My brother-in-law is an artistic type who happens to be a lawyer. He has a unique eye and I don’t always agree.
We were viewing some project photos and he picked a couple out as pictures for framing. I didn’t consider them anything but a picture to record the state of things prior to renovation. I often take pics of wiring and plumbing prior to tearing apart or buttoning up.
What is your opinion? Art?
Construction Art?
Do you see “art” in the following?
If you have done drywall work you probably understand how difficult certain areas are to reach. Without a drywall lift (Red Line Professional 11-Foot Drywall Lift Panel Hoist Jack
) the job can be difficult and dangerous.
I had a ceiling job to do so that we can move forward with other projects in this room and we didn’t want to wait on the pros to do this section. I decided to fashion a lift to make the job safe and easy. The lift that I built was pretty straightforward and turned out to do a little more than I expected. At first this was going to be a 2 person job. When my co-worker didn’t arrive, I decided to give the 14′ ceiling a go on my own. Just prior to doing so, I taped my phone to a nearby ladder and turned the video on. I figured that this was going to go well, or terribly bad. Either way, I wanted to be sure that I captured it.
I modeled the lift using Google Sketchup. Sketchup is a terrific (and free) 3d design program. It is remarkably easy to use if you have any CAD experience. Here is a link to my Sketchup file.
DIY Drywall Lift
The material used was nothing more than 7 2×4′s and 3 hinges. I screwed the 2x’s together with 3″ drywall screws and fastened the hinges to a cleat that I then screwed to the wall (the cleat is the 7th 2×4 if you were wondering). By screwing the hinges to the cleat while on the ground it allowed me to position the entire lift at the correct height. I was then able to screw the cleat off at a few points without having to hold the whole rig up.
DIY Drywall Lift Plans
Once the piece closest to the wall was fastened to the ceiling (lift up to the 2×4 @ 48″ and swing up), I was then able to place the next piece a cleat at the base of the lift and lift/fasten. I was nervous about doing this solo since I hadn’t tested the strength of my setup. The sheets of drywall were 95 pounds each so a crash wouldn’t be without some damage below (me).
Video to follow.
Every once in a while, common sense slips in.
When working on a tile job, you don’t always need the high priced, high powered tool. Put away your inner Tim “The Toolman” Taylor and consider a manual tile cutter for your straight cuts. A tile cutter that scores and snaps can save you a lot of time and a bit of a mess compared to using a tile saw.
If you are in a tight space, and aren’t able to setup your wet saw nearby, you will find the back and forths will be a bit tiring and will add a lot of time to your project. A simple tile cutter will speed your project and keep the mess to a minimum. There are certainly cuts that can’t be made with a cutter and you will need to head down to your tile saw, but for the majority of your cuts consider the old school method of score and snap.
A decent tile cutter can be had for less than $40. When I say decent, you might wonder what I am comparing it to. Decent compared to a pair of nips, or decent compared to a high end wet saw? What I would say is that it is decent for a one or two time use. The materials used in the lower end tile cutters are not going to hold up to heavy use. However, if you pick up a tile cutter for $20 and use it for 2 jobs (before tossing it out for the junk collector) think of the money you will save over a rental charge.
You can purchase a decent unit at a tile shop, or at Amazon.com, or you can head down to Lowe’s or Home Depot and pick up a serviceable unit for about $20-$30.
Good luck.
