kelsey.mackall, Author at A Dabbled Dwelling

Easily Patch Those Holes in Your Drywall

November 30, 2024 by kelsey.mackall

I can’t be the only one with random holes in my drywall. When someone opens a door and the stopper has disappeared, or someone unfortunately steps through the ceiling in the attic, holes happen. I hate to pay someone to fix something so small. And I especially hate to pay someone to fix something if I can figure out how to fix it myself. Patching drywall is surprisingly easy and doesn’t require any specialized equipment. It’s easy to learn how to do, and even easier once you’ve figured it out.

Patch Those Holes!

To begin, you need:

drywall
putty knife
box cutter
sandpaper
scrap wood
drywall screws
drywall mud
drywall tape

Measure the thickness of your drywall and make sure you’re getting drywall in the same thickness to replace it with. It’s easiest to patch a square hole, so cut around your hole to make it square. Get a piece of scrap wood that is just longer than either the length or width of your hole. Put the scrap wood inside your hole and screw it into the drywall to give you something to anchor the new drywall to. Be sure to sink your drywall screws so that you can easily mud over them. Then measure your drywall and cut it to fit the hole using your box cutter.

Person screws scrap wood into hole in drywall

Person cuts drywall to size using a box cutter

Once that is all set, fit your drywall piece into the hole and screw it into the scrap wood that you screwed in previously. Again, make sure to sink your screws so they can easily be covered with drywall mud. Spread a thin layer of drywall mud around the edges of your patch and place drywall tape along the seams. Then spread another layer of drywall mud over the tape, scraping it smooth in between coats. You don’t need to worry about getting it too smooth because you’ll sand it once it’s dry.

Person screws drywall square into wood to patch hole

Once the mud is dry, use your sandpaper and sand the mud smooth. If you have texture on your walls you can use a spray texture and work to match the texture on your wall. Then you paint over the patch and voila! You have easily patched that hole!

Fix Your Walls Yourself

I love that I am able to make these repairs myself. It’s so easy and I save myself the waiting and the repair bills. I find that it is super helpful to learn how to make the simpler repairs. It makes me feel so accomplished and successful. Plus, I can feel like my house is so much more put together when I don’t have to wait for a repair.

Taking the Bathroom from Gloomy to Glam: A Budget Breakdown

October 10, 2024 by kelsey.mackall

My primary bathroom was such a dungeon stuck in 2001. I couldn’t wait to take that bathroom from gloomy to glam. I lived with the dark uninviting space for 2.5 years while I planned, budgeted, and fantasized. After several projects in this house I was ecstatic when I finally had the chance to tear it all out. I took the whole bathroom down to the studs and partnered with several suppliers to create a glamorous, dreamy bathroom.

Rebuilding the Bathroom After Demo

My list of must-haves consisted of a spa like shower, a soaking tub (boy did I miss bubble baths!), gorgeous tile accents, and a stunning vanity. Doing the work myself saved me buckets of money and allowed me to get the high end fixtures and features that I wanted. Wait until you see the cost!!

Bathroom Budget Breakdown

I kept a running total of the expenses in this remodel and there may be some rough estimates in there but you get the idea! ceiling drywall was hired out because I loathe drywall and so was shower glass for obvious reasons. I deserved a teeeeny bit help after all.

Vanity: $3469
Tub: $1749
Faucets: $818
Tub Faucet: $729
Tile saw: $200
Mussel bound: $200
Backsplash: $800
Floor Tile: $175
Light fixtures: $300
Mirrors: $80
Pocket door: $250
Plumbing: $50
Ceiling Drywall (hired out): $400
Paint/Caulk/Mud: $200
Trim: $100
Arch Framing: $70
Cement board:$100
RedGard $50
Mortar: $25
Grout: $45
Adhesive: $100
Floor tile: $280
Caulk: $30
Wall tile: $560
Premade Niches: $200
Fixtures: $589
Window: $100
Pvc and Stone Trim: $175
Glass Door(hired out): $900

Total: $12,744

The vanity! That tub! My shower! This bathroom renovation is everything I dreamed of. It turned out absolutely gorgeous. Instead of inspiring doom and gloom, it inspires peace and comfort. It’s amazing how where you live can impact your mental health so much!

Add Outdoor Storage Easily By Building a Bike Shed

September 30, 2024 by kelsey.mackall

Does anyone else have outdoor toys that desperately need a home? Maybe it’s just me. Between the driveway and the house is an unofficial parking lot for all of the kids bikes and scooters. It looks like the place that toys come to die and it drives me crazy. I needed a way to corral all the toys in a way that went with the house.

Building a Bike Shed

We decided to build a bike shed that looks like it’s part of the house. The first step was to anchor a pressure treated 2×6 into the studs of the house using lag screws. Then we, I mean my husband, dug 3 post holes, one for each corner and a third for the door opening. We mixed the cement in the holes and sank the pressure treated 4x4s in the holes making sure they were level. We used three additional pressure treated 2x6s to attach to the 2×4 on the house and the posts with lag screws. I found some sheet siding to enclose it and attached it to the sides using my nail gun. Then I used 1x4s to frame the siding and create a fun little diamond detail at the top.

We put 1x6s along the 2x6s at the top to create a roof. To help keep rain out we stair stepped the 1x6s so the water would flow down instead of going through cracks. I live in the Houston area and that means humidity, and humidity means mold and mildew. Before I painted I used Kilz Mold and Mildew Exterior Primer to help keep the humidity from eating my wood. Then I painted the whole thing to go with the house and viola!

A woman in pink leggings watches a man dig holes while sipping from a cup

A woman in pink leggings checks a post to see if it’s level

A woman adds siding and trim to a bike shed

A woman swings from a bike shed structure

A woman hands a man a board to build a roof

It Looks Like It Belongs

Once it was done we moved all of the bikes and outdoor toys into it. I even added a cute little planter made from an old wheel. It looks like a part of the house which is a win for me. I love that it looks like it was always meant to be there and it keeps the eyesore of kids toys put away.