What a Hole in the Wall

I've been planning some changes for the hall bathroom to make it a little more Lewis-friendly. We've been spending more time in there lately, teaching him to wash his hands. Now that we're starting to sort of think about potty training, I want to make it into more of a space that he likes to be in. I know I'm going to paint, and I'd like to add some shelves and accessories that are more his style. [And maybe a new shower curtain if I can find the right one.] I would love to rip out the old funky tile (and its mint green counterpart in our master bathroom), but for now we are living with it. Hopefully a different wall color will make it fade away.

But first, there's something scary lurking behind these walls:

Looks normal, until...

 Shablam! 

Behind the huge mirror lies a huge hole. Thank you previous owners for covering it up and not mentioning it. We discovered it semi-soon after moving into this house, but we've just ignored it. My mom noticed it at Lewis' birthday party last month--sometimes when you open the bathroom door quickly, a rush of air comes up through the wall and blows the mirror out from the wall a bit. Like it's alive! :) It's so great. I decided it was finally time to fix it before I paint again. So here it goes!

First of all, whomever cut the hole in the wall, cut right through the drywall and studs (and not in a straight line). Our first step was to build a frame of 2x4s onto which the drywall could be attached. 2x4s, however, were too deep for the hole, so I cut each in half long-ways, which I guess gave me 2x2s.

The completed outer frame.

I had to call Kevin in for reinforcements--the screws I used were really long and didn't go all of the way in with the power screwdriver, so we had to tighten them down by hand. Lots of shoulder and arm soreness today.

Thanks for helping, Kev-o.

I stepped out of the bathroom, and I cracked up at how safe/awkward he looked, perched up on the sink.

We finished the outer frame last night (before the IU game), and then I worked on it some more this morning while Grandma and Grandpa T. took Lewis. 

First, I had to add two more supports. The pieces of drywall at Home Depot were 2 feet by 2 feet, and the hole was about 30 inches by 30 inches. Soooo, I had to create studs on which to hang the drywall. I just held up one of the 2x2 drywall pieces, marked where the stud should go, and screwed the stud in place.

 Not the most square/level thing, but it will do the trick. :)

 We have drywall!

I used one whole 2x2 drywall piece on the left and pieced in the area around it with three smaller pieces.

 I wasn't sure how closely to space the screws, so I probably used far too many. I don't think it's going anywhere. :)

Taped and 1st layer of mud.

I will sand it tomorrow and apply the 2nd coat, followed by another sanding and 3rd coat on Sunday. I guess after the final sanding on Monday, we'll be ready for paint! More pictures to come on that.