Back in the Closet

First lesson every renovator learns is that one things always leads to another. 

The middle bedroom closet had a mildewy smell. Every time I opened the door, I was hit with draft of old wet woody smell.  I know It's normal for older homes to have mystery scents hiding in pockets. But, my clothes don't need wood sweat mingling with old lady sweat. And, based on the smell, I am fairly certain this closet is a portal to another world. 

I found the smell seeping in from behind the wall backing the shower. Luckily the plumbing access was easy to reach and inspect. It was dry as a bone. But, the handyman I had inspect it suggested I seal up the gaps in the access boards with clear silicone. That should help eliminate some of the smell. I went a couple of steps further. I painted the boards, sealed with silicone, and then covered with a wood panel contact paper. I also added an area rug on the floor to prevent palmetto bugs and other monsters from squeezing in from the crawlspace under the house. 

But, while I was dodging spirits in my closet, I figured a good paint job with a Kills base would also help to eliminate any odor clinging to the walls. And if I was gonna paint, I might as well replace the closet rods that were basically useless. 

I am quite certain giants and trolls lived together in the middle bedroom before I purchased the house. One closet rod was hung about 8 inches from the ceiling and the other only about 4 feet from the floor. 

I ordered a precut custom sized closet rod from Amazon. The shelf brackets they sent with it were useless. And they didn't send any screws. Which is fine because with the paster walls, normal drywall screws with anchors weren't going to work anyway.

I had to use toggle bolts to carry the kind of weight my closet rod would be carrying on plaster walls with no studs. And for that I needed a special toggle drill bit. 

Don't ask me how it went. It was ugly. I'll just say the skeletons behind the walls have about a dozen toggles to wear as jewelry. I can hear them jingling at night.

Also, my foundation isn't level. Yeah, that's it. That's why everything is leaning to the left. 

Regardless, the closet has been filled with clothes for a couple of weeks and nothing has collapsed-Yet. And my skeletons are well adorned.