Laboring On Labor Day

Well, isn’t ironic, don’t ya think? That my dear Husband finally got a weekday off of work…and used it to work some more. That’s just how he rolls though. The day began early this morning, ripping down the walls to see what lay in store for us. And the answer to that question was more mold. Of course. Why would it not be. We discovered the source of our mold problem was NOT condensation, like it had been on the other corner, but was, in fact, due to an exterior leak. The front wall was so wet, it was ruined, as was the insulation. Pretty much everything had to go.

The side walls were ok, thankfully. Their insulation behind them was not…so that all went. After a while, the insulation was all ripped out and thrown away, the front wall was ripped out and thrown away and any remaining mold that couldn’t be disposed of (that would’ve caused structural damage, i.e. 1x1 studs) was destroyed via bleach and Young Living Essential Oils. Later that evening, he painted over it with Killz to literally seal the deal. He went outside with his silicone and sealed the exterior crack that caused the leak. As that dried, we headed into town for more materials…on Labor Day. We were nuts.

The darker spots on the white insulation was some of the mold.

  

 

  

And here’s where the leak caused the damage.

No damage in the right corner, thankfully.

My home was in shambles during all this excitement. But, that’s to be expected when you utilize literally every square inch of the 232 sq ft you live in. Stuff had to go somewhere…so, some of it went to our storage unit in town and the rest got haphazardly strewn about the house.

We went into town to grab materials while the outside silicone dried. We grabbed some new 1x1’s to build a wall ledge along the front wall. That would give him the ability to shove even more insulation into the wall, at least right next to where we would be sleeping at night. That wall has always been quite cold (even in the Summer in the Mountains)…and no wonder. The insulation and that wall itself were SOAKING wet when he ripped everything down. We also grabbed some new R-13 insulation and a few other odds and ends.

When we returned home, the girls and I hung out at the playground for a while, while he put the insulation in. You could see that crap floating around in the air. I didn’t want any of us to be breathing that in.

  

He stapled the wall back up and set to work on the rest of the walls..

He stapled this wall back up as well. It wasn’t in need of new walls or insulation, fortunately.

  

The mold after it was Killz’d. Also, seams filled with silicone and that gross spray foam stuff.

  

Cutting the support beams for the soon-to-be ledge that will come out from the front wall about 4”.

Before new insulation was put into the front wall.

After the insulation was in…and one happy Daddy!

Stapling up the new front wall. This freaking wall is airtight now.

He finished attaching the ledge support beams to the walls and now is stuffing that wall with double the insulation.

  

Meanwhile, I am finding it more and more difficult to find my Kitchen. I give up.

The top of the ledge has been cut to length and he attached it via screws.

It may not seem like much, but that little 4” ledge means we have 4 more inches of insulation in there, on top of the original amount.

Going along the cracks with silicone to fill the seams.

After the agony of sleeping on the floor, we got our bed back!!! It was only temporary, however…as there was still lots more work to be done. Corner wall cracks needed to be filled, rough edges needed to be sanded for splinter prevention, walls and ceiling needed to be primed…then painted…new storage solutions needed to be built, since we got rid of the overhead and under bed cabinets…

  

…but it sure is already coming along nicely!

Unfortunately, the poor guy was just getting started…and lord knows I wouldn’t let him rest til it was done.

Stay tuned for more update posts!

Bedroom Remodel 3.0 posts:

Part 1-Why are we remodeling?

Part 2-Insulation and wall removal and replacement

Part 3-Walls and ceiling sanding and painting

Part 4-Bed Platform Rebuild (2.0)

Part 5-Window Work & Creating A Cabinet

Part 6-Ultra Pure White Bedroom

Part 7-Final Coat & Cabinet Is Up

Part 8-Bedroom Remodel 3.0…the finished product!