One Sixty: The Fumes Have Definately Gone to My Head

The Fumes Have Definately Gone to My Head

I think I have paint particles embedded in my brain at this point. My lungs have been repainted several times now. I could probably take them out, turn them inside out, and sell them as modern art. But that would be disgusting and weird. You probably think I'm disgusting and weird for even suggesting it.... and you'd be right. But that's beside the point.

As you've probably already guessed - I spent Saturday and Sunday painting my butt off.... Hmmm, actually I wish. Friday was another waste. Mike got a call from his friend JP who said, "I got a free 30 pack, wanna help me drink it?" And like any self respecting male - that was an offer he just could not refuse. But Saturday and Sunday were all paint.

AND NOW FOR SOME REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!!

I purchased a gallon of Glidden PVC white drywall primer at the home depot. (You guys already know this - see previous post a few posts down.) Well, Friday night I decided to take it upon myself to finish priming.

Turns out, all primers are not created equal. And this junk, this sh*t I bought at the deepHo was probably the worst of 'em all. To put it nicely, it was like painting with milk. No coverage whatsoever.

The walls were previously painted pink, plus there were areas that were newly sanded and mudded, and areas that were single or double coat primed with BunkerHill brand. So the whole room was a giant mixed bag. And let me tell you, this stupid stuff failed on every surface.

It did not cover over pink,
Just barely made it lighter.
It did not cover over mud,
And did not make white brighter.

I tried to paint it really thick,
Across the longest wall,
Hoping it would really stick
But it did not help at all.

And though I thought a gallon can
Would definitely do
I discovered man oh man!
It barely lasted halfway through!

After that and much complaint
I'd finally had my fill.
We decided on the better paint
And bought some BunkerHill.

The End

(Didn't I tell you the fumes went to my head?) So let that be a lesson to you all - don't cheap out on primer.

A coat of BunkerHill later near the end of the day on Saturday:

The office was all primed! The stairway/hallway was all primed! (That's my kitty The Fidge at the bottom of the steps.) Sunday I spend the day painting while Mike was out riding. Although he was nice enough to paint the sketchy slant over the stairs for me when he got home.

In this pic the color looks way pinker than it actually is. I think that's just the morning sun and my laziness in not adjusting the camera white balance.The actual color is more of a warm beige/vanilla latte with milk.

And the other wall is a muted pink called "Princess Stephanie." Very appropriate, no?

Blog Story

My now husband Mike and I purchased this quaint home back in spring of 2004 - our first home - and, being the handy folks we are, expected to have the entire thing renovated in about a year or so.

And here we still are... renovating away.

This house needed a complete overhaul. Its plaster walls were uninsulated, its attic floor covered in 2" of bat guano, its basement - dirt and snakes, its exterior - asbestos siding, and lead paint windows in every room. The electric had not been updated and light sockets hung bare from the ceiling. Plumbing featured cast iron radiators - and only one for the entire upstairs.

We began by gutting almost the entire house from top to bottom. (sans bathroom - we needed to pee) We rebuilt the entire upstairs, with a new floor (not new carpet or wood - the once unstable framing underneath) and turned 3 small rooms into two. We reinvented the downstairs by turning a closet into a hallway and eliminating interior exterior windows and doors from old half-assed additions.

New insulation, windows, electrical wiring (including phone and CAT-5 internet), plumbing and baseboards, and drywall were all added.

We purchased kitchen cabinets from a yard sale. (None existed previously.) Our families helped us replace and purchase new appliances including the once also missing washer & dryer.

Then we had the entire house lifted - straight into the air - dug out the dirt, and had a real basement foundation poured. We updated our oil tank and burner and created heating zones.

Outside, we took down trees and planted grass. We dug out an awkward hill to create a 2nd part to the driveway and used the rocks our house once sat on as a retaining wall. We electrified and repainted the garage.

And of course, we spent many an hour on finish work like paint, trim, closet doors, lighting fixtures, hardwood floors, curtain rods, dimmer switches, and many other things everyone else takes for granted. We are still working to complete all this final finishing, but happy to report that we are FINALLY nearing completion of all little things in all rooms!

In 2008 we began overhauling the exterior by creating a new french door entryway and building a farmer's porch and garage addition. We replaced our roof and then stripped off our siding and replaced with new clapboards. We then planted two new flowering trees and a maple in the front yard - our first major landscape purchases. I'm happy to report that here in 2011, the porch is nearing completion and the back yard is on the road to recovery with some new loam and grass. More plantings soon to come!

In 2012 we plan to attack the last MAJOR (emphasis on major) job in the house - the dreaded BATHROOM! We plan to first add a second bathroom in the basement. Then, demolish our current bathroom and rebuild it, adding a second bathroom on top for the upstairs.

And that pretty much brings you up to date. The battle continues day to day as we try and complete everything.

1 comments:

Greg said...: I think you might have missed the part of the instructions to "add 1 part flour to every 3 parts primer". Because you were painting with 2% milk.

I've had the same experience with many primers.

Behr is the only paint I'll use these days... especially to huff.

-g; 10:06 AM