Helloooo in there!

Now that there is floor, I thought - I'll punch a few holes in the wall of my own. I realize this logic isn't...well....logical. But I never promised that this home repair would make any sense.

See, my little condo is short on storage. I thought there was tons when I first moved in and somehow, it all got filled up quickly. So, this time around, I'm going to create some more. I decided that I'd make use of all that space in the wall between the studs. Waste not, want not, and all that good stuff.

So, I started cutting....with a little help from my friends. Here, you can see the fellas through the hole in the wall we just cut. Helloooo guys! The missing drywall on the side facing the camera was actually from a ill-fated attempt at demolishing that part of the wall....til I found out that it needs to be there to hold up a big beam. I decided it wasn't a good idea to remove it. :)

So, there I was merrily cutting along between the studs (16 inches on center...so about 15 inches apart...I learned something) and when I got to the third opening....I discovered - pipes! Boo! Pipes are bad. This means I'd have to relocate them or not use that space. I'm opting for the latter. Especially because the main power cord for the condo is tucked in there too. No need to play with a few hundred amps of power. So, I'm going to cut out the stud between the hole on the right and the middle one, make a new header, and built a shelving thing to put inside the wall. It will only be 6 inches deep, but that's deep enough to store glasses, or cans, or cupcakes. :)

That should free up a bit of space in the cabinets. Hooray! I plan on doing the same thing in the bathroom, because I need a place to tuck extra toiletries and rolls of tp.

Hey - did you know that 2 by 4s aren't actually 2 inches by 4 inches. They used to be, but then people got picky and wanted smooth surfaces. So, they sanded down the 2 by 4s by 1/4 inch on each side and got the current size - 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches. There's your historical lumber lesson of the day.

I also sanded about 2/3 of the kitchen over the weekend. I had my dust mask on...it was sexy. When I was done, I had crazy yellow eyebrows from where the paint dust had settled. It was like having highlights...only dirtier.