This project is oddly the one I wanted done most! I’ll explain why, the details and process of doing it ourselves in this post. Some of you are probably wondering where this wall even is, so let me start there with some before and afters:
View The Guided Home Tour for an easy view too.
The Before:
The Why
As you can see above, this wall is located across from our staircase, on your way to my office and living room from the sitting room. We believe this was the original front door of the house, before the kitchen/dining nook was added on as we do know the front of the house used to be the back (I’ll spare you the details, but lots of history here!). We have another entrance to the kitchen from the sitting room, so this door really isn’t needed. The bigger reason is that we want to build out the dining nook to include built in u-shaped seating, and making this a wall would really allow for that. To add to that, I knew closing it would really make each space it’s own, telling a story and creating a sense of discovery as you move throughout.
We decided to take this on ourselves for a number of reasons:
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We try to keep our projects at a minimum, and having so contractors in and out that month was just a lot.
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G loves a challenge and knew he could do this! Part of buying this home was for us to learn and do some things ourselves.
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The materials are actually very inexpensive, so we’d save even messing it up here and there over paying for labor in this economy.
Dining Nook for Reference
Materials Used:
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Wood
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2×6 for the studs (2)
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2×6 for the frame bottom and top (2)
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Drywall Screws
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Drywall
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Drywall paper
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Joint compound
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Sanding block
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Sponge & bucket of water
Tools Used:
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Hammer
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Crowbar
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Level
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Drill
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Joint Knife
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Sanding Block
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Circular saw
Steps to Fill Your Own Doorframe
These are very high level steps to give you an idea of the level of effort, not a full tutorial! If you have any questions at all, absolutely reach out to me and we are more than happy to help! This project takes a lot of patience to get it right at the end stages.
1. Remove existing door trim with crowbar and hammer:
2. Build out your frame:
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Measure for the base, top and length
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Cut wood to size using a circular saw
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Position wood in the door and ensure all wood is level before nailing in
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Note: Studs need to be 16 inches apart
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Drill holes in wood for screws at a 45 degree angle
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Lastly, screw with drill
3. Install Drywall & Fill Wall
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Measure and cut drywall
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Screw drywall directly into the frame (studs)
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Using a joint knife, take joint compound and fill in screw holes & open gaps between the wall
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Cut drywall paper to length and place over joint compound
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Add more joint compound, smooth out with the joint knife and let dry.
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Once dry, sand down using the sanding block until it is even with the other walls
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Repeat the process of adding joint compound and sanding until it is flush. You can use a long piece of wood to place against the wall and look for gaps/uneven spots on the wall.
Sanding the joint compound and making it flush with the other walls is a timely process. Being patient is critical. Do not rush this part. It took us days to get it right.
4. Paint!
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Vacuum and wipe down walls before applying paint to avoid particles collecting in the paint
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Paint one coat of primer
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Then, two coats of your desired paint color, maybe three depending on the condition of your wall and paint color hue.
Finishing Touches
Our staircase area featured some trim detail that we needed to match. We decided to add a wider middle design piece and closed up the trim using the old door frame as it matched!
The After
Questions?
As mentioned, this was a process and overall, not very stressful! As long as you go into it knowing it may take some time, you’ll be good to take this on. I should note we already had all of the tools which cut down the end costs for us. Materials and supplies were ~$300.
Be sure to head back to see us fill the space with furnishings!