Apr
2014

Is there ever an end?

IMG_6796Tuesday I get to perform for my school dance group Ryerson Grooves! And I also have my very first after school art class this week too!

IMG_6794He said

So… as much as I’d like to be talking about how great the walls look like we mused about last week, we realized very quickly that we had: a) a metric buttload of hardwood trim in our house; and b) learned that it was going to take a lot more than just a couple of coats of paint to get the results we wanted. The most time consuming portion of it all was taping off all the areas, and then putting on a requisite coat of an oil based primer that had a consistency somewhere between roofing tar and salt water taffy.

After we got past that stage, we moved on to the actual painting of the trim which was under way by our post last week. But, what we quickly discovered was it was going to take a minimum of three coats to get the results we wanted. And, it was going to take some caulking to fill in cracks and gaps in the hardwood that were now glaringly obvious next to the ultra bright white coats of paint. But, as each coat went on, and the caulking patchwork started to cure, we were getting happier with the results.

IMG_6798By midweek, both Danielle and started to hit a wall. Where we were normally able to get Emelia to bed and have the gumption to put down a coat of paint on the trim, there were a couple nights we needed to just sit down on the couch and relax and even get to bed ahead of midnight. We were both getting pretty exhausted. It didn’t help that I had a string of 11am to 8pm shifts at work either.

Luckily I was off Friday and Saturday. After my usual Friday morning hockey, a meeting for Home County in the morning, and then finally picking up our bedroom TV that was getting a repair under warranty, we were ready to pick up the paint brushes again. But first, because of a sale at Benjamin Moore, we picked up the paint we needed for the kitchen and dining room. We chose Sea Haze—It’s a colour from the same family of Gray Owl that we’re using in the front room, hallway and upstairs hallway. It’s a shade darker and will be a nice complement to tie all the rooms in together. And probably the colour I will use in the office when we get the walls fixed there.

IMG_6800The big help on Saturday was that Emelia had a play date with one of her friends from school. So, after we dropped her off there, and we ran some errands, we got back to the painting proper. The only problem was that the errands took a lot longer than we anticipated and we only managed to get the taping done behind the wall unit and TV before having to pick up Emelia and then drop off some winter stuff we needed to store at Poppa & Grandma’s. By the time we made it home we got a little more done before resolving to hit the sheets early was we were both exhausted.

The real trooper in all this was Danielle. With me off at work today, she tackled with reserved enthusiasm the trim today and managed to (even as I type) burn through three and a half coats! I believe the message she texted me at work today was something along the lines of never wanting to paint another lineal foot of trim in this house… I can’t say I disagree with that sentiment.

IMG_6821But the sum total in all of this post is that we, aside from caulking that I need to do and the odd bit of touchup, are done painting the trim. Which means we’re ready to start painting walls! We’ll start with the kitchen and dining room first because there isn’t any plaster repair work to do there. And then as soon as we can get Vince in to do the repairs to the plaster in my office and various other areas in the front room and hallways, we’ll be able to finally paint the front room and main & upstairs hallways—which ironically enough was how this all get started—the very last thing we’ll be able to do.

But, soon enough, it will be done. Until the next project…

 

IMG_6822She said

The theme of this week was trim, trim, trim and more trim than I even realized we had. I knew we had a lot of wood in the house but until you take on the insane task of painting nine windows, a set of stairs (treads and risers), two arch ways, and two door frames and miles and miles of baseboards. You never really know how much work it will be. It was a task much bigger than either of us imagined but the results are dramatic.

IMG_6823After more late nights than I could count I am happy to say that at least the main level less the door that goes to our basement the white trim is done. If we ever move I swear that will be the top request to an agent, the trim must already be painted out.

But what this means is that this time next week we should be able to post final pictures of the dining room. I am hoping after taking a day off we can start the work to take on the dining room. I have taken the day off on Tuesday to see Emelia’s performance with her dance club at school so this will leave me with an afternoon free of little ones. I am not sure which home project I will tackle with my few hours to myself. We do have a pretty big ‘to do’ list so painting may or may not be on the agenda.

IMG_6825Thankfully the next painting project should be much less painful, John and I have painted enough rooms in our time in this house that taking on the kitchen and dining room will seem like a walk in the park compared to this week. It certainly won’t take an entire week of nights to pull it off.

So our to do list has one big thing ticked off, after the dining room and kitchen are done we are at the mercy of the person we hired to repair the various plaster damaged walls in the house. Thankfully Greg had a good friend who specialized in taking on a number of renovations including drywall and plaster. So once Vince is able to repair the walls we can finally take on the rest of the painting. I am hoping we can have it done ahead of Easter as I am off for 4 days for the long weekend and we can take on the painting and hopefully some major changes in the yard as well.

IMG_6827Last summer the yard really started driving me crazy. When I opened the daycare we made the decision to take out the grass and replace the entire yard space with mulch. It made sense, we had a sizeable play structure and it was the safest choice for the children. But the mulch is messy and honestly annoying. After almost 7 years we were done with it. We have a few parks within very short walking distance of the house including two sizeable play areas at the Emelia’s school that the large climber that dominated our small yard seemed unnecessary. So this year we are taking out the mulch and replacing it once again with grass. That is another project that I am hoping to take on for Easter.

I am excited for the changes we are making to our house, I feel like we have been at a stand still for almost 7 years with the daycare and we decided that we could not and would not leave it anymore. It is our home and we want it the way we want it to enjoy it again. And the daycare kids have been fascinated by the whole transformation and ask each day what we have done the night before so I think they are really enjoying the changes as much as we are.

Well, off for now to enjoy what little is left of the weekend. I have not sat the entire day and I just want to wash off the paint from my hands and arms and veg in front of the TV for a bit.

Until next week…

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