This week at Robins Hollow, Sean swore he'd never drywall again—but here we are. Follow along as we DIY drywall to try and stay more in-budget, finish our ceiling patches, and celebrate Lisa’s first (perfect!) drywall screw.

Drywall and Plaster Repair: A Love-Hate Relationship

“Never again!” That's what Sean swore the last time he tackled drywall. And yet—here we are.

Week 4 of the One Room Challenge was all about drywall and plaster repair in the dining room. With our budget stretched thin from unexpected electrical upgrades and the urgent need to hook up to town water (goodbye, well), hiring out the work wasn’t an option.

So it was back to DIY—and back to basics.

A Little Drywall History (and Humor)

Sean’s no stranger to drywall. His first attempt was back in 1998, renovating a room at his family’s multigenerational lake house. It was post-college, pre-YouTube, and pre-"just Google it." His uncle gave him a few pointers, and the rest he pieced together with a handful of Time Life home repair books.

At Robins Hollow, it’s a running joke that you can learn anything on YouTube. (In fact, our neighbors even gifted Sean a Christmas sign that says, "I’m not a professional, I just watched a lot of YouTube videos.")

Thankfully, these days, the internet does exist—and after a quick refresher binge, Sean was ready to dust off his drywalling skills.

Week 4 Progress: The DIY Dance

To say this week was a blur would be an understatement.

The water crisis had us temporarily relocating to avoid showering at our neighbors' house every day (thank you again!).
Sean squeezed in a 24-hour business trip to Chicago.
The newly planted hedge needed daily attention to survive.

Yet somehow, between it all, we made real progress in the dining room.

Saturday morning started with a planning session (and a couple of YouTube refreshers). We made a supply run to Riverhead Building Supply, our go-to local lumber yard, and then got to work.

By Saturday evening, we had all the drywall cut, hung, and screwed into place—just in time to clean up and head to dinner with friends!

Lisa’s Big Moment: Her First Drywall Screw!

This was also a milestone weekend: Lisa drove her first-ever drywall screw. 🛠️✨

There’s something satisfying about that first "zzzzip" of the screw gun, and Lisa crushed it. (Plus, she managed it without stepping into a pile of joint compound—which is more than we can say for Sean…)

Mudding, Mishaps, and Momentum

Sunday was all about mudding the ceiling. We pushed through the first full pass before the joint compound began to set—which, if you've ever done drywall, you know is a small miracle.

Of course, it wasn’t without mishaps:

Sean dropped a good amount of compound on the carpet (thankfully the one we’re planning to rip up anyway).
He even tracked some into the warming room—earning a quick chase from Lisa armed with wet paper towels to clean up the evidence.

Despite the chaos, it felt good to make visible progress again. Like any good prep work before painting, this stage is a tedious but critical one:
Mud, sand, mud, sand, repeat.

Stay tuned for Part Two next week when we (hopefully) move past the dust cloud stage.

Let’s Talk DIY Wins and Woes

Have you ever tackled drywall or plaster repair yourself? Would you rather hire it out or dive in and learn on the fly? Tell us below—we love a good DIY battle story.

And if you want to see Lisa’s first drywall screw in action (plus a few bloopers), make sure you’re following along on Instagram @robinshollow.

More updates (and more dust) coming soon!

—Lisa & Sean

One Room Challenge Week 4: Sean Said “Never Again”—But Here We Are, Drywalling Anyway