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Thursday, October 3, 2013

Cheap Tip: Remodeling With Sheetrock

Once, a ceiling in the living room was ruined at one corner by a commode tank freezing upstairs. It took me many years to be able to afford to repair it. When I decided to paint the living room, it was time to fix the ceiling.

I really could not afford it all. But, I started out, doing it as I could afford it. With a few tips from guys who had done home repairs, the job went faster since I could now follow through on plans.

The job required enough supplies: all new sheet rock for the ceiling, paint for walls, paint for ceiling, sheet rock mud, nails, tape. That's a lot of money for me.

You, too, can save on Sheetrock/drywall like I did!

This guy told me to get the Sheetrock meant for mobile homes. He explained away my objections:
I did not want 1/4 inch Sheetrock since leaning on it can cause a hole. A bump with a chair will cause a major problem.

His answer:
The ceiling sheet rock will be 10 feet from the floor. No one will lean on it.

My other objection: the Sheetrock has a wallpaper pattern on it.
He told me to turn it the other way and paint the back of the Sheetrock.

I checked with professionals and DIYers. Everyone said there was no problem using it on the ceiling or turning it and painting the back.

The Sheetrock cost me $2 for each piece. As I was buying it, the guy gave me sheets that had flaws. My remodeler used those instead of cutting a whole good piece when he needed only a strip. So, I left with about 30 pieces of sheet rock and gave what I did not use to a friend who had helped me on a project before this. My ceiling was only about 19x18 feet. He was finishing an attic over his garage and was happy with what I had to offer. he even knew how to make it work when it was damaged.

The balance of a birthday gift bought expensive paint and the rest of the supplies. Oh, I may have spent $10 more, but it was a super cheap and wise move to buy the mobile home Sheetrock. I don't count the whole cost of the Sheetrock mud, because I used it for other rooms along with the nails.

I probably would not have used the mobile home Sheetrock on walls. However, using it on the ceiling was not a problem for me. Maybe the room would have been better insulated with thicker Sheetrock. Since the room was cold all the time, anyway,  and rarely heated, it hardly made a difference.

The room was spectacular when finished!

Your  turn
Have you ever used 1/4 inch mobile home Sheetrock for your home that is not a mobile home? Would you use it for a ceiling?

6 comments:

  1. What a brilliant and ingenious solution. And satisfaction must have added an extra feeling of pleasure in that spectacular room.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I basically did a whole room repair and paint job for $50. The price made it look even more spectacular.

      Delete
  2. I didn't know there was a different Sheetrock for Mobil homes. I would definitely use it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. J and M,
      I did not either until it was pointed out to me. It makes the mobile home cheaper and lighter for pulling it around to relocate. On ceilings, it does not matter.

      Delete
  3. Are there pictures somewhere? I also did not know there was such a thing as special drywall for mobile homes. Thanks for teaching me something new today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. langela,
      Pictures of the drywall? No. Pictures of the room? Maybe somewhere, taken with film. I would not use it on anything but a ceiling. I imagine the insulation factor is not as great as with the regular sheetrock. But, that was not an issue. With my savings, I could have insulated the whole attic. I think $2 sheetrock is pretty dirty cheap.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.