Work continues

I want to update the blog at least weekly, whether there is much to illustrate or not.  There is some more drywall finishing and paint prep, and then paint will go up.  More wiring is in and all that's left is the overhead lighting.  Much work has been done in the stairwell leading up to the darkroom: drywall, lighting, etc.

I have chosen to paint the ceiling before I complete this wiring since I am doing it with exposed boxes and conduit that will go over the painted surface.  I'm concentrating on this so that I can get lights up - at least temporary ones - in order to make the remainder of the work easier.  Right now, there are no lights in the room and I am using temporary work lights mounted on a stand.  Serviceable, but not ideal, and I keep waiting to trip over the stand or the cord.

Here is the completed wall vs. the plan:

It is in this wall that I have made a mistake, although one I hope shall have little consequence.  The plan is to scale for the most part, if not absolutely precise.  (The stud placement and the dimensions are right enough, but you can see that the doorknob and the electrical boxes are more freely represented in their placement.)  If you look very closely, you may perceive that the door on the plan is wider, and it is.  I had planned for a 36" door.  I ended up with room for only a 32" door.  Also notice the added strip of drywall between the old sheet rock of the existing wall and the door.  Here's what happened:

As reported in the post on March 26, I had to replace the stud at the end of the existing half wall since it was so warped.  Instead of actually replacing the stud (as depicted in the plan), I simply cut it off and attached the new one to the side of the old.  This added an inch and a half.  Then, in framing for the door, the new stud became the "king" stud, and an additional 2x4 was placed as the "jack" stud.  The jack studs are required to support the header above the door.  Anyway, I had now added 3 inches and a 36" door would no longer fit.  My mistake was not thinking far enough ahead to shorten the existing half wall in order to leave enough room to frame for a larger door.  Oh, well.

The wire coming out near the top of the wall is for the overhead lights and a ceiling fan.  It will enter a yet to be installed junction box and go on up to the conduit for the lights on the ceiling.  This all happens, of course, after the ceiling is painted.