Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hard Core Remodeling but Were Afraid to Ask Part 16!

Oh, hai!

 

 We've got a fun project today-

and a cool new tool!

 We've been putting up a lot of drywall, right?

How about we take a little out today with

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hard Core Remodeling but Were Afraid to Ask!

 We're going to start with this very mean blade...

 ...which is locked into place by pulling back the ridged mechanism

and twisting it slightly.

This is important because...

 ...you do not want a loose blade on this bad boy!

This, my besties, is a sawzall, or reciprocating saw.

The blade on this doesn't just slice through drywall or wood,

it'll also go right through nails.

What we're going to do today is make a window in this entryway wall.

Our wheelchair bound resident needs every bit of width we can squeeze

out as she comes in the front door, so a hall table is out.

We're cutting in between the studs to create a recessed niche to hang her house 

keys, dog leashes, and purse without losing foyer real estate.

 We marked the window on the hallway side to check positioning, 

but I'm going to cut in from the back.

 And this is very easy to do.

 Let;s go on the other side of the wall, shall we?

 You hold the blade to the drywall, give the trigger a squeeze, and press in 

until you have the guide below the base of the blade on the surface you're cutting.

Then just ease it along the cutting line.

I have the guide against a 2x4 to keep the blade as close to the stud as possible.

 Once you go all the way around, push and pop it out.

Don't mind the sticker on my back; it's a running joke we play on each other.

Evidently, I said "Try Me!" for several hours, even out to lunch.
Should I be a tiny bit miffed no one asked if they could?

 Next, we'll trim the edges a little closer.

It's just like carving a big gypsum turkey.

 There we go!

 We'll cut strips to cap the 2x4 edges, then corner bead to finish it.

Tomorrow, we'll play in the mud with some drywall compound

and we'll show you how to make those seams, screws, 

and exposed edges disappear like magic!