Moving into a fixer-upper is a lot different than buying one and working on it while living elsewhere. We bought our new house on a land contract and had two weeks to get it ready to occupy. With the rest of our savings and the help of some good friends we got moved in just before my wife had to go in for major surgery. For several weeks we lived in the guest bedroom, half of the bathroom and part of the kitchen while the rest of the house was either packed with boxes or getting renovated.
Part of that renovation was tearing out old drywall that had black mold and putting up new drywall.
We made a lot of discoveries in the process. The previous owners sealed up four windows, a doorwall and a hidden room behind the bathroom that was soundproof and had curious eyebolts on the wall and a padded area in the back. Now, I haven’t read 50 shades of anything but my mind went right to a gimp box or a screaming closet. Anyhow, the windows are uncovered and the hidden area is opened.
Nearly every wall has been replaced, taped and mudded, painted and trimmed out. Gone is the 1970’s paneling and in with a more modern paint scheme.
Like the novel that I’m working on. I wrote an original version fifteen years ago and now the only thing that remains the same is the title and one character. And I’m about to change the title.
Like the walls in my house, sometimes it’s best to tear out all the old moldy crap and start over. The new rooms look fantastic. Now we sleep in a spacious master bedroom and there are times I find myself looking at the walls, the perfect ones as well as the ones with nicks and dents. I know these walls like I know my characters inside and out.
To date we have put up 85 sheets of drywall and we will probably need another 40 sheets more before we are done. The old sheets went into a dumpster, totally useless, but old stories still have their place.
I’ve began posting stuff on Wattpad. I won’t get paid for them, but hopefully I’ll attract more readers. We’ll see. If nothing comes from it, no big loss.
If you want to see an example of my style, here’s the link to Idol Hands:
apdiggs 