Well, week 4 was interesting. I wrongly assumed that it would be a pretty easy week attaching beadboard to the laundry room walls. However, as we fit the first piece, we noticed that the beadboard was uneven when resting on the baseboard. After examining the floor, we realized that it had a significant slope (~ 1/2 inch over the width of the room) and the baseboard followed that slope, making it unlevel. After some back and forth between Jeremy and me, we stopped working for the day without attaching a single board. We went home that night and did some research, and surprisingly there wasn’t a consensus on how to handle this situation. Based on what we read, we came up with three potential solutions:
- Remove the baseboards and re-attach them so they are level. This would create a gap in the far right corner, but (hopefully) that could be hidden when attaching the shoe molding. The problem with this option was that the baseboards will appear to be different sizes at the opposite ends of the room. This would be pretty noticeable.
- Remove the baseboards and scribe them to match the slope of the room. The problem with this solution would be similar to the first option. The baseboard sizes will appear different at different points of the room.Yikes.
- Remove the baseboards, attach the beadboard and then install baseboards on top of it. This way we could ensure the beadboard is level. The baseboards will follow the slope of the floor (like how it is now). We hope that it won’t be very noticeable and therefore a good option.
We returned on Sunday and spent half the day working and installing the beadboard. We decided that option #3 was the best possible solution. We finished ~half the room and will return this weekend to finish it up. Overall, the plan seems to be working. The beadboard is level and looks really nice. However, like most house projects, this change in plans led to scope creep since we are now installing new baseboards and shoe molding (which also means more filling, caulking, sanding, and painting!). But we think it’ll be worth it and produce an overall better quality product for Darla in the end.
Another thing that slowed us down was cutting out the spaces for the outlets and laundry hookups. This is not particularly difficult, just time-consuming. You also have to be mindful of the different sides of the beadboard that you are working with. The left and right sides are different. This allows the boards to be installed side by side and creates a cohesive look. We also needed to cut every board down to the proper size, usually just height but occasionally width. It’s essential to keep all of these things straight so you cut the holes in the appropriate location.
We decided to install the beadboard using a pneumatic nail gun instead of glue/adhesive. The beadboard we purchased is not solid wood, so the nail does create a small amount of damage that can’t necessarily be fixed with wood filler. I’m hoping with caulk and paint the nail holes will be unnoticeable. Fingers crossed!
All of these changes (and delays!) push our schedule back a little, but we are confident we’ll complete everything by the end of the ORC. The new, updated schedule looks like this:
Week 5: Finish Installing Beadboard, Attach Door Handles, Install Baseboards and Chair Rails
Week 6:Finish Filling/Caulking/Sanding and Painting
Week 7: Style & Take Pictures
Week 8: Reveal/Completion
The room is at the point where you can start seeing it all come together. That brings a lot of excitement and energy – just the extra push we need to keep going.
As always, please check out the featured designers and guest participants on the ORC’s website.
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
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