Ta-da!

 

 

Well, it sure is weird being on this side of the project and looking back. I was so SURE it would never end.  Let this be a dose of hope for you. It DOES end. It WILL be awesome. You CAN do it.

 

Please leave your comments, questions, and thoughts below. Love to hear from you!

THE BEGINING
THE DEMOLITION
 

Don't miss the next installment of the In-Law Apartment series....Subscribe HERE or in the top right hand side of your screen - just below the stunning photo of your favorite author! =)

From our home to yours,

Katie


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