First Casualty: Ceiling...

Not part of the 203k scope...I picked up a few ceiling fan/light combos on clearance at Lowes for $19~30 or less a piece (had to go to multiple stores since none of them had all that I needed at the lowest price), so I spent a better part of last week installing them. Installation for most of them was quite easy, but learned after installing most of them that there apparently are electrical boxes specifically for ceiling lights with fans...

Fortunately, most of them already had boxes rated for fans. Two of them didn't with an installation already completed on one of those. I need to go back and redo that one, but I'm not particularly looking forward to entering the attic again...being an old house, it has very little venting (if any) and I noticed a small but active wasp nest towards the eaves...another thing to take care of.

So comes the first casualty of renovating the home. Working on the last light, the original electrical box was loosely screwed to a lath in the ceiling. It was clear I needed a brace, so went into the attic, ever eager to get this done. I slipped on the corner of a joist, fell backwards, and the screwdriver I had in my hand managed to puncture the ceiling through the key and plaster underneath and loosen one of the laths.

I finished up the bracing and went down to the room the take a look at the damage. It wasn't too bad...maybe 2 inches? Unfortunately, the lath I had to cut for the light box to fit was the lath that was loose. A short while later, after trying to hold the lath tight to the ceiling while sawing, the vibrations knocked off some more plaster and ended up with a 4" hole.

I patched this up with a wall patch and spackle, and now waiting for it to dry so I can sand, texture, and finish it. It wasn't too terrible of a process, but I felt rather sheepish...