Let me start by saying that this is the first house that I've lived in that had sheetrock - and oh, how I have longed for sheetrock over the years! But my dreams didn't look like this!
Nor did I have dreamy visions of this...
...on my freshly painted bookshelf!! I knew there were studs in that wall, but WHERE??? The top picture is my attempt at finding a stud. The bottom shows what happened when my hubby stepped in with a hammer. It was bad. I mean really bad. He nailed that bad boy to the wall, stepped back and said (in a voice that clearly conveyed the fact that he was soooo tired of me & my bookshelf spectacle), "Now do you think it's going to stay up there?" So I gave it a little tug . . . . . . .and the doggone back came off the shelf!!!!! You nailed it up there real well, sweetie - but now my shelf's falling apart! At this point hubby was completely disgusted - he left me with it.
And then I cried, because this project was not supposed to be so stressful. Then I put my big girl panties on and figured out a way to make it work. . . . after I staple-gunned the back onto the shelf. =)
Wanna know how I finally found a stud? I found an outlet, which is obviously attached to a stud. But on which side? Ummmm, there's a nail pop! Nails pop out of . . . . Studs! So I measured from the corner to the nail pop to figure out where the stud is at. I attached an L-bracket to the top of the shelf, then to the wall. And it was DONE.
A strategically placed jar of sand covers the bracket right up. I haven't touched up the paint on the shelf yet, but maybe I'll get around to it someday. And if I don't, who cares? It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!!!! (Thanks, Nester , for those words of wisdom!)
But that's not the end of the story - no, there's more! See that cute picture hanging to the right of the jar? As I was stepping into a chair to nail it up, the leg broke off of the chair!!!! I screamed, I hollered, I rolled on the floor moaning in pain - I was thoroughly dramatic, but it HURT!!!! And I had a big purple bruise the next day to show for my efforts. Just keeping it real, folks!
Hope you enjoyed my bloopers! I think it's nice to see that decorating (and baby raising - heck, life in general) isn't just the pretty blog-worthy stuff. The trials, though, give me a greater appreciation for all the goodness that God brings to my life! Thanks for stopping by!
There is a little tool called a "stud finder" that uses sound or something to locate the stud and then blinks as you pass it over the stud. Hubby uses one.
ReplyDeleteThe other method - - - which is more difficult - - - is to knock very lightly on the wall with a hammer. The stud makes a different sound when you go across it.
Also - - - there is a "set" distance that studs are apart. Something like 18 inches - - - but that might not be right, hubby always knows so I don't try to remember.
The really GOOD thing about drywall is that once you've got all those little holes that you don't really need, they can be filled in with that white spackle stuff, smoothed over, sanded and then when you paint they are magically gone.
Keetha, I bought a stud finder, but it only worked sporadically. I finally figured out that it was b/c I had put a used battery in it, and it wanted a new one. It worked like a charm after that! =)
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteYou, my friend, have just won the Giveaway from Frugalicious Friday! Remember those adorable hand cocheted headband and flowers? I hope your daughter loves them! Please e-mail me your address so I can ship these babies out! Thanks for linkin' up!