The Study

When the four of us first came to look at our apartment almost a year ago, it was listed as having 3 bedrooms. There was also a room off the kitchen that was set up for a washer and dryer... Obviously we're too cheap to buy a washer and dryer. We quickly determined that the room could be used as another bedroom, and Mike volunteered to take it. The room had it's own outside door, a water faucet and a drain. "I never even have to see you guys!", Mike joked.

Off of the main room was a small unfinished room that appeared to have been used as a workshop/storage. Shelves and cabinets lined the walls, storing old cans of paint. Nails protruded from the studs, used for hanging things such as an old croquet mallet. Wires hung like vines from the ceiling, all joining in one central hub that we named, "the octopus". A doorbell transformer, precariously wired and humming away, was mounted above the doorway. Scraps of carpet and linoleum lay in the corner by the moldy, unballanced, double hung window that needed to be proped with a stick to keep it from opening. Splotches of oil and paint stained almost every surface in the room.

I think Shiva likes it better this way.	The Octopus

Mike, always one to appreciate a little squalor, was very excited about this room. "It will be my 'study'", he declared. And so it was...

When we all moved in, there was some talk of insulating and drywalling the room, but I kind of expected it would be one of those things we always talked about doing and never actually did. We took a few small steps, by clearing out the shelving and pulling out all the protruding nails, but then the project stalled for a while. It wasn't until the temperature started to drop that we got serious about actually doing it. Our landlord enthusiactically agreed to pay for supplies, all we had to do was get the supplies and do the work. So, after delaying long enough, we finally went to True Value and picked up 10 sheets of drywall, 2 rolls of insulation, a tub of spackle, and an assortment of other materials.

Shiva making sure everything is to code

The first day was rather tentative. There were still a few issues that needed to be worked out. First, there as an edge of the ceiling that was kind of funky. Our solution was to cut the corner with 2x4's making angled studs to attach the drywall to. Another problem was the wiring, it was in the way and we needed to re-route it so that it could be tucked out of the way. This seemingly easy task became quite complex. one of the wires needed to be temporarily disconnected from the "octopus". When I hooked it all back together, nothing seemed to work correctly. After about 3 hours of futility, we realized that the lightbulb had simply burned out. Leason learned: always check the simple things first!!

Our solution to that funky corner	How many college kids does it take?

With the major problems out of the way, we pressed on. The insulation went up really fast and with no trouble.

Adam and Marissa cutting insulation	Adam and Mike installing the first piece

Finally it was on to the drywall. By this time, Mike has lost his shirt and donned the hard hat and saftey glasses that I had been required to wear for my summer job. By 4am, despite some measurement errors for which I take full responsibility, we finished the ceiling and called it a night.

The next day we finished most of the drywalling. Some of the pieces were tricky because it's an old house and not everything was alligned perfectly...but that's what spackle is for!

So professional!	Painting

A few weeks later, Mike was off to Germany and Adam moved back in. Adam and I finished the spackling and sanding, then we painted.

Here's the finished room!

The rug really ties the room together	Adam's couch fits perfectly

More Pictures!!