Painting no fun

I spent the weekend painting, or rather repairing and and painting just one sun-blasted section of the house.  Home ownership is not something from which I derive a great deal of joy and pleasure.

  • I pressure-washed the siding which removed unsound, degraded surface leaving only solid wood (though somewhat more textured than I like) Some of the siding was cracked, so I wedged open the cracks with a chisel and forced in waterproof Gorilla Glue.
  • They don’t make the kind of siding on my house anymore, unless I wanted to special-order a “square” of it.  So I manufactured a single piece of siding, or something that looks like it from a distance anyway, to replace a section that was beyond repair.
  • For grafting in a new piece, you can make a laser-precise cut in siding with a square and 20 swipes of a box knife.
  • My house is not a stunning example of fine workmanship.  In three to five years, I’m going to (have someone) pull all the siding off and install a proper vapor barrier, plus vinyl siding.
  • A “Paint pad” beats a brush or roller hands down.  Of course you still need a brush for the fussy touch-up stuff. I used Valspar Ultimate self-priming paint; it smelled like ammonia.  Will let you know in a couple years if “self-priming” has any real meaning.  It is damned hard to wash off your hands though.
  • If you use caulk the same color as your paint it saves a lot of time.  One advantage of off-the-shelf colors.

My hip is killing me and my shoulder isn’t real happy either. Next up: rebuilding the back steps.  And the house needs a new roof.  The furnace is pushing 20yrs.  Water heater questionable…

Posted by George on 10/06/08 at 06:25 AM
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