Chapter 4: Drywall and Light

Drywall. Mention that word to anyone who does construction; most will respond with some ick, gross, or “my least favorite thing to do” response. For the better part of the last year, I have done most of the mud work in RuckHome. The Bearded One is responsible for tearing down walls, making new rooms, and hanging the drywall. Then, I came in to tape and finished the walls. As I walked through the first rooms we gutted, I nitpicked at all the areas where I didn’t sand well enough or ensure the screws were reset in the drywall. I pointed out all the things I didn’t notice when the room wasn’t lit up sufficiently while sanding, and it initially appeared to be okay, so I painted. I was wrong.

Now, I see the visible flaws only if I look hard at the surface. The main bathroom was the first of the rooms that we gutted. As I mentioned in Squirreled Out – The bathroom didn’t NEED to be renovated, because it was fine the way it was. However, the project quickly became a complete renovation once we tried to sand off the plaster. The main bath was the first room in which I had ever used a mud knife and pan. I quickly learned that this is a tedious process and that you must take your time AND hurry up. “The choice is yours. Don’t be late.” Apologies…I went off on a Nirvana solo there; it happens.

The Bearded One is good at drywall finishing, and I could have just let him do all the work, but I wanted to learn so he could keep moving forward with other projects. We are a good team. Looking at all the work we’ve done in a year, it was a combined effort. After I did most all of the mud work and hand sanding, he came through with the big sanding machine and finished it off. Then, I can vacuum, prime, and paint everything.

Light is vital when you need to see the fine details on the wall. The goal of mud is to hide the seams of the drywall and screw heads. Too much mud means more to sand, which is WAY messier than mud. Too little mud show imperfections and seam lines. We also had to battle in the rooms we didn’t refinish with old imperfections that you could see if not corrected.

Year to date, we’ve installed over 40 sheets of drywall and multiple buckets of mud, and we’re not done framing walls, so this will be an ongoing learning experience. Much like life, you get better as you practice at something. I am getting faster and better at seeing things before I paint them. It’s also a matter of patience through the process.

Basement Overhaul

After a successful and delicious Friendsgiving, we decided to change the entire layout of the basement. So, we got to it on Black Friday, knocking out the cinder block wall and adding a new one on the other side of the then entirely open basement. This created a whole new route to the garage and enclosed the game room, allowing for more couch space.

Knowing we had a family get-together after the holidays, we pushed to get the game room reframed and the drywall up and ready for paint. The Bearded One handled the challenging corners and stairwells. The littles were home that weekend and have an affinity for touching everything they walked past. Included newly mudded walls. I went in to tell The Bearded One that the kids mistakenly ran their fingers through the mud. He asked, “Which wall?” I responded, “Yes,” because they had managed to touch all three sides of the corner. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just go back and re-mud because it was already drying. Now we had to wait and sand and redo the whole wall. It was pretty comical when they did it because they had no idea the wall was wet, and their fingers were covered in white mud. Lesson learned. Don’t touch the walls in a construction zone.

Isn’t it amazing, though? Everything that light touches shows all the details; the good and bad details alike are seen in the light. Sure, in pictures, you may not see all the flaws I see, but I know they are there. Eventually, I’ll go back and fix the areas I don’t like, but for now, they are reminders of what I’ve learned. The Bearded One has told me a few times now that he sees how much I’ve improved my skill as a drywall finisher. He often jokes when there is an area where the layout doesn’t quite match up, “All you need is a good mud man, and nobody will ever know.” That’s me; I’m his good “mud man.”

I walked much of my life in the dark, and navigating the path was much more difficult. Thankfully, I’ve learned that all things done in the dark are revealed in the light, and with the Grace of Jesus, we are forgiven for all the things done while we live in darkness.

I’m finding things with the mud and drywall that I don’t like, but those imperfections can also be fixed. They’ll take more mud, refining, and repainting, but they, too, can be fixed. Don’t let the ugliness and imperfections in your life keep you from stepping into the light and living your best life with Jesus. “Again, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.8.12.ESV