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Writer's pictureTrisha McKinney

One Room Challenge Spring 2021 - Week Three


One Room Challenge Spring 2021 - Week Three | Build & They Will Come

 

Week three has come and gone and WOW did we make some progress this weekend. It's a good thing too because I realized my eight-week window was condensed into five weeks because we're out of town for three weekends {working full time really only gives us the ability to focus on the weekends} EEK! We tackled the most time-consuming part of this space, the build of the built-in console.


We powered through quite a lot and worked well into the evenings to ensure we were in a good spot going into week four and accomplished more than I thought we would - YES!!!


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Here's what we were able to get through:

  • Purchased all supplies necessary for the bottom portion of the build {Supply List}

  • Built the base and the frame

  • Covered the frame in concrete board

  • Learned a new skill - tile cutting

  • Cut and installed stone veneer & tile to face the build


Day 1 (Friday)


Straight after work on Friday, Skott, Colin, and I headed to Lowe's Home Improvement to pick up the lumber, concrete board, and hardware necessary to start the build of the frame. We also scoped out some of the stone veneer, unfortunately, the Lowe's we went to didn't have anything close to what I was envisioning.


After our Lowe's excursion, we went for a bite to eat at a great Restaurant and Brewery right around the corner, The Belching Beaver.


Day 2 (Saturday)


This weekend was soccer and commitment-free, I was determined to get an early{ish} start, and with all the supplies already purchased for Phase 1 of the build, it made it pretty easy to have a cup of coffee and jump right in. We got the workspace all set up and did another clean sweep of the patio with the broom and shop vac.


However, I think I probably should have had a couple of cups of coffee because I was giving Skott quite the attitude {don't worry I recognized and appoligized}.

While I was laying in bed that morning I had the genius idea to change things up a little bit. I thought it would be cool to have a kickboard/plate at the bottom of the built-in. Originally we were just going to build the structure all flat until it hit the ground. I thought the indentation would give the piece more of a custom look and add some additional dimension {remember in my first blog post, I said things might change along the way, this was the first "change order"}.

After tackling the necessary measurements and working out the dimensions, we started to construct the base {I call it a sub-base because we were building another base on top of that, I don't really think that's a thing}. The patio is on a slope to keep the water away from the house so we also had to make sure we built the base with that in mind. Lots and lots of leveling, I think this is when I started getting annoyed ... this part seemed to be taking FOREVER, but a solid foundation is key, if you don't everything built on top is like a house of cards waiting to fall.



We attempted to build the top portion of the frame separately but quickly realized that wasn't going to work and started to build it in place as we did with the base {not sub-base 😂}. Once we made all the cuts the project moved fairly quickly {I only had three wrong cuts and they were long cuts so...I shouldn't even count them, right?😉}


At some point during the day we had to go back to the home improvement store to pick up more lumber {beacuse there was a change order} and while we were at our local Lowe's Home Improvement found some tile and stone veneer that we thought could work. We purchased one of each to test back at home.


Day 2 Complete!

Day 3 (Sunday)


I was up at 4:30 AM tried to go back to sleep but that wasn't happening, so what else do ya do that early...well research installing stone veneer, naturally 😂. It's a good thing I did too, because the first thing we had to do was install the cement board. Did you know that cement board has two usable sides? It actually says it on the board, rough side and smooth side...guess what?!? Skott asked "do you know what side we use" and I replied with confidence "the rough side because we have to use mortar for the stone, not latex." It's the small wins for me, guys...all about the small wins 😉 that keep me motivated and wanting to continue.


Cement board cut and installed ... YES!!!


We installed the cement board installed, and headed back to our local Lowe's Home Improvement, the samples we picked up the day before worked great!

Yep that's a little pick me up on the cart

Our thought was, rent a tile cutter for the stone and tile, our local Lowe's didn't have a rental option. We checked The Home Depot online and they did! The rental price was $54 a day, not a problem if we were renting it early in the morning {not mind-morning} and knew what the heck we were doing. Skott and I were worried about needing to keep it longer and if we needed to, purchasing one made more sense, there was a tile saw for just over $129 {we probably would have walked out with it} but I decided to google the reviews, the nameless one did not receive great reviews. In my google spree, I found a wet tile saw for $56 at Harbor Freight, just 5 miles away with great reviews. As amateur tile installers on a budget it just made sense, so for $2 more plus tax, we became proud new owners of a wet tile saw!


We picked up a couple of sandwiches from Jersey Mike's {I'm a Jersey Girl at heart} on the way home so we could get right to work installing the stone veneer. As soon as I took the first bite of my sandwich, I realized we forgot the cement board tape to put over the board seams and screws. Took another bite of my sandwich and headed back out to pick it up while Skott cleaned up the patio and got ready to install the stone. One of the many things I love about The Home Depot is that it will tell you exactly what aisle the product you want is in and if it's in stock at your local store, it was an easy in and out. I mean it wouldn't be a DIY project without running to the store at least two times, right?


Ok...so I'm sure you're ready to see where everything ended up...I'll spoil the ending here, we installed all the stone veneer with a few missteps that I'll share in a later post on what we learned through our first One Room Challenge.




As long and challenging as it was at times, we are so extremely happy with where things ended and even more excited about where they are going with this project.


Supply/Equipment List:


Week four punch list:

  • Grout tile

  • Decide on countertop

  • Purchase countertop materials

  • Install countertop

  • Purchase materials for plant wall

  • Prep for plant wall


You can follow along on my Instagram stories and my weekly blog posts. I will also be linking any materials or decor that I purchase on my LikeToKnowIt.


If you like what you've read and think other might too, please share!


@Betterhomesandgardens #bhgorc #oneroomchallenge







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