How to finish bad sheet rock installation in a loft?
We bought a garage w/loft on a lake lot. The sheet rock in the loft was installed poorly (at best). Big gaps between pieces and bad cuts. We would like to "cover" it rather than take it all down. It is a seasonal use loft so we don't think paintable wallpaper would stay through the change of elements (below zero in the winter to 90's in the summer). Floor will remain, and is a light hardwood. There is also wood on the 'short' wall side.
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Hi Dawn! I think I would cover the gaps and bad cuts with strips of wood. They could be painted the same color to blend in.
Honestly you should probably just take out the bad and reinstall. Sheetrock isn't that expensive and you'll like the results a lot better. Looks like whoever did this didn't have a clue and never heard of youtube for help.
Ann, Hello, I'd get a professional to do this job. There is way too much to repair and measuring. Sometimes we can do a job ourselves, if we know how. This loft might be for a guest, or grandchild. It will cost you, but you'll have a guarantee, plus a contract. You also won't have any problems of it looking right. Go online to HomeAdvisor or Angie's list, to find a professional who has been checked out. They usually give you 3 or 4 to choose from, and 3 different prices. This job will also increase the value of your home, not to mention how nice it will look.
From what I can see in the photographs it looks like the Sheetrock was never taped and floated. This is a normal process to fill the cracks and rough cuts on any Sheetrock installation. This process is time consuming and requires proper technique to get great results. I would find a Sheetrock installer and have him bid the job, it will be cheaper and faster, plus he can make sure the Sheetrock was hung properly.
If you really just want to cover it up, you could use fabric. We have done this in an old house without the benefit of sheetrock! But, the cost of the fabric, time to do the project, etc., is probably no less than Ric above has mentioned.
I'm doing a lot of my own sheetrock / drywall work - I have quite a few walls that look like this! HA!
- I call them my Frankenstein walls. Times are tough so I don't waste ANY pieces of drywall.
- some of them are being filled with MUD (smaller cracks) and sanded - I'm going for a rustic look anyway so imperfections are okay
- other walls are "mudded" enough to keep air / bugs (eeeew) from getting into the house.
I'm using heavy, "textured", paintable wallpaper for the smoothest walls and covering some with planks (in a "shiplap" kind of fashion)
-using fence pickets -cheaper than good wood and they stain beautifully! (see pic)
- in one room I'm covering the walls with stained luaun! Once it's up, I'll put in trim to cover edges (see under window in luaun pic)
which is just thin, wood-grained plywood. (the blue tape it to prevent splitting when cutting )
It can be painted if I change my mind about how it looks.
So... DO IT YOURSELF - cover with fabric or pallet wood or luaun!
It depends on the look you want. You could keep the wood theme going and cover all (or part) the walls and ceiling with tongue and groove board or beadboard panels. If you have the tools and experience, it would be just the cost of materials. Or, take that money and pay someone to complete the drywall as was suggested. Either way, you will still need to add the window, baseboard, and door trim.
I like the beadboard panels idea.
Terrible job. Hopefully there's proper insulation and vapor barrier under it. Before covering it up, if that's what you plan, all the joints would need to be taped, mudded, and sanded. Any uneven joints can be under cut to to level them. Wide seams can be filled with low expanding foam so the drywall tape has something to stick to. Trim out the window frames with 1X wood boards then they can be trimmed out. Wood trim where the wood wall meets the drywall. Whether you choose to leave the drywall or cover it will never look perfect. Personally there is so much work to get it right, I would remove all the drywall insulate properly and put new drywall up.
Nothing is going to be very inexpensive, but if time and effort is more of an issue than funds, there's a great and super easy to use product called Fasade that can be cut with a utility knife and put up using super sticky double sided tape (sold with the product). There are lots of textures and colors. I used it in my kitchen because the walls were terribly uneven and stuff after I removed the hideous wallpaper (vinyl with brick printed, but that sort of pink colored brick - it was AWFUL!!!). I did the backsplash in one evening mostly by myself (a friend wanted to hang out, so she helped a bit toward the end). The backsplash has been up for more than two years and still looks great. Even contractors have commented on it and been interested enough to take down all the information so they can suggest it to clients. The particular pattern I chose is a wavy stainless steel look and people always think it is really metal until I show them the leftover bit I kept from the project. It cleans easily with regular cleaning supplies - I've used whatever I'm cleaning with, from soapy cloth to various spray cleaners and haven't had a single problem. If I could afford to do so, I would cover the basement walls with the product. It would look SO much better than cinderblock.
Hang fabric loosely on it??