The Evolution of a Pantry: Spackle Interlude

Well I hope the Diet Coke Brownies turned out delicious for everyone! We’ve had our first batch at the Johnson house for a little over 24 hours now and we have just under half a pan left >_>;; I call that a success! Although…I’m pretty sure the health benefits of it are all for naught after you devour 3 of them vs. 1 of the original. I might be wrong though…so I suppose one more brownie won’t hurt.

I kid. I’m too health conscious to eat 4 brownies. 3 is my limit. I filled the rest of my day with sour jolly ranchers (Except cherry…screw cherry!), some Little Caesars, and an orange. WHOA LOOK OUT WEIGHT WATCHERS THERE’S A NEW DIET GURU IN TOWN. Seriously it’s not always like that here. But I’m a firm believer in the occasional “eff it” day where anything goes (and if it’s edible it’s probably going to go in my mouth).

Anyway I said I was going to hone in on the details of my spackling adventure. Recap: Previous owner of the home was apparently a lunatic and sheet rocked his home…then decided he didn’t want to paint so he paneled over it. Only 2 rooms were spared from this foolishness: Abigail’s room and the laundry room.

When we first bought the house it was hard to overlook the darkness of it. Verticle strips may be rumored to make a woman look tall and slim but they do nothing for a house. Especially if it’s paneling in its raw form. Example(s):

 

Paint has done temporary wonders for the house but simply painting over the panels is not the end to my compulsive madness. I want the paneling gone. Period. But that can be quite a burden on the budget. I’m certain if we concentrated all our DIY funds to the walls we could have them replaced within a few months. But then what of the 50 other projects I want to start?

…so you see my problem.

When we build the pantry I decided to perform a small experiment. I wanted to see if I could take regular paneling and make it look more “sheet rocky”. So here’s how that went.

Step 1) Purchase spackle of your choosing. I found my brand at Lowes at $5.48 for a 3 pound tub. I didn’t even use a quarter of it…this stuff goes a long way. An additional supply to consider is a cheap plastic spatula. I’ve admittedly used my fingers to spread the spackle around (it has a very curious texture) but it’s just easier to use the spatula.

Step 2) Spread your spackle into the grooves and joints of your paneling as though you were filling in any ordinary nail hole. I found great success in applying the spackle like I did for the tile grout. Take a large glob of spackle, drag it down a single groove with the spatula, and then drag the spatula horizontally across the spackled groove to smooth.

Step 3) Allow spackle to dry according to manufacturer’s directions. Then – and stay with me here- repeat step 2. WAIT WHAT?! Yes. I only did a single layer on one wall vs. two layers on another and there was a noticeable difference in the edges showing up. So just suck it up and go at it again. It’s better to do this now than go through your sanding, painting, and drying only to still be able to see the lines. You can go for three if you want



Step 4) Allow the spackle to dry at least 12 hours. I know most advertise ‘fast drying’ but trust me…it’s so much easier to sand if the stuff is dry. And I tell you this as someone who got too impatient and tried to speed things up >_>;; And then had to start all over.    

Step 5) Sanding. WARNING: Do this only if you can have adequate ventilation (open windows, fans, etc.) and are using a safety mask. The one I used is this model from Lowes. The spackle makes a huge, dusty mess! It’s unbelievable! I used an orbital powered sander (partially for speed and partially because I’m lazy) but you can easily sand it by hand. And if it makes a difference I use 120 grit sandpaper (it’ll be labeled on the package when you buy it).  Just sand it to the point where the bumpiness of the spackle is taken care of and when you run your fingers along it you can’t tell the different between the edge of the spackle and the paneling.

Step 6) Dust and paint. Be sure to take an extra rag (I used a simple, dry paper towel) to brush away the spackle dust. Then paint! And marvel at your work!  

The overall look

Spackled vs. Non Spackled

Pan out view of one side

Up close and personal!

So that’s how I took my ambition and set it into action. I’m very pleased with how it turned out! But to be fair there are pros and cons…and here they are.

ProsTurns any grooved surface such as paneling into a smooth surface like sheet rock.
Does not require any knowledge of power tools.
Is not time sensitive (you won’t screw it up by spackling part way and then stopping to do something else before finishing).
Budget friendly.

ConsDusty. Very messy. Requires ventilation safety.
Time consuming if your must cover large areas (due to the repeating of steps.

Not very many cons but I can’t stress to you the amount of dust this project will kick up. I managed to get it done while Abigail was in a Blue’s Clues trance (and my project happened to be located next to an outside door that I kept open) but it would make me very nervous to have children in the same room this was being done in.

The pantry is going great and tomorrow is pay day so I can’t wait to start finishing up the projects we’ve started since the beginning of January! Mainly the kitchen floor and Abigail’s closet. We’ve gotten a lot done on her room (including a custom closet that I designed myself) and I can’t wait to start revealing it! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend…until next time!