Paint & Floor in Clay Studio (Remodel)

Our cat explores the new floor this morning

My home studio is starting to come together.The walls have been painted, the windows installed, and the floor is (almost) entirely done.

New windows installed after walls were painted

My husband has been doing nearly all the work. In October I shared pictures of the ridiculous wall-carpeted room before and after Sean started ripping out the carpet. In November he had completed the removal of carpet and gluey walls, and was just about finished with the drywall.

The new window, new walls, and outlets with the bare floor (and work table)

The main goal of this project was to remove the carpet from the studio. When Sean started talking about going back to work after his summer sabbatical, I asked him if he would delay a bit longer so he could renovate my studio. The carpet looked ridiculous, but I was more concerned about safety in the studio. Clay dust contains silica, which is a breathing hazard; prolonged exposure can lead to silicosis and damage to the lungs. Vacuuming without a specialized filter (on an expensive vacuum) causes the dust to become airborne and thus more likely to be inhaled.

a new window from the outside and our inexpensive shop vac 

I have since spoken with a chemical hazards specialist about the L&I risks from silica exposure in the clay studio at work and I was pleasantly surprised by his assessment that our studio is much safer than I feared. I do strive to keep both studios clean and I emphasize cleaning up the wet clay before it can become dry (and later airborne) and recycling clay and cleaning in ways that both minimize creation of clay dust and exposure. Based on the work assessment, I suspect that my studio was safer than I feared.

The ceiling fan was removed to paint the ceiling. When Sean reinstalled it, he fixed the squeak that had been plaguing me for more than 10 summers in the studio. 

The studio remodel had some other advantages, of course. The paint, flooring and new windows all look better than the carpet, carpet and old windows. Taking the carpet off revealed walls that were just covered in glue. Taking the gluey walls off revealed insulation that had developed mold in some places. Removing the insulation allowed us to replace the insulation with a higher quality insulation. 

the drips inside the old window (the window is lying against a large rock near our back fence)

The wall insulation wasn't the only insulation improvement. The new windows are better insulated. They can also be opened, an improvement over the past windows, which were just two pieces of glass with sealant dripping down the inside.

Sean replacing the seal on the first exterior door.

Sean is fairly detail oriented, so besides replacing the insulation and windows, he has also replaced the seals on the exterior doors. This room has a separate heating system and is not connected to the main house furnace or air conditioning. With the new insulation, windows and door seals, the room is a much more stable temperature than it ever had been. Sean also replaced the old thermostat with a new one that is easier to use.

New USB outlet and thermostat

Sean rewired the space with more (and more convenient) outlets. The outlets are now spaced at higher and lower heights all around the room to allow for easier access for plugging in my pottery wheel, Dremel, phone, speakers, and anything else that needs a plug. Some of the outlets also have USB ports, which obviously weren't an option when this room was built.

my blue wall behind the existing cabinets

I wanted to have some fun with the color, so after Sean painted the three largest walls a neutral color ("ginger root"), I picked out a deep blue color ("Adriatic sea") for the third wall. This wall is much smaller, with cabinets and a door reducing the surface dimensions, but I really love this bright contrasting color. Sean also painted the back of one exterior door with this color, which amuses me greatly.

the blue door seems to lead to a mysterious location, or storage

The floor we chose is designed to be easy to clean, particularly compared to old carpet. The floor is vinyl planks that are glued down. Sean had me lay them out so the pattern matches fairly well. He installed them. Part of the thought is that the vinyl will be slightly more comfortable to stand on than cement.

gluing down the floor panels

We have some baseboard trim waiting in the garage to be stained and installed. Once that is installed, the cabinets need some touch-up painting and the countertops need to be replaced. Then we can replace some of the furniture and bring stuff back into the room from storage. Right now all my stuff is crammed into closets and other spaces in the basement, making it tough to snag the cats when they run down there to hide.

Kitty contemplating the lack of hiding spots and the fact that we covered up her secret exits (the plastic covered windows)