DIY Network

Finished In 48: Home Office With a Larger Than Average Fish Tank Gionni Thompson helps pull off a home office with an aquatic theme — and we're not talking about a goldfish bowl. From "Finished in 48" episode DF48-104

An ambitious young couple with dreams of working from home attempts to build an office from the floor up with Gionni Thompson's help, incorporating a 125-gallon fish tank into the design of the room and making it functional as well as look professional in just 48 hours! Below are Gionni's top-10 tips for taking on a renovation project like this one.

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Figure A

1. At first glance, cutting drywall may appear to be a daunting task. A reason for this is that often, people go about it the wrong way, using the wrong tools, as Laura did in this episode when she tried to cut a large piece of drywall by hand with a tiny saw. You don't usually need to use a saw of any kind to cut drywall. It's much easier to simply draw a line (using a builder's square to make sure you have a straight line) where you want to cut the drywall and then use a utility razor knife to score it along the line you drew (figure A).You only need to score the side with the drywall and then snap the piece along the scored line. You can use your utility knife to cut through the backing paper and fully detach the cut piece of drywall you want to use. It is now ready to be hung in place.

Figure B

2. When working in tight or awkward spaces like when hanging drywall on the ceiling as was done in this episode, it helps immensely to have the right tools. Impact drills (available in cordless models) have a hammer-like mechanism in them that applies a shock on the drill bit to help drive in stubborn screws by giving the drill a surge of power when it is needed. These drills, particularly the cordless ones, can make it easier to work in difficult spaces (figure B) and are especially recommended for use with extremely hard wood varieties.

Figure C

3. If you're having trouble cutting a straight line in your drywall or you find that you have to finesse a lot of your pieces to fit, you can use a tool called a rasp to file down any uneven edges. Just take the rasp in one hand and hold the drywall piece in the other while you run the rasp against the drywall edge like a big nail file to file down any unwanted excess drywall. This is an especially helpful tool for use in rooms that are not square due to it being an old house (settling, etc.) and require a lot of custom drywall cutting. A rasp corrects any imperfections created when you cut the drywall and will help to make the pieces fit together better. This way, you won't have to worry as much about making perfectly straight cuts (which will save time) and you won't waste as much drywall because you can correct your mistakes rather than having to start over with a whole new piece. The rasp technique (figure C) can also be applied to small cutouts in the drywall for sockets, outlets, etc. and can save you from having to cut these holes perfectly the first time.

4. When fitting drywall around outlets that are close to the floor you may find it difficult to hold the drywall piece off the floor and in place around the socket so that you can screw it in properly. If you don't have a specific drywall lifter tool handy, you can pop a crowbar underneath the drywall and use the leverage of the crowbar to lift it off the floor and hold it in place while you put some screws in to hold it. This prevents you from having to fit your fingers into the small gap between drywall and floor and increases your chances of hanging the drywall right the first time, cutting down on the amount of mudding and taping later.

5. In order to get smooth walls and ceilings as an end product, you must do it right from the get-go. There's really no easy way of going back once you've painted. So, you will want to tape (with drywall tape) all seams in the drywall where two pieces meet. Mesh tape is generally considered easiest for this job, but you can also use cloth tape (which some people think is actually better) as long as you remember to put "hot mud," a fast-setting drywall joint compound, underneath it as well as on top of it in order to make it stick to the drywall. Once you've put your tape down, use "hot mud" to cover the tape and putty in all screw holes. You will want to do this at least two times (two+ coats) in order to ensure that you can well hide the imperfections in the drywall. Upon completing this, you can sand down the excess drywall that remains bumpy in texture with sand paper to give your walls and ceilings a smooth, finished look. At this stage, you can add texture if you like, but you are now ready to paint.

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