How to Build a Soffit

After picture: What a professional job!

The soffit in William's room looks great! a professional job done by Michael & me. William's room had hot & cold water pipes running through it, because the shortest distance between 2 points (water heater to kitchen & laundry room) was a straight line. I guess the previous owners didn't use it as a bedroom. And when we moved in, I didn't want to bother Will with construction. But once he went off to college, Michael & I went to work.

Before picture: William's room had hot & cold pipes running through it.

1. Step 1 Measure and Mark
Clear the room of everything. Trust me, it makes life easier. Carefully measure the size you will need to conceal the pipes. Mark the wall & ceiling with a pencil. Now is also a good time to mark the stud locations.

2. Step 2 Build the Frame
Build the soffit frame out of lumber glued together with handy right angle clamps. 

Angle clamps help assure that the frame is square.

3. Step 2 Install the Box Frame

Screwed the frames up to the walls & ceiling studs for a secure installation. The soffit will get very heavy when the drywall & joint compound are added.

Screw the box frame into the wall and ceiling joists.

4. Step 4 Cut and Hang Drywall
Screw the drywall onto the frame with drywall screws. Screw deep enough to leave a dimple. You can fill that in in the next step.

Drywall is attached to the frame. It's starting to look finished.

5. Step  5 Apply Joint Compound
Next comes the mudding, or joint compounding. Don't skimp on this step. I did 3 layers of joint compound. I used ready made joint compound, which takes 24 hours to dry. The kind you mix yourself drys faster. Each layer covered slightly more territory. Getting the corners neat is tricky. I used a corner trowel for the inside corners and corner beading for outside corners, and paper tape for seams. I watched youtube videos on how to do corners. 

While you have the joint compound out, fill in any wall holes.

I'm getting to be a good mudder!

On the left is corner bead. On the right a corner trowel.

6. Step 6 Prime & Paint
New drywall has to be primed before it can be painted. First sand the joint compound smooth. Then prep the room. Paint the ceiling first, then the walls, and finally the trim.