So, we're closing on our first house tomorrow! It's a small but well-located townhouse about 1.5 miles from Mark's office. We're pretty excited.
Unfortunately, the previous occupants had a thing for wallpaper. And lots of it. The worst of it is upstairs, and involves many, many cabbage roses. The best of it is in the living room. Every nook and cranny of the living room.
So, we're giving ourselves a week between closing and moving in to attempt to strip the wallpaper and repaint it. In the meantime, I've been having a blast building the room to scale in 3D and experimenting with different wall colors, furniture placement, and wood stains. I love working with 3D, I love rearranging rooms.... yeah, this is fun.
So, since the virtual living room is really really easy to play with, I figured I could ask if anyone had any advice on the design! Currently, the only things in the virtual room that we actually own are the couch, couch pillows, TV, and the blue rug (which we're not too fond of). Oh, and the dog crate and beer fridge, both of which need to stay in the room. Other than that, this is all just in my imagination, so it can all be completely changed.
Whee!
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Ugh! The former owner had vertical stripes on the wallpaper, and conflicting stripes on the furniture! How awful
Farmgirl
[ January 13, 2005, 09:59 AM: Message edited by: Farmgirl ]
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
This is the BEST wallpaper in the house. Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Yeah - that last prototype-photo -- with the other rug you suggest? Not! I like your original simplicity
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
I love your ideas for the revamp. I agree that it would be nice to have a little more distinction in the rug (maybe something with a touch of the maroon or tan, or both), but I also agree that the other example seems a little busy.
Nice style, Zeug!
[ January 13, 2005, 10:05 AM: Message edited by: Sara Sasse ]
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Um, I notice a rather drastic kitchen cabinet change in the before and after shots. I hope that's something down the road, not something you think you'll get done in that week or stripping and painting?
Posted by Homestarrunner (Member # 5090) on :
Did you build that whole thing yourself, Zeugma? That's awesome! I had to squint at it before I realized it was a model. What program did you use?
I ask the last because I've been slowly working through the Maya Personal Learning Edition tutorials.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Yeah, I'm not too optimistic about changing the cabinet layout with all the wall stuff going on. I'm planning on keeping the same cabinets, though, just taking the two that form the wall now and moving them to the adjoining wall. Also there's a drop ceiling and a nasty fluorescent light in the kitchen that need to be removed, so it's a pretty big project.
Does anyone know if you can replace a big office-style fluorescent light with halogen track lights pretty easily, or do you have to rewire everything?
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Cool, HS, it is, indeed, Maya! I'm using point lights with Mental Ray's Final Gather system to get the soft, accurately bouncing light. Every day I learn something new. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Don't even try, don't even try. Not moving the cabinets, not the ceiling, not the lighting. Not the week before you move in when you're trying to de-wallpaper and paint the entire house. Just wait and tackle it later. I know it would be nice to get done while the house is empty, but it's too much and you're going to be stressed getting ready to move anyway.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Okay, LJ, I shall heed your advice. I'm sure that the wallpaper will take up the entire week, at least. Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Heh, I wish I could do the entire house for real the way I do it in Maya... point and click, select a color... oh, too dark, undo, select another color.... that piece of furniture is too tall, make it a few inches shorter... move this cabinet here and that cabinet there with the flick of a wrist... ah.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
Do I remember you saying that you love working with tools, but have some disdain for power tools?
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
It would be a lot easier that way... I refinished my hardwood floors. After all the sanding, I didn't test the finish on a spare board, just put it on. I hated it. It looked orange. Rented the sanders, sanded again, and used a different finish. That was a costly mistake, both in time and money. Woulda been a lot easier if I could have pointed and clicked the floors lighter.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Zgator, I hate power saws, and far prefer hand saws whenever I have the option. I have developed a love for my Dewalt cordless drill/driver, though.
How many square feet are we dealing with? (Trying to figure out actually how many rooms need walpaper removed) Are either of you going to be trying to hold down a job while doing this project? And have you removed wallpaper before?
I love the before and after, though I think you can probably leave the natural wood and make it look more modern and less country. I agree with El Jay in: Not Now, you won't have time. What I would do as far as the fluorescent light is concerned for an interm solution is to make sure you get full spectrum lights. This helps immensely.
Problems you could encounter: If these people were walpaper freaks it is possible that there are several layers of walpaper on the wall. They sell a handheld thingy that has blades to help score the wall paper. You are definitely going to need this either way but even more so if there are multiple layers.
You are also going to need gallons of the spray on walpaper remover. I can't remember the minimum time needed for it or how many coats. (We only had one small wall to remove wall paper on and it was a pain, however our walpaper was complicated by the fact it had been painted over.) But make sure you include the minimum soak in time as part of your process flow diagram. Since you want to do the entire house, hopefully you can start spraying in one room, and do several more rooms, before coming back to the first one and starting to peel.
In order to do all of it in a week though, you are going to need production line efficiency to get it all done. I'm estimating 2 days to remove all wall paper, oh yeah and you have to squeeze in taping stuff off in there. Spackling and letting the spackle sit overnight, then 2 coats in one day for primer (morning and evening unless you have some sort of *hideous* bold color that needs more underneath the walpaper).
Probably 2 days for painting (depending on number of coats necessary and how many color changes from ceiling to wall you are doing which will require more taping) with another half day (at least) for taping off and doing trim and touch up.
You really should do the ceiling one day and let it dry before you do the walls. It might be possible to paint the ceilings while you are still scraping wallpaper off the walls, provided you don't end up gouging the ceiling with a putty knife that needs to be spackled over.
I'd also strongly reccommend either renting or buying a paint sprayer, because your arms are going to be sore after day 1 of wallpaper removal and you still will have 6 days more to go, and it will be excruciating painful on about day 4 if you are using paint rollers.
AJ
[ January 13, 2005, 12:09 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Oh and installing crown molding is going to be a pain in the butt too, I didn't include that in the plan at all. I know you are fairly good at wood working but the problem is installing it while paint is drying isn't good and then having to paint it too. I'd hold off on it til later because you can, even if it will improve the look of the room by 200%.
AJ
Are you tearing out the baseboards or painting over? Because if you are painting over they look like they have a glossy stain that is going to need considerable priming. And yeah I know you don't like powertools but if you really think you want to do new baseboards and crown molding in the time alloted you are going to *need* a finishing nail gun, either rented or purchased.
I am, of course, assuming only two people working in my time calculations. If you can round friends up to help it will shorten the time. You at least have someone to send on the trips to the Home Despot.
AJ
[ January 13, 2005, 12:05 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
hmm I noticed something else in the ceiling I see. There is some sort of texture on it. If it isn't wallpaper, I'd say that would be an even greater reason to go with the paint sprayer (and you can't get the cheapest model either cause the cheap Wagner models don't work worth crap, we tried) You'll probably spend just as much renting as you would have buying though you'll get a professional grade sprayer if you rent.
Otherwise you'll have to figure out what sort of roller nap is best for covering it. While it could go just fine, it could also be a potentially giant pain in the butt.
AJ
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
The ceiling texture is broom swirls. I don't know what it's really called, but that's how you do it. We had it in the house I grew up in.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Oh and I don't know if you are doing different colors in different rooms or not. But if you are, you also have to allow for paintbrush rinsing time which can be a real pain too and allow for changes in rollers covers. Or plan on buying a cheap set of paintbrushes for each color and just keeping them wet all day and rinsing them out at the end of the day.
Another thing unless you rent an industrial grade sprayer, you may or may not have luck trying to spray on primer because it is a different texture than ordinary paint.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Yeah ElJay that's how you put it on to begin with, but how do you paint over it? It looks like she wants to change the color. While it isn't as textured as stucco I could see having to roll it two or three as much as normal to compensate for the texture and get the paint to cover.
AJ
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Ack, I just read myself. My intention wasn't to sound so bossy Zeguma, but having bought a fixer upper house myself, these are all the things that I wish someone had told me before...
AJ
Posted by Tink (Member # 7267) on :
Wow, AJ, I wish I'd had someone of your expertise when we were remodeling after major flood damage this past summer.
Zeugma, I love what you are picturing your home as looking like (my personal preference is for the wood floors the color they already are, but that's just me). I also like the more simple look. Good luck getting it all done! I still have some hideous wallpaper in my bathroom from the previous owners (magenta, navy and cream vertical stripes with huge flowers - ugh) that I haven't worked up the courage or energy to tackle yet! (:
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
I might get lynched for this, but I'd suggest NOT stripping the wallpaper, unless it's already coming off really easily. It won't go anywhere if you just use lots of primer and put some plaster in the edges/cracks.
*has memories of the entire family trying to strip wallpaper over christmas break *
But, if you insist...I've heard those fancy steamers can remove wallpaper like nobody's business, so you might want to look into renting one. Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
I'm voting for renting a sprayer, taping and covering all windows and floors really well, and spraying the primer in all rooms at once. Floors, ceilings, and trim if you are planning on painting it.
AJ, short of a sprayer, I don't know how you would paint the ceiling with that texture. I'm hoping punwit will drop in, or posable nurse. Since p.n. put the texture on our ceilings, I figure he's know how to paint it. And punwit, of course, is a professional.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I also have no idea how much you have budgeted or can butdget for this, but the paint alone will probably cost you around $200.
Something that I *wish* someone had suggested to me was that we simply added like 2k extra to the home loan (they can do that) and use that to help with purchasing and renting supplies. I'm betting you will probaly burn through $500-1K during the week without even realizing it and you are already broke from buying a house.
What I really wish we had done was incorporate 4K more into the loan for an new furnace and A/C, but you live and learn.
Also www.homedecorators.com (I think) is a great place to get deals on rugs both traditional and modern. Since you like the modern look also look at Ikeas stuff.
AJ
[ January 13, 2005, 12:34 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
quote: You are also going to need gallons of the spray on walpaper remover.
I don't see a need to buy a bunch of chemicals and expose yourself to them in this window-closed time of year.
My daughter's room had over 10 layers of wallpaper on it when we stripped it. Rented a steamer, which was not very expensive to do, and it came off with a lot of steam and elbow work.
FG
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
quote: I'm voting for renting a sprayer, taping and covering all windows and floors really well, and spraying the primer in all rooms at once. Floors, ceilings, and trim if you are planning on painting it.
Okay, I don't know where Zeugma lives -- but doing this without proper ventilation in the winter -- just isn't a good idea...
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
Usually with a sprayer I think they wear a mask. Or should.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
That's how we did my walls and ceiling when I had new drywall to prime, which sucks up a LOT of paint. Dad had a new sprayer he had gotten for Christmas he wanted to play with, so he got to actually do it... wore a very good filter mask, shut the door, sprayed the room and took frequent breaks. But yeah, you do need to be aware of the breathing risk, wear proper equipment, and take breaks.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Then I defer, rent a steamer and get a smaller bottle of the spray on wallpaper remover for the tough spots.
However I *thought* zeguma lived somewhere warm?
Also how long did a single room take with a steamer? I'm guessing they've got at least two bedrooms, possibly a bathroom wall to wall walpaper the livingroom and the kitchen and it is probably around 1200 square feet in size.
The problem with painting over wallpaper, is that while it can be done, if you sufficiently prime (I've seen them do it, and well on Trading Spaces) if the wallpaper ever starts to bubble or deteriorate or anything, you are going to hate yourself.
I'd say the more "right" way to do it is removing it while it is easier, cause once it is painted over it is a Pain in The Butt. I believe one of our rooms still has wallpaper underneath, one wall but it was painted over, and we only took off the walpaper on the wall where it was comming off the wall underneath the existing paint.
And *don't* whatever you do, paint over wall paper in the bathroom. We've still got to deal with that, and after about 3 months of actually using the bathroom the paint started to look like crap and flake off. We are ignoring that problem for the moment though.
Bathrooms should also have glossier grades of paint than the other room for water resistance. In other, normal rooms I tend to choose trim one shade glossier than the walls (but it is personal preference.) But whatever you do *don't* use flat, it is so suceptible to dirt and you've got a Boxer, get at least eggshell which can be gently scrubbed down occasionally for dirt removal.
AJ
(and if you know this already just ignore my spouting off, but I didn't since my parents were basically Morally Opposed to painting) and didn't repaint their house for nearly 20 years. They painted the walls when they moved in when I was a baby and didn't really paint again until after I left home.)
AJ
[ January 13, 2005, 12:51 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by ludosti (Member # 1772) on :
I've been having fun looking at rugs for your house. I think you were on the right track with your first one (but it's makes everything look a bit too stark, imo). The second one was too monochromatic, and the third is too country (it doesn't fit the sleek and simple design of the rest of the room).
You can go geometric (but not SO geometric): 12 You can go more abstract: 34 You can go more traditional: 5 You can go more muted: 6 I realize the colors may not be perfect, but you get the idea.
I'm excited for you! It'll be a lot of work, but having a new house to change around and do stuff to is a lot of fun. I've been changing out light fixtures recently. I may have to look in to your idea about track halogen lighting for the kitchen. I still haven't decided what to do about painting in any of my rooms yet though. Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Don't hate me but I love stripping wallpaper.
It's just so cool to do all that peeling...I never could leave a peeling sunburn alone either.
I'm taking down a wallpaper border while my husband is away on his yearly week-long foreign mission trip. It's in my kitchen, I put two wallpaper borders in the entire house when we built it six years ago, and now I want to take both down.
So I'll spend a week peeling away the border then re-painting the entire kitchen, replacing all the cabinet hardware, and making curtains for my breakfast nook window.
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Oh! cool links ludosti! I like #2
FG
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Wow, thanks, everyone! AJ, you are so not being bossy! I don't know any of this stuff... I didn't even know they sprayed paint on inside walls.... they always roll it by hand on Trading Spaces.
I'm going to go over Saturday morning with the wallpaper removing solution and try tackling one of the upstairs bedrooms myself. We'll see how far I can get in 3 hours... if it's not too terribly difficult, then great, if it's awful and there's black paint underneath or something, we'll call a contractor to do it for us. If it's manageable, I have two friends coming over all day Sunday to help me. I'm hoping that 3 people in a room at once (4 when the dog is sleeping) will be able to move pretty fast. If we can get it all down by Monday or Tuesday, then great, I'll spend the rest of the week painting. Oh, and packing.
I'm hoping that it won't be too bad. It's vinyl wallpaper, and it was put up in the last couple of years. It might even be the peelable kind. My main concern is that there's something awful underneath it... there's only one wall in the entire house that isn't papered, so maybe they put it up for a reason.
I want to use the pre-existing baseboards, just paint them white. I like wood trim, and it's all solid wood, but I really don't like the stain and the high gloss on all the wood in the house right now. Can I get away with just priming them, or do I also have to sand? I have a little powered palm sander. I'd prefer not to have to take them off the wall, though....
I do live in a cold climate, and that big window in the living room doesn't open. We won't have too much ventilation in there. The square footage that's listed for the house is 850sf, so it's pretty darn small. We have two bedrooms, a bathroom, a hallway, the living room, and the kitchen to de-wallpaper.
ludosti, that's a great site!! #6 is gorgeous, and we actually have a wall sconce that looks a lot like the branch design on it! Hmmm!
Edit: Oh, and on Trading Spaces, removing wallpaper and applying paint only takes about 10 minutes. So I don't know what y'all are complaining about.
[ January 13, 2005, 01:41 PM: Message edited by: Zeugma ]
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Sorry, Zeugma, you're going to need to sand the baseboards.
Posted by Sara Sasse (Member # 6804) on :
ludosti has quite an eye.
*admiring
(And the other one isn't too bad, either. )
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
There's a liquid sanding product, that you just brush on and let it sit, and it destroys the finish enough that it will take paint. I've never tried it on trim like this, but if I were you I'd check it out. It would be a lot easier than sanding all the baseboards.
Um, I think you have to paint no sooner than X time after application and no later than X time, so read the directions carefully.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Zeguma the thing that is deceptive about trading spaces is that they are only doing ONE Room. And they have a small army of people that actually help in addition to the homeowners if you read the TLC website.
Steve and I were both working full time and it took us about month, to accomplish a similar makeover working approximately 2 evenings a week and 10-12 hours each weekend and tossing in couple of holidays to redo a moderately small master bedroom. Now we did have to put a floor in which was 3 solid days of work over Christmas, and we did do faux finishes (Don't even think about that cause you don't have time.)
You are doing about 5 rooms before you move in. (I think) This is more efficient in that you can tear all the rooms down to the same level at the same time. But it also takes a *lot* longer because there are more rooms and far fewer people than in Trading Spaces. And you can't work yourself to the bone because you will have to get up and do it again, and again for days rather than just 48 hours and you are done. Don't forget to get the walpaper scoring tool . Yeah I know it is winter but while painting (spraying or rollering, and I think the consensus here is spraying where you need a ventilator too) you will need to open windows and maybe have at least a box fan for ventilation so dress warmly. You will be moving around enough to keep yourself pretty warm. If anything just designate one room of the house as the "warm" room and go in there to thaw out, until you need chemicals in there and then switch it to a different room.
Definitely investigate the steamer rental though because if it is faster that's probably the way you will want to go.
Happy closing!
AJ
Your Home Depot paint guy is your friend.
I've tried Menards and Lowes, but somehow Home Depot is my personal preference. Don't get cheap paint (Behr is pretty good), and paint-only stores tend to be more expensive IMO.
Oh and don't use Ralph Lauren paint. It does some kick ass finishes, but it covers for crap and is way, way too expensive for doing a whole house. (One small room ran me $150 in Ralph Lauren.)
[ January 13, 2005, 02:56 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
A great how to and it shows my wallpaper scoring tool! However given the vast quantities of walpaper you have to deal with, I'd still go with a chemical remover, (mine was water based and really didn't smell that bad) or the steamer rather than their vinegar and water suggestion simply because you want it to go faster. Also I think it makes the trisodium phosphate less necessary.
[ January 13, 2005, 03:14 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I hope she'll report back on how it is going. (Though I suspect we might not hear from her for weeks while they are moving.)
AJ
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Well, some things are going well, and others are going not-so-well.
The wallpaper has ended up being the ideal wallpaper to remove. It's peelable vinyl over nice glossy white paint.
So we had a wallpaper-removing party on Sunday, and managed to get the entire living room, kitchen, and upstairs hallway done! I don't have any progress pictures with me, but trust me, the walls look awesome. So shiny and white. The kitchen walls will need a lot of patching, though, because.... well... I couldn't resist those cabinets. I totally removed the upper cabinets and range hood between the living room and kitchen. I also took out the drop ceiling and fluorescent light, and a stupid spice rack that had been nailed to the wall. And the trim around the window. Heh. I couldn't help myself!
Fortunately, everything had been installed pretty sloppily. No glue ANYWHERE to be seen, everything had just been nailed down. Maybe a couple of screws if it really needed to be secure. Also, there were only like two dead bugs and a little dust, and I was working in places that I don't think have seen the day since 1984. So I'm hoping this is a good sign.
So yeah, the projects at the house are going really well, much better than expected. I have all sorts of cool, relatively inexpensive things to do to the kitchen... two words: pendant lights.
The bad news.... is that I happen to work for a petty jerk. Though I'd said at the staff meeting last week that I'd need this week to prepare for the move, he sent me an email yesterday saying that I needed to come in to help prepare for the classes that start next week. Which is total BS, because all I do all freaking day long is sit in my office and mess around with my own stuff. I spend maybe 10 minutes a day doing something related to my job description, usually covering for him when he forgets to meet with someone or set something up. There are entire days where no one here even sees me.
So here I am in my office, bored out of my skull, instead of completing the projects that Must Be Done By Friday. We're going to have to delay the move a week because of this, which will cost us at least $600, and so far my boss hasn't even shown up yet, much less told me what exactly it is he wants me to be doing. Other than let him jerk me around, I know he wants me to do that.
*cough* So yeah, the house projects are going really well. I can't wait to get back there and finish them.
With the pendants, I might go with white-amber-white or white-red-white, or red-amber-red... I don't know, any of the three colors would work with either room.
[ January 18, 2005, 02:25 PM: Message edited by: Zeugma ]
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Yay!!! Something to consider in all this Aja is resale value. I know it seems stupid when you just bought the house, but how long do you intend on staying in it? If you only plan on being there for 3-4 years, then you might consider toning down your own personality in the place, in favor of resale value. Clean modern lines are always good, but if something is too over the top modern or loud it may be a deterrent, to future buyers even as the wallpaper was to you. (Note: I'm not saying it is with anything you've chosen so far, I'm just saying keep it in the back of your brain somewhere.)
For example, we have done colors in the bedrooms, but I've tried to keep them fairly neutral earthy tones so that they will go well with other decor than mine. Actually our master bedroom is slightly too blue. I like it better, but if the paint color had actually turned out to the greyer color I thought I was picking, it would have been more neutral, and probably better for resale.
Good luck!
AJ
[ January 18, 2005, 01:59 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
Wow, sounds like it's going well!
I can't see the lights you linked, Lowes just keeps telling me that selection is no longer available.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Okay, I edited the URL of the pendant light photo. Should work now?
AJ, you're so right about the resell value. We're not really planning on being there more than a couple of years, so a lot of this is being done with resale in mind. Still, I can't resist colorful walls, so I'm really going to try to keep them somewhat universally appealing. HGTV's shows like "Designed to Sell" are helping with that.... I'm thinking that, as long as the colors I choose don't actually repulse the potential buyers, they won't be too concerned about it matching their furniture... doesn't everyone kind of expect to have some wall work to do when they buy a house? I know it didn't stop us, and repainting would have been a heck of a lot easier than removing wallpaper, then repainting. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I also admit zeguma, you are far more well trained in aesthetics than I am. I would go with all white bland pendant lights or maybe only one red as a result. But as an engineer my instincts and training are conservative.
I've also been watching the student designer things on HGTV, and I know that it is the accesorizing and pulling everything together where I fail and you'll succeed. I wish I could hire one of those student designers for my own house. They are staying more conservative than most of the pros, because they don't want to do anything outlandish and I've uniformly liked their ideas.
Okay, so, with that out of the way... thanks for the compliments. I'm trying so hard to make this place "ours", plus maximize the value as much as possible without spending so much that we "overimprove" it. It's really helped being able to use trial-and-error on the paint and wood colors, and pull a new piece of furniture or artwork out of thin air in a few minutes. And yeah, most of this is just copied from shows on HGTV. I even went to their website and stared at a lot of the "designers portfolio" room pictures to steal ideas from. I'd say this room is looking pretty weak, given how much time and thought I've put in to it... but I think I'm going to be satisfied with the results. I hope!
I love the Designer Finals show! I've only seen two or three, but the one where the girl worked the red couch into a room with yellow walls was pretty darn awesome. I liked that room a whole lot, and the homeowners did, too. It's nice seeing designers who actually care about making the homeowner happy. Though I guess they'll be all into moss walls in a few years. Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I see you are posting.. how's it going?
AJ
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
Well, I missed this on the first go-round but if you need any more painting advice on issues that haven't previously been answered I'm keeping an eye out now.
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
It's going pretty well! We're scheduled to move Wednesday morning, and I'm unfortunately stuck at work until then. I used my lunch break to go home and help Mark pack and clean the apartment.
We finished all the wallpaper except for one bedroom upstairs, which we've decided we can live with for now. We're done painting the living room, with a color so warm it makes you sweat just looking at it. We didn't have enough paint to continue it into the kitchen, so we'll probably go get another gallon of it and finish the job later. Or we might go with a different color in the kitchen, that room is still sort of a mystery. It's very dismantled right now, but definitely livable for a while.
Upstairs, I got one coat of paint on the hallway walls before I realized I don't like the color. I wanted a rich but light-colored blue that was bordering on gray, kind of a slate-blue color. But the first thing that comes to mind when I look at the walls is "light battleship gray". Um, no. So we're going to go with a shade darker and a shade bluer, and that should work out well. The walls are generally in really good condition, given how much wallpaper was on them, so that's going well.
All of the trim in the house needs to be replaced. For a variety of reasons. I'm going to start with the baseboard trim, slowly going around and replacing the dingy old knotty pine with a white pre-finished cheap kind at Lowes. It'll definitely look a lot better. Then the window casings, and finally crown moulding for the rooms and the hallway. It should be a heck of a project.
So yeah, things are going well, even though we didn't get all of the painting done. I'm feeling pretty good about our readiness for the move on Wednesday!
Oh, and I took a bunch of progress pictures, but left the camera at the house. I'll try to post them today or tomorrow.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Cool sounds like you are making massive progress!
You still normally have to put one last coat of paint on the prefinished baseboards. I've seen places advocating that coat before nailing into the wall and then just doing touch up.
We've tried painting them once the baseboards are on the wall, because it's been too cold to do the pre-paint. Even though we've taped off the floor we haven't had a lot of sucess. (Maybe Punwit has ideas.) What I've ended up doing is going around on my hands and knees with Qtips and razor blades after we have painted and pulled the tape off to try to get up the little drips that seem to leak past the tape.
AJ
[ January 24, 2005, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: BannaOj ]
Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
Prepainting the baseboards is definitely the way to go if you have the room to spread the trim out on sawhorses. If you elect to install first and then paint you might want to check on safe-release tape. Regular masking tape that is left on wood too long will leave behind glue that can be difficult to remove. One hint when masking off is to use a putty knife to press down the edge of the tape that is adjacent to your painting surface. This will decrease (not eliminate) the number of spots where paint can seep beneath your tape. Goop Luck!
[ January 24, 2005, 03:11 PM: Message edited by: punwit ]
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
I have to paint them, eh?? Sheesh, no wonder people are paid to do this stuff. The trim may have to wait until it gets warmer, then.
I do have several rolls of the blue masking tape. They use it on Trading Spaces! Posted by punwit (Member # 6388) on :
Most of the pre-painted trim is only primed. I suppose if you're happy with the way it looks you could live with it that way. Personally I like to prepaint with a good enamel then install and spackle the nail holes and caulk the cracks. I then paint of the spackle and the caulking. If you don't paint the caulking it will be a dust magnet and in short order you will have a dingy place everywhere that you have caulking.
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
I'm trying to remember if we caulked before we painted... I think we did...
AJ
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
Okay! We survived the move on Wednesday, and now we're continuing to work on the kitchen and the upstairs paint.
It'll take us a while to get all this done, but we're getting there!
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
Awesome, I wish we'd had a digital camera when we moved in, to get more before pictures, but you know, $$ was tight.
That kitchen vertical beam that you want to remove has me slightly concerned. Make sure it isn't load bearing before you do it.
AJ
Posted by Zeugma (Member # 6636) on :
It's not, it's just a bunch of 2x4's loosely nailed together. We got the go-ahead from the contractor that inspected the place.
The bigger problem is that it has one 240 and two 120-volt wires running down it to the kitchen sockets and range. I'm thinking I'm going to hire a handyman to extend the wires and run them along the ceiling and down that wall to the right, the way it should have been done in the first place. Then I'll remove that vertical thing and the 2x6 along the ceiling, and put in a track light with the three hanging pendant lights over the breakfast bar. Which, like the rest of the kitchen, is eventually going to be tiled. Also, those cabinets are going to go.
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