The Two became One

Ever since our neighbors took out their wall, Sandi and I have wanted a great-room in our house.   

 

 

So, in June we took out the sheetrock and discovered that it was a load-bearing wall.

 

Weeks and months went by and the studs were still there.  It took us quite awhile to find the right contractor and jump through all the hoops to get a permit.

 

Finally, in September, the wall came out and a beam took its place.

 

Getting the beam to pass inspection was a chore.  I would tell that story here but this is a kid-friendly blog.

 

As much as we like the absence of a wall, the plywood beam lacked certain ascetic qualities.  I bought 'merbau' wood laminate (to match our merbau-laminated floor) and wrapped the sides of the beam.  The bottom of the beam is resawn hemlock stained cherry.  It worked for our floor-boards so we knew it would look good on the beam.  I also patched the floor with the merbau laminate.

 

All that was left was the drywall.

 

I only take care of inconspicuous drywall projects.  The new great-room does not qualify.

 

The drywall contractor took four-hours to join the two rooms in a seamless plane.

 

Now we paint.

 

We took the green color into the old dining room. 

 

Since the ceiling was patched, we had to paint that which required me to repaint the entire ceiling.  I had no idea our ceilings were so yellow until I painted them white.

 

The ceiling looks so much better!

 

And now we are finished!