Getting rid of the "Pink Room"

Jim O'Dell

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2,783
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Between Aledo and Fort Worth, TX
Well, Rennie's renovations are winding down and really looking great. Mine are just starting, and will go a lot slower than his since I don't have any vacation time to use.

A little background: We bought this house a little over 4 years ago. Went from a 1320 sq ft house to one that is 2520, plus a detached building for a shop. You've probably seen my thread on the shop rehab...this one won't be near as long.:thumb: This house has carpet in every room except the kitchen, the half bath, and the utility room. They have linoleum. Even the 2 full baths have carpet. :huh: All the carpet is blue, except this one room off the entry...it's pink. In fact, the walls are pink, the trim is pink and the crown molding is pink. Thus we have always called it the "Pink Room". I thought originally I would get this room to rebuild my HO train setup. I had planned to wall in the double door width opening to the entry, put in some stained glass that was back lit, put a bench under that for the students parents to be able to sit and wait, and reopen the closed in door to the hallway by the other 2 bedrooms, as that is how the house was originally built. It served as a storage room until recently when LOML needed another computer up for her music students. Now the push is on to make it less pink.:rofl::rofl:
I started last weekend with scraping the popcorn ceiling from the Pink Room and the entry. With other activities going on, that was about all the time I had available. This weekend was no exception. So after my shopping yesterday AM in the rain, and finishing up at the rescue dog event my wife was at, I got home in time to make about 8 trips up into the attic to get an electrical box back in the center of the room for a ceiling fan and light. The only light in this room was the one that was in the area that was designated for the closet, until they tore the walls down. Makes for a little alcove that we will put a futon in for parents to be a little more comfortable while the kid's lessons are going on. Can double for a bed when company comes.

I found a wire (10-3 + gnd) coming up out of the wall area that should be for the original ceiling light. It was the right length. No power on it. So I hoped I could find it in the wall by the original door and re-use it and make a 3 way set up in case someday it's made back into a bedroom. I added 2 more wires that go over to the wall by the opening to the foyer to be the other 3-way switch, and for the ceiling fan control. I measured about where I wanted to put the box by the original door, marked it with the box I was going to use. Used a drill to poke a hole and run to the stud so I could be close to it. My markings were right on! I use my drywall saw blade to cut out the sheetrock, and imagine my surprise when the sheetrock falls away and I find this: DSCN2022.jpg !!! I couldn't believe it. What I didn't expect to find in the wall was power. There are 3 sets of wire coming into the box in addition to the 1 set I found in the attic. I know one goes to the switch for the closet light, and another probably goes down to the outlet below. But I'm not sure where the power in comes from. There is a linnen closet the same depth as the closet on the other side of the wall, then the bathroom on the other side of it (between the original 2 bedrooms). Seems like an odd way to run the infeed, but it works for me! So I have power for the 3 way light switch. I will have to run power for the ceiling fan from a junction box about 6' from the ceiling fan box I installed. Odd that the electrical box wasn't still up in the attic.

OK, 2 more pictures to show the room, and I'm out of here. The first one is taken from the entry way showing the beautiful wall paper :rolleyes:. It also shows the wall I found the hidden electrical box in. DSCN2016.jpg And then a better picture of the pinkness of the paint to show that I'm not making this up. DSCN2017.jpg It's a little too dark to do justice for the carpet, though. :rofl:

I did get one coat of mud on the screw holes, some sanding done, and the ceiling wiped down. Now to get on with getting the rest of the mud on and sanded so that I can start the paint and texturing process. Thanks for looking in. Hope this will be entertaining! :D Jim.
 
Now Jim, why in the world would you want to cover that awesome pink color? The mere fact that it can cause migraines just looking at it shouldn't be a deciding factor. :rofl:

This should be a fun one to watch. Keep us posted. :thumb:
 
Goodness, that is really PINK, make me wonder what, or who lived there before :huh: :dunno:

My mom got my dad to pain the living room in their house a few years back, she sent me pictures of it............ :eek: WOW is it "Cranberry" :doh:

When we went to visit over this last summer, I saw the room for the first time, in person, my mom asked me what I thought, I stood there for a moment and said "Well......... one day................ that is going to take AT LEAST two coats of GOOD paint to cover up........."

My dad laughed so hard, I thought he was going to hurt himself :D :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Good luck with this, we will be watching! :wave:
 
Yes, the room is pink. In fact, every time I start to feel bad about my pink fireplace I think I'll come to this thread to remind myself that I don't have it so bad after all.:rofl:

Now, I thought I had some excitement with out of square framing and bumpy floors, but poking a drill bit through a ceiling and into a live junction box?:eek: That's exciting!

Good luck! Between you and Stu I'll be getting my 'renovation fix' vicariously for at least the next month or so!:thumb:
 
Yeah, lucky I didn't go in much past the thickness of the drywall!
Oh, and our fireplace is baby/sky blue. If they had left it the natural brick color it would have been great. I've contemplated trying to strip it, but I know I could never get all the blue out of the cracks and crevaces. The bad thing, this fireplace is so massive already, I don't think I can add anything to it, so we will probably have to faux paint it and try to simulate brick. But that's a project for another year. :D Jim.
 
We had the pink room in our first house. Luckily a year and a half later we had our daughter. I told my wife it it wasn't a girl I was heading straight home to start renovations.
 
We had the pink room in our first house. Luckily a year and a half later we had our daughter. I told my wife it it wasn't a girl I was heading straight home to start renovations.

Lucky you!!:D
Well, this is going slower than I thought it would. Multiple pre-engagements the last 2 weekends kept the start of the work to a minimum. Then this week, I had my colonoscopy scheduled. I worked a little yesterday after the procedure, and I've sanded the ceiling, and got another coat of mud on the truly offensive areas, but I'm telling you, I haven't been very comfortable doing it. Procedure was fine. But all the cleansing has left me...shall we say...swollen and sore. :eek:
I hope I can sand one more time tomorrow, then get the final coat of mud on. If I can get one more sanding done after that, then I'll be ready to texture. But someone is supposed to be working on the wall paper in the hall, and she hasn't touched it yet. :huh: Guess I know what that means.
I'd take a picture, but you wouldn't be able to see anything in it, so I won't bother.
Anyone know where I can buy one of those little inflatable donuts????:rofl: :rofl::rofl::rofl: Jim.
 
Well, I almost decided to blow the room up this morning. :rofl: The closet wall that was taken out and badly patched was worse than I thought. I hadn't gone across it with my 12" knife yet. I had repatched both seams with fiberglass tape and mudded them in already. Had to sand through one of them. Sanded down the ridge with my ROS and vacuum hook up. Still no where close. If I held the 12" knife where it was flush on one side then across the ridge, it was showing a 1/4"+ gap at the other end!:eek: I feathered out about 16 to 18" on either side of the ridge. I still have some final filling and sanding to do, and may feather out a little further, but I think this will look ok. I hope it does, or I'll be back asking where a DIYer can buy a few sticks of dynamite!
Hopefully these pictures will come out ok. The first 2 are of the offending site, one from each angle, and one with and one without the light. dscn2027.jpgDSCN2028.jpg Yes, I have a big hole to fill there. It will be done in several layers, with fiberglass mesh tape in each for strength.
This last one shows the other side of the ceiling. Down to being sanded and it should be good to go. DSCN2029.jpg
Hope you are having a great weekend! Jim.
 
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jim sounds like you have mudded before but just in case your not aware,, have you looked at dura bond for fillin the hole,, it comes in difernt setup times and doesnt shrink much at all,, have used it alot for bad spots like your dealing with.. up in my parts they use it alot for the first coat, becasue it doest shrink and dries fast. just another opinion;)
 
No Larry, I hadn't heard of that. But mud will do fine for me. I don't care if it dries slowly. I had thought about mixing up some of my Bondo to stick in there :D but decided against it. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep the dura bond in mind for future use. Jim.
 
Well, I'm still working on it! I think I've got the ceiling about ready in both the Pink Room and the foyer. DSCN2031.jpg The walls in the foyer need some more sanding, but probably about 5 minutes worth once the mud I have on is finished drying. DSCN2032.jpg One spot may require another coat if it shrinks too much. I found a piece of "paper" and of course I pulled on it...joint tape. :doh: But it was loose and therefore needed to come off. I've got it re-taped and bedded with fiberglass mesh tape.
LOML thinks she wants to try the suede faux finish for the foyer, and will probably do the glaze sponge finish in the pink room, like she did in her studio, only maybe a slightly different color. BUT THERE WILL BE NO PINK IN IT!!! I promise. :rofl::rofl: I'll apply the base coat, and she can do what she wants from there. :thumb:
And it seems like there is a football game on to watch just after 3:00. :huh: :D Guess that will give the mud enough time to dry. Hope your weekend has gone/is going well. Jim.
 
Jim,

The ceiling came out well! I know what you went through to get it to look that good and I know it wasn't easy. Well Done!! It's dirty, hard work. But in the end it will be worth it.
 
Had great expectations for today....
Got home about 2:00 from work and errands. Got lunch, and started scuffing the trim, and taping off woodwork that isn't to get painted. Started wiping down the walls, and LOML found a nail trying to pop through I had missed on my 1500 times around the room.:doh: So, had to dig it out and put a screw in to solidify things. Just checked about 15 minutes ago, and it was finally dry enough for a top coat. Fixed another area on the ceiling I had also missed, so no painting today. If I get at it early enough tomorrow, I may still be able to texture tomorrow afternoon late, or early evening. We'll see. That would give it the week to dry thoroughly, more than needed, and be ready for the last primer coat next weekend, then start the top coat process, whichever color the LOML decides.
Hope you've had a great first half of the weekend! I will get some pictures of the painted walls and trim tomorrow. Hopefully some of the texture!! Jim.
 
Well, almost. It's going to take 2 coats of primer for some reason. This pink isn't wanting to give up the ghost. :rofl:
And when I painted the entry way, there is still some residue of the wall paper on the wall board. They didn't prime the sheet rock before putting the wallpaper up, and it is giving us fits getting it off. It bubbled up with the moisture of the paint. Only have a problem on one wall, but it is going to throw a kink in my schedule. Doesn't this always happen? :wave: Jim.
 
OK, here's the pictures I promised. The first one is the Pink Room. This is the section I had to do so much mud work where the closet wall was removed. DSCN2058.jpg
The next two are of the entry that is biting my tush this weekend. The first of the two shows the good side, DSCN2059.jpgthen the second shows the wall I'm scraping. DSCN2060.jpg Got some good ideas to help release what we think is the wallpaper backing. It's like not all of it came off with the wallpaper. Scraping is not going so well. The idea is to soak some newspaper in a water/vinegar mix, put the paper on what needs to come off, and let it soak into it. Then it should come off easier. I hope so! I think it would have been easier to pull the sheet rock off and redo that than it has been getting the wallpaper off. I think the major problem is the wallpaper was applied to the sheet rock without priming it first. That's it, it's time for supper. :thumb: Jim.
 
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I had to get wallpaper off of raw drywall in my bathroom. I used the wall paper mixture sprayed on with a hand-pumped garden sprayer. Worked like a charm. I let it soak and then went at it with a wide taping knife. What didn't come off the first time got a second soaking. The wide knife reduced my tendency for digging in!

I did chicken out on the texturing though. I wanted it to match the ceiling. I hired a pro. Worth every dime. Primed and painted and looks like a million bucks!
 
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