Day Nine-ninety-four: new home for shoes

Hope the suspense wasn't killing you. We hit a snag with the shoe rack project when we found there was a stud in the exact spot where we wanted to install it--behind the bedroom door in what was otherwise wasted space.

Since we thought we might have to install new studs and wanted to minimize the damage to the drywall, we subcontracted this part out to our need-them-in-the-clutch contractors. They outlined where the rack would go and then opened a small piece to see what they were working with.

That initial survey done they opened the entire hole to reveal the frame beneath.

Turns out they didn't need to replace this stud because it wasn't load-bearing, so they installed enough 2x4s on both sides to give them something to attach the rack to. You can see where removing the old stud damaged the drywall on the other side (the white splotches) because all this wood did was hold up drywall between two rooms. Those are patched now and will need to be painted.

Then came the moment of truth. Would the rack fit?

Of course it would because the hole was made to order, silly. Here's the final article, spackled, sealed, painted, and ready for action. If we didn't know better, we'd think this design element came with the house.