MUDROOM WEEK 1: Tear It Down and Build It Up

I am so excited to announce that I have been selected to participate in Jeffrey Court Renovation Challenge! This is a six week competition where myself and several other DIY bloggers will renovate a space of our choice. For this challenge, I decided to build and renovate a mudroom.

Mudrooms are very practical for families and are becoming increasingly popular. This is one space that I have always wanted and I came up with the perfect solution for how to add one to our home.

Current Situation: Huge Playroom

Playroom before Mudroom Install

We currently have a large room in the back of our home that we have designated “The Playroom.” In other words, we have a large room with a massive closet where we are able to hide all of our kids’ toys. You have to walk through this space in order to get into the house from the back entrance or our attached garage.

Playroom before Mudroom Install

One day, the light bulb in my head went on…all I needed to do was install a wall separating the playroom from the exterior doors. I could make this space the mudroom that I have always wanted! There would still be a large room even if I built a mudroom in this space…so I decided to go for it!

Mudroom before renovation looking into house

DEMO DAY

I have never had an official “Demo Day” for any of my projects. If there was ever demo involved, I never made a conscious decision for it to be a demo day…I usually just tear into things and then it becomes a project. So, I was SUPER excited for Demo Day!

Demo began by removing the existing trim. Instead of removing all of the trim from the playroom, I only removed the trim from the area that would become the mudroom. If there was a seam in the trim nearby, I removed it up to that point. Otherwise, I used my oscillating tool to cut the trim.

Mudroom Demo - Cut Baseboard with oscillating tool

Once the trim was out of the way, it was on to the flooring! I did a little research on our existing flooring before the project started (I like to know what I’m getting myself into before I begin.) I learned that my existing flooring is a floating vinyl with pre-attached underlayment. What does that mean?! It was not secured to the plywood…so demo was a breeze! I literally had the flooring neatly removed in no more than 10 minutes.

Mudroom Demo - Floor and trim removed

Building a Mudroom

In order to start my project off on the right foot, I brought in backup…my father-in-law, better known as Pop. I have never built a wall before, but did enough research to know that I could use a second set of hands. With his experience and my researching skills, I hoped to have the wall framed in less than two days.

Our first step to building the wall was locating the ceiling joists where we would attach the top plate. Once we located it, we made a chalk line on the ceiling.

Mudroom Framing - Chalk line on the ceiling for top plate location

We secured the top plate to the joist using construction screws. The top plate is the full length of the mudroom. After the top plate was installed, we determined where the bottom plate needed to be installed using a plumb bob. We then made a chalk line on the floor to ensure the bottom plate was installed straight.

Mudroom Framing - Plumb bob to locate bottom plate
Mudroom Framing - Chalk line on the floor for bottom plate location

Just like the top plate, we secured the bottom plate to the plywood using construction screws. We left an opening in the bottom plate for the door. I decided on the door location based on the existing layout of the room. I did not want to cut into the wall too much, but had to work around the large closet that is in the playroom.

Mudroom Framing - Opening in bottom plate for door

Next up…studs! In order to quickly install the studs, I cut my noggins (the horizontal members that go between the studs – I feel like I’m becoming fluid in framing terminology). We installed the studs on 16″ centers, so I cut the noggins to 14.5″. When installing the studs, we used these as spacers, which eliminated the need to measure out the location of each stud.

Mudroom Framing - Spacer to install studs on 16inch centers
Mudroom Framing - Studs installed with door opening

Once the studs were installed, we marked where the noggins would be installed with a chalk line on the studs. I then installed the noggins by alternating above and below the chalk line. Pop was a huge help and we managed to have the wall framed out in one day!

Mudroom Framing - Nogging installed

Installing the Door

I decided to use a prehung door that matched our existing interior doors. At one point, I considered installing a Dutch door or a really neat wooden door. When making decisions for our home, I always think about resale value and whether someone else would appreciate the design decisions that I make. I ultimately decided that it would be best to just match existing.

Installing a door is another thing that I have never done, so I was very thankful to have Pop’s help with it! We framed the wall in no time, but installing the door was a different story. I feel like installing a door, even a prehung door, is an art. There is a lot of shimming and adjustment to ensure that the spacing is even and the door opens and closes smoothly. We managed to successfully install the door!

Mudroom Framing - Studs and nogging installed

I am very happy with the progress that I’ve made and am more excited than ever to be a part of this renovation challenge! It is a huge honor to be competing against all of these amazing DIY bloggers. Next week I’ll be sharing my shiplap installation and mood board for this space…can’t wait for you to see it!

  1. Mary Loveland says:

    Looks like a good start. If you need light in the new room or want to add an electrical outlet or two…do it before you close up your new wall. Would be fairly simply to drop it down the ceiling. Ditto if you want to run some water in the new mudroom (sink?).

    • NICOLE says:

      We do plan on adding a few outlets. Unfortunately, a sink is not in the budget for this project. It is certainly easier to add all of those things before closing up the wall!