# Rushing through the home repairs.



## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*And they're off!*

So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…

I have some wildlife damaged siding and trim that I need to replace. Thank God that I have surplus in the shop. My budget is so tight I can use it as a guitar string these days…

The dead ceiling fan in the kitchen is just that, dead. Now the question is, how to wire the new one. The old one was on a wall mounted 3 speed switch… Ugh. I need to figure that one out!

I need to somehow get old tape adhesive off of the master bedroom widnows. I had taped the windows as well as boarded them for Hurricane Ike, and never fully dealt with the tape sticky and now it's, well… stuck…

I have all this to do, and to top it off, I need to drive up to Plantersville on Saturday to pick up some lumber to make thresholds. That's a 1.5 hour drive. UGH!


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## QuickWay (May 1, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


That sticky stuff will come off very easy with WD-40 I done this for years and nothing else works as good. This shop tip is free…..whooooo hooooo


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


For removing the "Stichy Stuff", you can also try citrus cleaner, it works real well & has a GOOD fragrance!!

I'd come over to help, but Texas from Vermont would be one hell of a commute!!!

Keep push'n on….....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


I haven't the slightest idea what the poster above this is trying to communicate, if anything at all. The post seems only to be a vehicle to post up the link about some wall tiles, which I didn't even mention having anything to do with. Now if you'll excuse me, it looks like I need to dine on a SPAM sandwich…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


Attaboy, attaboy, attaboy…........

Think of good you will feel when it is all done. Think of the reduced house payment, and all the freed up cash for shop tools. Think of the barbecue your gonna have to celebrate getting this crap done. I'll have to take a rain check in advance, however….......(-:

Remember your back. Pace yourself on those jobs that abuse it. Have multiple jobs going so you don't have to stop working just because your back is complaining. A high stool or low step ladder may help you reach the tops of those windows, and you might be able to sit down while you do it.

Razor scraper and a solvent…......depending on the tape, many different ones may work. It will probably come down to which one is easiest to get off of the window. I have used WD-40 on cars to remove tar, so I know it is safe there.

........end of cheer leading message for today…........(-:


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


Jim,

It was duct tape…

My back is always on my mind. The good thing is I am working on light things without a lot of lifting or twisting. It's been over a year now since a major flare up, and the physical therapist is happy… I know even with the effects of the wreck, I could probably lick this thing if I weren't carrying all the extra weight. So we got onto Weight Watchers. And so far in the last 1.5 months I am down 10 lbs. I am trying to lose slowly. I don't want to gain it back…

I do have some heavy lifting jobs, like replacing 2 T1-11 siding panels where the original masonite is melting in the Texas humidity. I have a couple of my nephews that have volunteered to help me out with the bigger outdoor stuff…

I wish I had twice the time I do. I could get everything that NEEDS to be done, and a few things I WANT to get done. Like rip out the deck and install a paver patio.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


Jim is right, but you knew that! Pacing your self is KEY! Don't want to get burned out and let safety or quality suffer.

Also, congrats on the 10lbs. !!!!!!


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


db: At the risk of being repetitive ….

"Sharing master Wall tiles and bedroom windows being information looks for really nice. I have keep this home improve task process are good. I will forward to another home makers."

Look. Truer words were never spoken. This will save you HUGE time and energy, down the road. Ignore this man/woman/beast … at your *peril* !

All your base are belong to us !

Godspeed, Man !


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *And they're off!*
> 
> So we've gotten off to a good start. The dog damaged trim and sheet rock in the kitchen, laundry, and bathroom have been ripped out, sheet rock replaced taped, and mudded. We are on 48+ hours so the mud should be plenty dry by now, time to start sanding. I have 2 walls that were otherwise undamaged, but had bad wallpaper that the dog ripped up, and the wallpaper is now removed, and the walls sanded. I am going with the concept of accent walls now…
> 
> ...


Go Zig!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Sanding on 2 walls done, started cutting and installing the trim.*

I've got 2 more walls left that need to be sanded, actually the sanding finished really… I am using one of those hand held drywall sanders for fear of creating a dust plume that looks like a mushroom cloud with a power sander. Not to mention quickly clogging sandpaper… Anyway, I digress…

The trim around the water heater stand is done, mostly. I am still working on transition to the original wall / trim. I have no coping saw, so I am hopeful I can pull this off with the scroll saw, hand sanding, and in all honestly, caulk and paint…

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. I am effectively leaving LOML and a few of the in laws / nephews at the house as I run up to the hardwood shop to grab some 4/4 oak, 6" wide x at least 10' long for the thresholds. Yes I am making thresholds to transition from carpet to tile. I am mostly trying to cover doggie damage without replacing the carpet, yet… Not a huge deal as the plan is, in a few years when all is said and done, and God willing the note is paid off, or LOML gets a job again (long string of curses here to the idiots so called managing our economy!) and we will rip out every stitch of carpet, and all the old tile and replace it all with hardwood flooring… But for now, we need to get these gaps covered up, and get the steam cleaners in to get the carpet looking fresh…

My trip home from work today will consist of a trip to Ace Hardware for a gallon of Ace Royal Touch interior latex semi gloss Bone White. Mostly because that is what I painted the inside of the house with back in 2004, and I can touch up with that, and repaint the walls. I also need about 20 more feet of trim, some wallpaper paste, and a few more rolls of painters tape…

Right now the shop is a disaster, and getting worse. I put a stop to projects in progress, for better or worse I did… I needed to clean up already and whamo, we get clobbered with the "inspection for appraisal" deal… so yes, I am far behind in shop maintenance as well…

And I need to keep things open, because the shop is going to hold those totes and boxes of stuff that is getting cleared out of the rest of the house…

If anybody is wondering, no, this is not my idea of fun…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Sanding on 2 walls done, started cutting and installing the trim.*
> 
> I've got 2 more walls left that need to be sanded, actually the sanding finished really… I am using one of those hand held drywall sanders for fear of creating a dust plume that looks like a mushroom cloud with a power sander. Not to mention quickly clogging sandpaper… Anyway, I digress…
> 
> ...


Seems to me, I have accomplished a lot with mud, pieces of board, sometimes held in place with wood and screws etc. Sometimes because I have removed something on or in the wall, or sometimes repairing damage. Don' do much of that anymore, but I can. Just think of it as sculpture, and when it comes to drywall, you can do most anything.


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Sanding on 2 walls done, started cutting and installing the trim.*
> 
> I've got 2 more walls left that need to be sanded, actually the sanding finished really… I am using one of those hand held drywall sanders for fear of creating a dust plume that looks like a mushroom cloud with a power sander. Not to mention quickly clogging sandpaper… Anyway, I digress…
> 
> ...


Those thresholds are just an excuse to work in your wood shop! Can't blame you though. Lol.

Keep up the good work!


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## bluekingfisher (Mar 30, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Sanding on 2 walls done, started cutting and installing the trim.*
> 
> I've got 2 more walls left that need to be sanded, actually the sanding finished really… I am using one of those hand held drywall sanders for fear of creating a dust plume that looks like a mushroom cloud with a power sander. Not to mention quickly clogging sandpaper… Anyway, I digress…
> 
> ...


I know exactly where you are coming from with regards to the shop being a mess.

I too am doing household remodelling. I have ripped out the old kiychen, taken down brick walls bricked up now defuncted doors and all other manner of demolision.

I am now on the rebuild stage, a long ardoue task when holding down a full time job and even worese when it is a kitchen that needs to be operational every day.

Next weekend will see me installing new real wood walnut worktops (3), floor tiling and wall tile.

I will be very very glad to see it all done so I can get into my shop without tripping over all manner of crap that shouldn't be in there.

Good luck your end…...........thankfully i don't have a dog to clear up after.

David


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## Bertha (Jan 10, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Sanding on 2 walls done, started cutting and installing the trim.*
> 
> I've got 2 more walls left that need to be sanded, actually the sanding finished really… I am using one of those hand held drywall sanders for fear of creating a dust plume that looks like a mushroom cloud with a power sander. Not to mention quickly clogging sandpaper… Anyway, I digress…
> 
> ...


Geez, I've been there, man. When we moved into my house around 2 years ago, every wall needed help. I ended up mostly using the hole-disc ROS with a big ShopVac. It was really unwieldy but it saved me a lot of grief with the dust. I used about five boxes of Swiffer wets Good luck!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Sanding on 2 walls done, started cutting and installing the trim.*
> 
> I've got 2 more walls left that need to be sanded, actually the sanding finished really… I am using one of those hand held drywall sanders for fear of creating a dust plume that looks like a mushroom cloud with a power sander. Not to mention quickly clogging sandpaper… Anyway, I digress…
> 
> ...


Bertha,

LOML insisted I buy her a Shark Steam Mop a couple of years ago. I am pretty good at cleaning the dust up, but there is the stuff the broom and shop vac misses. The Shark does a great job, but drywall dust plugs the pads up fast, so I end up washing 4 pads at once. Probably not great for my plumbing…

Never thought of using the ROS. I guess I could try it, but I am so close to done with the sanding it's not worth it yet. However we are discussing completely stripping out ALL the wallpaper, which would get me back into sanding, at that point, I might just go the ROS route just to speed things up…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*

So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…










Next of course, since the boxes were open, add the upgrade trim to the ceiling cans in the master bath. These things include new reflectors, and really do aim the light better, using 65 watt R30 CFL bulbs these things really put out a LOT of light in what once was a pair of very dark bathrooms, but the spillover isn't like it was before, so no harshness to the person in the bed in the master suite… VERY nice upgrade function wise, not just looks. And to top it off, these things were on clearance at my local Home Depot… It appears Hampton Bay is dropping the ceiling can trim in this design. So I got them at 50% off…. They were a pain to figure out how to install, but it all ended up wroking well…









Of course the progress on the water heater stand and trim is coming along nicely. The trim along the top is going in very well. The stuff along the bottom, well my removal technique has caused me a need for more drywall patching, but the bottoms are cleared now, and the trim is going in nicely… 

















And yes, before anyone fusses, yes I KNOW I should have masked the floor off before texturing the wall, but hey, what's wrong with shaving floors?

There was a mess of other work not shown in these pics, not the least of which is the running into H town to get some pecan from Clarks. I need to figure out how to face and edge joint 9' long stock when all I have is a bench top jointer… I am thinking big hand planes coming to my rescue… Or temporary infeed and outfeed support… I have 1 piece that I really MUST process as a single piece. This is for a threshold to cover the transition from carpet to tile… Yes I am using perfectly good hardwood to cheap out and not have to replace fraying carpets yet… As a bonus, I will be using Walnut plugs to cover the screws on this project to boot!

The rest of the efforts were helping LOML move stuff that was up too high for her… Not much beyond that. Running out of steam for the weekend. Need to rest now, and get hard after it tomorrow after work again…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


Nice to see the photos. Somehow, in my last life or two, I think I have done all those things.

Looking back, I can't even believe the things I have done.

You will get there too…........(-:

........the hard part, is wondering why you did them….........

If God made one mistake, it was not letting us practice life before we lived it….........


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


Oh, by the way, like the paper and the lights together, nice effect.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


You may want to save that photo then… Part of the process is going to be to strip the paper. We are going with a suede faux finish. I like the paper, but wallpaper is so far out of home fashion that even I know it… Which is saying a lot. All the bright brass is leaving too. We are going with an antiqued bronze finish on everything we can, and a brown / green / white pallette throughout the house, with certain areas such as the kitchen and master bath getting some cranberry accents… I have Raspberry colored accent tiles in the master bathroom, and I am NOT doing tile yet…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


We have ditched the wallpaper in our house as well, but I always liked it. We still have wallpaper in the living room and master bedroom, but it will be stripped as well.

Glad to see things are moving along. Good luck with the refinance….....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


Hey, even if the refi doesn't go through, at least the house will be fixed up… LOML is giving me the thumbs up for the sub panel as well. She wants the freezer out of the kitchen…


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


New sub panel! Do you already have 240V? Great time to add it if not.

Keep up the good work, and stop the bad work (not masking)!!! LOl. JK.

Remember, don't rush, work safe and invite me to the house Re-Warming party!!!


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


Randy has a good point…...remember the 240.

Your project may be a lot of work, but I think I see a win-win-win-win situation here…..refinance the house, fix up the house, make wife happy, and get the panel. How you work with your present electrical, I will never understand.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


Extension cords…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


But the whole thing seems so untenable….....gadzooks. Here's hoping that will be solved soon. I use a number of power strips, especially for things like chargers. But I have a lot of circuits. I two separate 240 circuits, that's because of the dust collector. And then I have either three or four 120 circuits. To the 120 circuits I plug in power strips and number of home wired 4 receptacle boxes. The old bench has two 4 gang receptacles, and so does the new multipurpose bench. The compressor and internal light have their own receptacles inside the multpurpose bench. The central pillar has a switchable 240 circuit, so I can turn off the big saws to work change blades, align them, etc without unplugging them. There are four 240 receptacles on the pillar, one on each side, all hard wired into the same circuit. The pillar has twelve 120 recptacles hard wired into it. There is a switch on two sides opposite each other with a pilot light. Those switches are wired so that either one turns off all the 120 to the pillar. 15 years ago or more I wrote "Peter Power Pillar" on the wood with a magic marker. Of course, I did all that wiring myself. Once you get good at that stuff, it doesn't take much motivation to set up good electrical. I keep enough electrical stuff around to wire something up on the fly without going to the store.

To the old saying that you can never have enough clamps, I add you can never have enough receptacles. Suppose I have a fetish or something? I have two 6 foot or so extension cords, home made, hung up on the central pillar, for the odd corded hand tool that just needs a little extra cord…...my old circular saw, half sheet sander, etc come to mind. But months go by before the extension cords get used.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


I agree, which is why I am so itchy for this. My present power situation is this…

#1. A single 110V 20 amp circuit in the shop that is shared with both bathrooms, and the outdoor wall sockets. 
#2. A single 110V 20 amp circuit borrowed as need be from the washing machine, this is in the house and about 10 feet from the shop door, so I use a 25 ft extension cord. This is a dedicated circuit to the laundry, so I can only use it when LOML isn't washing clothes, I use this to power the DC or air compressor.
#3. Single 20 amp leg from the stove / oven. Not sure why, but there is a single 110V split from the 220V that feeds the stove. It is a dedicated circuit, and likewise goes to the shop to power the A/C when needed. This is NOT a good idea as the extension cord, even the heavy duty one gets warm when used for long periods.

Yes, I am desperate to get sufficient power into the shop, not to mention the house… If anyone wants to donate funds or expertise to this noble endeavor I would gratefully accept….

I should mention, I am planning on bringing a total of 5 circuits into the shop, all 20 amp, 3 of them 110V, and 2 of them 220V… The HF DC can't be rewired 220V, but I am thinking in the long run I want to upgrade the DC, and Table Saw to 220V…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Lighting upgrades, and more drywall work...*
> 
> So first things first, fix the ceiling in the main bathroom, texture it paint it, and while I am there, mount up the upgrade trim for the ceiling cans to match the rest of the lighting we are going to in the house…
> 
> ...


I can send you all the Attaboy's you can handle…....glad to support your effort…........(-:

5 circuits should do it, that's what I have. You really don't run very many things at once….......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*When door stops don't...*

So last night was spent running around with new door stops, and drywall mud making sure the door knobs keep from smashing into sheet rock, and repairing the damage that was caused when they did. You know, if I was going for a stucco look, I'd be done texturing! But I digress..

I got to spend a little bit of time painting some samples of paint on the laundry room walls, and remembered a couple of stupid things…

#1. Even light colors can bleed through paint and skew your colors, use primer FIRST! Long story…
#2. Paint almost always looks to be a lighter shade when wet than when dry. LOML didn't understand that, and was getting visibly upset when the paint went on. I urged her to wait a few hours to reserve judgement. She did, and was happy…
#3. Bulb color makes a HUGE difference in percieved paint color. She made me prove it…

Okay so what I ended up doing was taking a scrap of sheet rock, and slapped some primer on it to get the base as neutral as possible. I followed that up with somewhat carefully painted sections of bright white (the trim color), something pearl the would have been main color but in the house looks pink ICK, and Pecan sandie… I let it dry, and took it from garage (Daylight bulbs) to laundry (cool white) to kitchen (daylight behind a diffuser) and showed her the difference in color. She was visibly stunned at the effect…

I need to make it to Ace Hardware sometime when they are open as we decided one thing already. Aside from it being worn from too many tennis balls and furry tails bouncing off of it (as the clumsy dog chases said tennis ball down the hallway…) the Ace Royal Touch Bone white that I painted the entire inside of the house back in 2004 is still a very nice color, and contrasts nicely with our accent colors.

One thing I need to know though… Why are Behr paint cans so much easier to open than Glidden?


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *When door stops don't...*
> 
> So last night was spent running around with new door stops, and drywall mud making sure the door knobs keep from smashing into sheet rock, and repairing the damage that was caused when they did. You know, if I was going for a stucco look, I'd be done texturing! But I digress..
> 
> ...


I think we ended up with three colors in the house. A light green, a light blue green, and a lot of off white. Fortunately, I didn't have to pick the colors, the architect and Sherie did, and they were spot on. Most of wood is Jatoba, or finished to look like it.

Hope all goes well with the paint job and color selection, it is pretty time consuming to redo any of it.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *When door stops don't...*
> 
> So last night was spent running around with new door stops, and drywall mud making sure the door knobs keep from smashing into sheet rock, and repairing the damage that was caused when they did. You know, if I was going for a stucco look, I'd be done texturing! But I digress..
> 
> ...


I despise this part of the remodeling. I just want to go in, pick some colors, and slap them on the walls, she on the other hand wants to make sure they are just right… Not my definition of fun, but if it makes her happy…


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *When door stops don't...*
> 
> So last night was spent running around with new door stops, and drywall mud making sure the door knobs keep from smashing into sheet rock, and repairing the damage that was caused when they did. You know, if I was going for a stucco look, I'd be done texturing! But I digress..
> 
> ...


dbhost said; "but if it makes her happy…"

Ain't that what it's ALL about!!!

Keep plugging along! Pics please!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*

So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…

I have the trim installed in the laundry room except for the one little detail I forgot at Home Depot. Where the heck is the quarter round? I sort of forgot it! Rats…

So back to Home Depot we need to go to get that…

I am killing my poor shop vac though. the talc like wallboard dust does get separated somewhat decently by the Thien separator, but that seems to work MUCH better with wood dust. That stupid drywall dust stays in the air for a LONG time

Once I have my texture finished, and the quarter round installed, the caulking comes, then the prime and paint… And of course stripping, staining, and urethaneing (is that a word) the cabinets. I am anxious to get this room done. The kitchen is next to be stripped and done… No trim work thank God, but lots of wallpaper removal, texturing, painting, stripping staining etc… I will be painting the ceiling in both rooms as well, including removing the ceiling vents and painting them with Plastic paint, and replacing the light fixtures…

I probably ought to be throwing this out to the Home Refurbers forum, but hey, I am here and active on Lumberjocks… So if this gets to those guys and gals… this is what LJs do too!

I am looking forward to getting to the thresholds. I have been face jointing with the hand planes, this is a process I am not used to but it is plenty cool…


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


Hey db,
How's the battle?

Dry wall dust is nasty stuff, cloud wise, it gets everywhere. When using a shop vac for drywall, there is an alternative (to a thein seperator).

I'll try to explain the drywall dust seperator as best I can:
1) 5 gallon bucket 1/2 full of water & a tightly sealed lid with two holes for vac hoses.
2) hose from sanding pad goes into the bucket (seal around the hose), then goes thru the cover and all the way to the bottom of bucket, ie. under water.
3) Hose from bucket to vac: hose only goes through the cover (again, sealed) of the 5 gallon bucket about 1" (NOT into water), as it only sucks the air.
4) connect hose to vac.
5) turn vac on, begin sanding dry wall
6) dry wall dust is sucked into the water & stays there, as the air is sucked out of the (sealed bucket) by the vac.

I hope this made sense?

Keep battling, you're putting up a great fight!!!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


Sounds like the Willie Nelson dust separator…


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


Here's a link.


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


Your post belongs here because like I have said before, you do a true blog. As long as you don't post the process as a project, you are fine. The completed project, especially the cabinets could be a project, but my personal style would be to leave it as a blog. The process is more important than the outcome to readers, although followers of your blogging want to see the finished product. So we need a tour when you are done?

I mostly blog as comments to your blog…(-:

Speaking of, spent the weekend whittling at the electronic medical records stuff for the clinic. Until yesterday, didn't feel much like standing, this is hard to believe, but I actually overdid myself operating last week on a patient and ended up with stiff hands, back and abdomen….....and let me tell you, I keep all those parts in good tone with an exercise program.

Well, back to EMR…....still 5 weeks of that to go….....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


I am actually feeling shockingly good considering the daylight savings time switch… I simply don't get enough sleep on a regular basis…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


Daylight savings time is totally useless here, it is only done to conform to Seattle and the West Coast. Because of our extremes of daylight and night hours, if anything, it just makes the use of daylight worse. I just get pissed off at the change.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Walls sanded, trim mostly done. Where's the quarter round?*
> 
> So the drywall is patched, and sanded, colors are tested on the walls, and after several uh… lively discussions with LOML she agrees that the primary color I had initially wanted beats all the odd colors her sister has been suggesting. I know she means well, but her taste is a bit more formal than ours, and the colors just don't go…
> 
> ...


I loved living in Arizona. Not fooling with the clocks makes sense to me!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Foyer walls in paint, working our way to the living room, and I ran out of tall...*

It should be dead obvious to anyone that looks that our house is in the middle of remodeling, I have a nice, beautiful fresh coat of Pecan Sandie paint on the walls in the foyer, with some of it spilling over onto the trim (will mask, prep and repaint the trim bright white next). The ceiling is Glidden Ceiling white and WOW what a difference in that small, windowless space that made! The original satin bone white paint never looked good to me (I.E. I thought it was an UGLY color on the ceiling…) and felt it made the spaces shrink in on us. Well after much debate, and an executive decision being made we have bright white up there… And the foyer no longer feels like a jail cell…

The quarter round is sitting in the garage happy as a clam waiting to be cut up, but I have a fitment problem with the taller moldings in the laundry room, there is one corner where even though both pieces are cut to 45 deg and verified with my drafting triangles, speed square, and whatever else I could come up with to verify the angles, they meet at the wall, and a gap grows to the outside. It's small, but quite annoying. So I took same said squares and found the problem… My *#&@ walls aren't square! I should have checked first, but that's what caulk and paint are for right?

The repairs to the bathroom wall are almost done, a little more drywall sanding, then final prep before paint and we are good to go there. Except now LOML has a bug in her bonnet to change the colors in the bathroom completely out, meaning stripping ALL of that stupid wallpaper. I wouldn't mind so much, but when this house was originally built in 1984, the contractor had never heard of wall sizing before wallpaper, and no matter how much steam, or various chemicals I have applied to the walls, I can not get the paper to release from the drywall… I am left with strip, sand, strip, sand patch where it screws up, sand, prime, sand, prime, sand, prime some more, paint…

The ceiling in the bathroom in question is in sad shape too due to my stupidity in the past with where I put my feet in the attic. The old patch is holding, but it is without a doubt bowed. Now I can live with it and not bat an eye, but LOML wants it fixed… Yeah like I don't have enough work to do!

And to top it off, we have had an abundance of rain for the past several months, this following a year plus of extreme drought, which started just 2 years after Hurricane Ike. I mention all this because to say the least, my poor Magnolia tree in the back yard was stressed, and unknown to me, but also infested with fire ants, well 2 days ago, a big cold front moved through with some huge winds, and down it came onto my deck… So last night on went the Amdro after finding the biting buggers, this weekend is going to be plenty of work cutting up and moving that thing off… It's plenty dry due to the drought, so I will most likely haul it off to a friends property in Santa Fe to his burn pile, take some steaks and trade us cooking BBQ for his family for them letting us torch our dead wood. Okay admittedly it's an excuse to go cook steaks and drink beer with friends around a bon fire…

The quarter round still needs to find it's place in the universe so I need to get that corner squared up as best I can and get to it… I am probably looking forward to having the laundry room done the most. I am refacing the cabinets with Walnut / Pecan doors, and walnut veneering the side and face frame… Between that, the new trim, and paint work, that room should look fantastic when I am done…


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## interpim (Dec 6, 2008)

dbhost said:


> *Foyer walls in paint, working our way to the living room, and I ran out of tall...*
> 
> It should be dead obvious to anyone that looks that our house is in the middle of remodeling, I have a nice, beautiful fresh coat of Pecan Sandie paint on the walls in the foyer, with some of it spilling over onto the trim (will mask, prep and repaint the trim bright white next). The ceiling is Glidden Ceiling white and WOW what a difference in that small, windowless space that made! The original satin bone white paint never looked good to me (I.E. I thought it was an UGLY color on the ceiling…) and felt it made the spaces shrink in on us. Well after much debate, and an executive decision being made we have bright white up there… And the foyer no longer feels like a jail cell…
> 
> ...


break out the coping saw! I've seen older craftsman who can cope by hand and create a seamless joint between moldings. Hell of a skill to have, I wish I could be as good as some of the old timers.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Foyer walls in paint, working our way to the living room, and I ran out of tall...*
> 
> It should be dead obvious to anyone that looks that our house is in the middle of remodeling, I have a nice, beautiful fresh coat of Pecan Sandie paint on the walls in the foyer, with some of it spilling over onto the trim (will mask, prep and repaint the trim bright white next). The ceiling is Glidden Ceiling white and WOW what a difference in that small, windowless space that made! The original satin bone white paint never looked good to me (I.E. I thought it was an UGLY color on the ceiling…) and felt it made the spaces shrink in on us. Well after much debate, and an executive decision being made we have bright white up there… And the foyer no longer feels like a jail cell…
> 
> ...


Sadly, no coping saw to break out. I need to go grab one… The space this particular gap is in, and the size of the gap, a dab of caulk , some sand paper to knock an errant edge down, and some paint, nobody will ever know… Especially my lovely bride…

I do have other areas that are more visible where I KNOW the walls aren't square in the house that I will be redoing trim, so I will need a coping saw, and am thinking about the Robert Larson model from Amazon as it is one of the few modern saws I have seen that seems to be worth a tinkers hoot…

Okay I did lie a little bit. I do own a coping saw, but I would rather use a pocket knife than this thing. It's a Stanley or Buck Bros or some stupid thing like that that came from Home Depot, and it is beyond irritating to use… Since it is pretty much useless, I said I don't own a coping saw, truth to be fully told, I don't own a useful coping saw…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Foyer walls in paint, working our way to the living room, and I ran out of tall...*
> 
> It should be dead obvious to anyone that looks that our house is in the middle of remodeling, I have a nice, beautiful fresh coat of Pecan Sandie paint on the walls in the foyer, with some of it spilling over onto the trim (will mask, prep and repaint the trim bright white next). The ceiling is Glidden Ceiling white and WOW what a difference in that small, windowless space that made! The original satin bone white paint never looked good to me (I.E. I thought it was an UGLY color on the ceiling…) and felt it made the spaces shrink in on us. Well after much debate, and an executive decision being made we have bright white up there… And the foyer no longer feels like a jail cell…
> 
> ...


I think that walls that are not plumb and corners that are not 90 deg is the rule, especially with the quality of stud lumber. My contractor reverted to steel studs in certain places because he couldn't find decent wooden ones.

Sounds like you are buzzing along. I am immersed in the EMR stuff and probably won't get in the shop much for another month.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Foyer walls in paint, working our way to the living room, and I ran out of tall...*
> 
> It should be dead obvious to anyone that looks that our house is in the middle of remodeling, I have a nice, beautiful fresh coat of Pecan Sandie paint on the walls in the foyer, with some of it spilling over onto the trim (will mask, prep and repaint the trim bright white next). The ceiling is Glidden Ceiling white and WOW what a difference in that small, windowless space that made! The original satin bone white paint never looked good to me (I.E. I thought it was an UGLY color on the ceiling…) and felt it made the spaces shrink in on us. Well after much debate, and an executive decision being made we have bright white up there… And the foyer no longer feels like a jail cell…
> 
> ...


Oh my shop is a certifiable disaster. I have cutoffs, and hand plane shavings from face jointing 9' long pecan lumber all over the place. I need a bigger shop, and a MUCH bigger workbench!


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Foyer walls in paint, working our way to the living room, and I ran out of tall...*
> 
> It should be dead obvious to anyone that looks that our house is in the middle of remodeling, I have a nice, beautiful fresh coat of Pecan Sandie paint on the walls in the foyer, with some of it spilling over onto the trim (will mask, prep and repaint the trim bright white next). The ceiling is Glidden Ceiling white and WOW what a difference in that small, windowless space that made! The original satin bone white paint never looked good to me (I.E. I thought it was an UGLY color on the ceiling…) and felt it made the spaces shrink in on us. Well after much debate, and an executive decision being made we have bright white up there… And the foyer no longer feels like a jail cell…
> 
> ...


dbhost,
Besides the walls not being square (which they never are), when you tape/corner bead & mud a corner, it takes that corner out of square!!!

Would it be easier/faster to just demo the walls, hang & tape new drywall, as opposed to removing the wallpaper??? Just a thought.

Good luck with the rest of your house renovation/rehab!!!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Fixing drywall problems and repainting that *&#$ cathedral ceiling...*

After hurricane Ike blew through, I was left with some cracks in my sheet rock. The inspectors / engineers I had look at it told me the issue was because of the wind load / vibration during the storm. Sadly my insurance didn't cover that damage, so I need to get my butt up a ladder to re-tape and mud where the storm split my ceiling, and then repaint. No big deal right?

It would appear that my 6' step ladder won't be sufficient, but that's okay I can borrow a taller ladder from a friend, except after getting it home I realized 2 problems…

#1. His ladder is only 8', and still too short.
#2. His ladder is rated for 225 lbs. I exceed that by a pretty good margin…

So time to cruise Craigslist…

Found it… 10' Werner Fiberglass ladder. 375 lb load rating, $75.00… SOLD!

Hauled it all the way across Houston back home. Thank God for ratcheting cargo straps!

Once I managed to get this behemoth through the door, I stood it up, and sure enough, it was plenty tall, so up the ladder I went with the drywall sander, respirator, and plenty of trepidation…

Well 2 hours after starting, I had the first seam retaped / mudded, and the mud textured to match the stomp texture as close as I can get without restomping my entire ceiling… I have the long angled wall painted up to the ceiling and the paint was drying…

Tonight I get home, throw some tape up to tape off the wall and make a clean corner for the ceiling, and start in on the ceiling paint in that area… Then the fun part begins. The entertainment center, including the old Sony WEGA 37" CRT needs to be moved….

Now I am not sure, but I think the frame on this TV is cast iron, and the entertainment center has no casters… I was thinking about getting some of those carpet gliders that slide underneath to slide the TV out to get this done…

The nicer thing is, the BIL we have been taking care of for the last 3 years, seeing him through his health deterioration, and transplants, and finally recovery, started his new job this morning! He has offered to, when his funds start coming in, to hire help to get the remodeling done faster in lieu of rent… It will be nice to have the added help instead of expenses for a change!

Now that the 10' ladder is here, I also finally have a means to get up to where the limbs on the dying trees are, so that I can limb these trees, then drop the trunks in sections… Once the trunks are down, I get to drill then stump rot. I am honestly planning on going the stump rot route, but doing what my uncle used to do… pile up lawn clippings etc… on top of the stump then cover the whole shebang with a tarp. Kind of composting the stumps in place.

By the time these are done, I will have a mostly blank back yard. as I am planning on ripping out the deck as well in favor of a shed, so LOML and I have been playing in Sketchup trying to get the back yard set up right…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Fixing drywall problems and repainting that *&#$ cathedral ceiling...*
> 
> After hurricane Ike blew through, I was left with some cracks in my sheet rock. The inspectors / engineers I had look at it told me the issue was because of the wind load / vibration during the storm. Sadly my insurance didn't cover that damage, so I need to get my butt up a ladder to re-tape and mud where the storm split my ceiling, and then repaint. No big deal right?
> 
> ...


I forget what I bought for La Conner, but I think it was a heavy duty 10 foot Werner step ladder. That was so I could get up to the ceiling of the garage and change out light bulbs and stuff. The garage is super high. I have had dreams of a loft for lumber storage in there. The strange height is a product of the house being built climbing up a hill at the crest, the hill being solid rock. Also need that ladder for the living room stuff…....the ceiling there being even higher.

I fit under the 225# rating OK, but not with enough safety cushion for me, so as I recall, I bought the heavy duty model. Sounds like you got a good buy…....

I was thinking about doing some programming this afternoon…...for a utility to help my keyboard challenged PA with the new electronic medical record stuff…but just don't have the energy. Programming is an early morning activity for me. I will be just cobbling together stuff I already have done, meaning I have all the necessary routines in fully debugged classes…....but it has been a few years since I programmed. Fortunately, it is coming back quickly. Visual Basic 6….....Still works with Windows 7 just fine. And I wrote a code generator years ago to set up all the basic framework for programs in my slightly unusual programming style. Sooner or later, I am hoping never, I will have to be in vb.net. But stuff doesn't port perfectly from VB6 to .net, so I am fighting it. I use my VB6 utilities every day, usually at least 3 or 4 of them. It is nice to have programs that fit your needs exactly….......

Later…......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Working outside while it is cool enough...*

I have a couple of trees that after drought stress, I had die on me, only to find wood boring beetles living in them. (Now I get to check my home structure to make sure they aren't there!). So I got to spend some serious quality time with my ladder, a rope, a chainsaw, and a friend. The rope and the friend were to pull the cutoffs toward the middle of the lawn to avoid smashing the house, the fence, or me in the process of felling these trees. I am about 75% done, and I guarantee the trash people won't want to mess with this. The wood is dry enough, I am SERIOUSLY considering throwing it in my truck, going to the beach with a bunch of friends and a cooler of beer and having a bonfire…

Likewise, on Sunday I was bad, instead of resting as I should, I did some digging around in the front and dug out 2 non productive rose bushes, all the way down including excavating the root…

Now I am no in shape 20 year old, and my body is now complaining. The good thing is I have been losing weight, the bad thing is I am hauling around a LOT of extra weight doing this stuff. I am still head to toe, and have pains in places I forgot existed.. Thank God for Weight Watchers and my Wii. I would be in worse shape without them!

I have also spent a considerable amount of time, no less than 6 hours this weekend, just trying to find the floor in my shop. I got it, now I need to put things were they belong again. I am embarassed they got this bad… I need to get this done quick though. I need to get back on my trim work as the temps will be going back up soon, and when that is done, I don't want to be chain sawing beetle infested oak any more!


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

dbhost said:


> *Working outside while it is cool enough...*
> 
> I have a couple of trees that after drought stress, I had die on me, only to find wood boring beetles living in them. (Now I get to check my home structure to make sure they aren't there!). So I got to spend some serious quality time with my ladder, a rope, a chainsaw, and a friend. The rope and the friend were to pull the cutoffs toward the middle of the lawn to avoid smashing the house, the fence, or me in the process of felling these trees. I am about 75% done, and I guarantee the trash people won't want to mess with this. The wood is dry enough, I am SERIOUSLY considering throwing it in my truck, going to the beach with a bunch of friends and a cooler of beer and having a bonfire…
> 
> ...


Sounds like your having more fun than is humanly possible!!! Lol.

Here in Vermont, I'm thankful when it warms up enough to work outside. It was 50'ish degrees today with scattered showers and for good measure, BB sized hail decided to fall from the heavens!!! BTW, I work outside doing property maintenance, by no means a perfect day at work.

I hope you are finding some joy in the accomplishments so far. In the end it will have all been worth it!!

Good luck & work safe!!!


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## schloemoe (May 10, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Working outside while it is cool enough...*
> 
> I have a couple of trees that after drought stress, I had die on me, only to find wood boring beetles living in them. (Now I get to check my home structure to make sure they aren't there!). So I got to spend some serious quality time with my ladder, a rope, a chainsaw, and a friend. The rope and the friend were to pull the cutoffs toward the middle of the lawn to avoid smashing the house, the fence, or me in the process of felling these trees. I am about 75% done, and I guarantee the trash people won't want to mess with this. The wood is dry enough, I am SERIOUSLY considering throwing it in my truck, going to the beach with a bunch of friends and a cooler of beer and having a bonfire…
> 
> ...


The great thing about saw dust is it won't spoil. Ive had piles of saw dust on my floor I know are at least a year old or better. I do manage for the most part to sweep it up into a pile but then when I start to pick it up and put it in a trash can I start sweating and my vision gets blury….................I need to sit down….LOL…......................Schloemoe


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## NH_Hermit (Dec 3, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Working outside while it is cool enough...*
> 
> I have a couple of trees that after drought stress, I had die on me, only to find wood boring beetles living in them. (Now I get to check my home structure to make sure they aren't there!). So I got to spend some serious quality time with my ladder, a rope, a chainsaw, and a friend. The rope and the friend were to pull the cutoffs toward the middle of the lawn to avoid smashing the house, the fence, or me in the process of felling these trees. I am about 75% done, and I guarantee the trash people won't want to mess with this. The wood is dry enough, I am SERIOUSLY considering throwing it in my truck, going to the beach with a bunch of friends and a cooler of beer and having a bonfire…
> 
> ...


My late father-in-law had this expression, "If you're over 50 and without any aches or pains, then you're dead."


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Working outside while it is cool enough...*
> 
> I have a couple of trees that after drought stress, I had die on me, only to find wood boring beetles living in them. (Now I get to check my home structure to make sure they aren't there!). So I got to spend some serious quality time with my ladder, a rope, a chainsaw, and a friend. The rope and the friend were to pull the cutoffs toward the middle of the lawn to avoid smashing the house, the fence, or me in the process of felling these trees. I am about 75% done, and I guarantee the trash people won't want to mess with this. The wood is dry enough, I am SERIOUSLY considering throwing it in my truck, going to the beach with a bunch of friends and a cooler of beer and having a bonfire…
> 
> ...


Not quite 50 yet… But yeah, I agree…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Working outside while it is cool enough...*
> 
> I have a couple of trees that after drought stress, I had die on me, only to find wood boring beetles living in them. (Now I get to check my home structure to make sure they aren't there!). So I got to spend some serious quality time with my ladder, a rope, a chainsaw, and a friend. The rope and the friend were to pull the cutoffs toward the middle of the lawn to avoid smashing the house, the fence, or me in the process of felling these trees. I am about 75% done, and I guarantee the trash people won't want to mess with this. The wood is dry enough, I am SERIOUSLY considering throwing it in my truck, going to the beach with a bunch of friends and a cooler of beer and having a bonfire…
> 
> ...


That a way to go, David. I have been overworked, too much call lately, and doing a bunch of stuff for the electronic medical records. Basically we are about 80% converted over, only bringing the final step of coding and billing to the computer remains. Meaning, we still generate a piece of paper, the super bill, to put codes on and charges. We have been computerized with the practice management end since 1984, and we are using the EMR of the company that we get the practice management system from. I actually have picked up programming again, and have generated a point and click program for my keyboard challenged PA. But I may use it for myself some, we'll see.

There is not enough time or space here to enumerate my aches and pains, so this soon to be 71 year old won't even try….......(-:

Haven't been in the shop for over a month, but I go on vacation next week, and when I get back, should be shop time.

Hang in there…......


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Cat food damaged linen closet shelves...*

I know it sounds weird, but let me explain…

I guess it was about 2 years ago now, we stocked up on cat food for the BILs cats, sadly it was raining really hard that day… Well we got the cat food (canned) home, and my wife just chucked the cases of cat food into the linen closet without drying them off. Well water doing what it likes to do followed gravity down and found its way between the shelves, and the wall… where it sat until a couple of months ago when I was working on the bathroom walls stripping wallpaper and realized it STINKS in there… Open the closet door and get hit with the stench of mildew… and the closer to the shelves I got, the stronger the smell… No problem, cleared the shelves, washed them, but couldn't get the mildew off / dead even with bleach so I removed them, and carried them into the shop. Stinky idea, but more on that later…

Some digging in my lumber racks sourced up some 3/4" x 10" pine that I was going to use for a small end table at one time, but that time has long since passed… So if I needed to I could use that…

Back to work on stripping the paint and trying to kill the mildew. A couple of rounds of Citrustrip and bleach water, and all the paint is gone, but the mildew just won't die off… So my next step…

Sized up the width, set up stop block and got busy with the miter saw… Cut to length, but they need paint… Out comes the Kilz2 again… The originals look like they were barely sprayed with a very thin coat of Latex, I am going back with a quality job not this corner cutting contractor grade garbage. So 2 coats of Kilz2 are on one side. Still need to sand any runs, then flip them over and get the other side…

Next is a quart of Glidden high gloss brilliant white paint, the same stuff I am painting the doors and trim with, basically the brightest white non tinted base they have in a full gloss. Yes I am putting gloss in a closet shelf. I know not the normal routine, but it should resist staining and mildew better in the long run…

One packet of paint fungicide got mixed in to further help kill off and avoid any potential mildew or mold problems. This is a bathroom after all!

Next up I need to cut some new braces as these shelves were supported merely by nailed in 3/4" x 3/4" x 18" rails nailed to the studs (Almost wish I had more of the 3/4" stock. I have enough depth to make the shelves 18" no problem!)...

Tonight is going to be that second coat of primer, and if my wife lets me get to it, more trim work in the laundry room… I am getting sick and tired of all this remodeling, but when we get serious about it, we get right down to it…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *

From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…

#1. Got the shop vac / thien rig set up in the dining room, and used my dust free sander to smooth out most of the texture from one of the walls that needed a LOT of patching due to furniture bumps, and hurricane shaking induced cracks etc… All of the retaping, patching sanding is DONE woo hoo!

#2. Went to Harbor Freight, picked up a texture hopper gun on sale for $16.00 and threw the 20% coupon on that. The kid at the register actually asked if I wanted the extended warranty on that! Are you serious? It cost me more in my time to get to your store than the dumb gun cost! If this thing lasts through the 90 day warranty period I will be very happy. Honestly, it is such a simple device, it I can manage to break it I will be impressed. All the castings seem stout enough, adjustments are quite functional, and it spits out the thinned mud exactly as it is supposed to…

#3. Learned to thin and spray the mud for texture in the above mentioned texture spray gun. Took 2 attempts to get it close enough to right. I was going for a popcorn finish, the blobs are a bit smaller than I wanted, but it falls under the category of close enough nobody but me will ever notice…

#4. Painted that now fixed wall, as well as the wall next to it, had to pay special attention to the corner where the wall next meets the walls for the breakfast nook, as I have a major color change going on there. Came out great!

#5. Not buried in ground, but I set up timers / hoses, and sprinklers for my lawn. We are under a water restriction, and I can only water between 10 P.M. and 4 A.M.

#6. Replaced the outlets, and light switch in the dining room (the room just painted) with white "Decora" style pieces. When I bought the house all the outlets / switches were almond color, with white faceplates, and they are the old fashioned style pieces. I wanted a fresh look that actually matched. I am using lighted decora switches, which in 2 other fixtures in the house, caused the CFL bulbs to flicker. This fixture is using Phillips globe type CFLs that are painfully slow in warming up, that slowness seems to have an upshot of not being prone to the CFL flicker that seems to be vexing most folks using illuminated switches. I have to have lighted switches as my wife is nearly night blind, and any help she can get finding a light switch in the dark is necessary… For the time being, we have stocked up on Ceiling fan rated incadescent bulbs, but need to find CFLs that won't flicker, and won't die super fast in ceiling fans…

#7. WOOD RELATED WORK! I have an old Oakcrafters dining set, that I am finding very little actual glue was used in the construction. Several of the chair legs are starting to wiggle apart, as are 2 of the chair backs. I removed the remaining glue on one of the chair backs, and am working on fixing a problem of a broken tab on one of the hoop backs before I properly glue this thing up. My wife wants darker colored stained furniture in the dining room. I am debating stripping and restaining what we have, or using this as an excuse to eventually build what I really want, a big Amish Harvest Table with matching chairs.

#8. Serviced my R/O filtration / Water Softener system.

#9. Serviced my bedroom air purifier.

#10. Serviced my hanging air cleaner.

#11. Started organizing my tools again. The shop is in complete disarray, and I was able to spend a little bit of time out there last night. Not a ton, but a little…

#12. Separated my Autospring 2.5" leveling kit / spacers off of the original struts / springs from my truck. I replaced the spacer / strut assembly with a Rancho 2.5" leveling strut last winter. These have literally been sitting on my shop floor since!

I am sure I got more done this weekend, but that is pretty much all I can recall. And aside from a slightly sore back this morning (no shock there!) I am feeling pretty good today. God willing I can get the molding painting done within the next couple of days, and then move everything in the dining room back to its proper location!

After this is done, next up is moving the living room stuff into the dining room, and starting on the living room. Ceiling down…

FWIW, we are not doing flooring yet due to budget. At this point I am SERIOUSLY considering doing stained concrete just to get the carpet OUT of my house. I want hardwood flooring, but it is a little cost prohibitive, at least considering the time frame I have to work with…


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


WOW!! db, did you join the Army, sounds like you got more done before 9:00am than most of do in a whole day. ;-)

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len.

Pace yourself, Work Safely and have Fun.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


LOL, not hardly! I have a lovely bride that is freaking out my older brother and his wife will be visiting this winter!


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## bluekingfisher (Mar 30, 2010)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Congrtaulations on work well done but take a breather, remember you are still on the mend.

take care.

David


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Taking today, and possibly tomorrow off. I have some study wok to do at home tonight. (I am in IT, and am studying for an updated certification). Probably just kick back and read after dinner assuming LOML, and our pets let me…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Ahhh….. Nice evening so far. Good relaxing dinner of Fajitas and a Margarita sans tequila @ Los Ramirez in Clear Lake, then back home for some VM study time…. server1.example.com is loading over my network now…

Got some good jams on the media player too! Ratt jamming in my ears reminds me of screaming through the Oregon hills with my friends in my old AMC Hornet… (Too bad the memory couldn't replace that with a Chevelle SS!)


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Be sure to pace yourself, and not get back in trouble. I over do it at times, so I know it isn't always easy to control.

Case in point, I am sitting here at a US military recreational facility in Bavaria in the Alps, drinking coffee, and going through email. This is a start of a three week vacation with friends, he is retired military, now with Homeland Security. My wife and the other couple went out on a tour, and I decided to throttle back for a day. I was way to busy last week prior to leaving, and I am still recovering. We are here a couple more days and then take a two week cruise in the Baltic and North Atlantic.

Re the texturing gun, I was thinking of some advice you gave me, couple of years ago, re a drill press. I kinda thought I might need a bigger one, but you correctly analyzed the situation, it is still doing the job, and so I didn't upgrade it. In fact I bought another similar one for my vacation home shop in Washington, reinforcing the point.

Sometimes good enough is….....good enough.

Remember to pace, and enjoy what you are doing….....

Nice to have you back….....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Thanks Jim. Yeah no worries, last night's pace actually felt good.

Got home after the nice dinner with my wife, hit the computer for some certification study, set up the web server, set up the hypervisor, got the latest iso image and created an install tree and set up my first virtual server. I patched that and while the patches were running I went out to the shop.

Took shop dog with me which was interesting, he wanted to get into EVERYTHING…
Ended up taking the tool bag from the remnants of my truck front end rebuild pile to the bench. Removed the leveling kit spacers from the original shock / strut assemblies, saved the fasteners and set aside. The OE struts are hitting the curb tonight. Wish I had a spring compressor. Would hate for a scrap metal guy to lose his head over trying to free the spring from the shock. If I had the tool I would take it apart. That is NOT something i would trust Harbor Freight for…

Spent a bit more time in the shop putting my wrenches back into their wrench trays, sockets on their rails etc… I have a LOT more to go on that, but will get there quickly. Probably kick on the AC when we get home tonight.

Doc has me doing these back stretch excersizes that are helping.

The paint / texture in the dining room has had a chance to fully dry / cure so the colors are stable now. Spent a little time admiring the work in there. The color is a little bit creamier than I expected, but pretty nice. I still need to swing by Home Depot, or order face plates on amazon, but I probably need 20 more Decora faceplates for my remodeling project. I simply can't find the ones I had already…

Tonight is cloning the first VM I created and getting it configured, then work on the shop cleanup a little more. I want to get the mechanics tools cleaned off, and put away. Perhaps get the solenoid mounted back on the winch. I am NOT moving that winch off my bench for now. Still working on a decision for the bumper / winch mount. LOML wants me to keep the stock bumper, and use a stainless steel brush guard type mount. I want a heavy duty bumper, no chrome, coated with bed liner type material dyed close as possible to the body color of the truck. She wants elegant, I want to scare the dickens out of Miata drivers…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Can't let the wife get into the execution of your road rage, I vote for the macho one.

Gonna have to read your post a little closer, VM's are still not anything I have ever dealt with.

Shop dog is still under 2 years??, so he will normally be what he is, but doesn't that make him interesting and fun?

Another travel day today, so off and running. Will get on the ship tomorrow, so email will probably be on hold for 48 hours or so. I am typing this on a Surface Pro, my old heavyweight desktop replacement now having been relegated to permanent life at the vacation house in Washington. The Surface keyboard is great, I think I like it better than the old portable. However, the Surface does need one more USB port, since I like to use a mouse or tablet instead of a touch pad. The Surface is necessary to run the full OS at work and carry around to exam rooms. Travel use is secondary…......

Later.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Getting back after it, and starting to see results. *
> 
> From my last blog entry, folks know I have been kind of out circulation for a bit due to health issues, and I am finally getting back into the swing of things. I had a pretty decent weekend home remodeling wise…
> 
> ...


Actually my shop dog is a little over 3 now. He was born on tax day 2010…

We were working in the shop last night, and he decided a hunk of pecan cutoff looked like a fun toy. I don't turn pens yet, so I let him have it…


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Dining room, almost check... Some shop time too!*

Okay so the dining room remodel is almost done. The walls and ceiling are painted. The new chandelier is on back order, so that will have to wait, and I need to finish the paint on the moldings tomorrow, but aside from that, the dining room can be referred to as DONE…

Steps done this weekend

Apply 2nd coat of paint to the 2 walls that already had the initial coat, apply 2 coats of paint to the remaining wall…

Let paint dry, mask off, sand any irregularities from, and paint trim along 2 of the walls, third wall trim remains to be done…
Apply second coat of paint to the 2 walls trim.

Replace outlet switches, and face plates with bright white decora units. Wall switches use illuminated switches. Yes I know they can cause flickering with CFL bulbs, the bulbs I have been using, and intend to keep using are Phillips globe type CFLs that are slow start, they do not flicker. Wish I could say the same about the ones in the laundry room!

Aside from the dining room work, I changed the oil in both the Saturn, and the truck. Mobil 1 High Mileage 5w30. I know my owners manual calls for 5w20, but Ford is NOT here in Texas…

Also spent a couple of hours cleaning up in the shop. It is still a disaster, just a much smaller disaster than it was before…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Dining room, almost check... Some shop time too!*
> 
> Okay so the dining room remodel is almost done. The walls and ceiling are painted. The new chandelier is on back order, so that will have to wait, and I need to finish the paint on the moldings tomorrow, but aside from that, the dining room can be referred to as DONE…
> 
> ...


Sounds like things are coming together. The last time we did anything ourselves like you are doing was 1985 when we moved into our present house. We didn't move out of the old house until we had painted all the ceilings and moldings, and I filled in a partial wall in the kitchen so that we could have cabinets there. Then we had someone come in and install a new kitchen. Then we moved in. Sherie painted all the ceilings. The living room still has the paint she put on it and it looks like new.

Nowadays we let someone else do it. Just too busy now, and we have less energy.

Just painting the woodwork and the ceilings transformed the house. It is amazing what a little paint will do.

On our cruise, day at sea heading for Dublin…....


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Dining room, almost check... Some shop time too!*
> 
> Okay so the dining room remodel is almost done. The walls and ceiling are painted. The new chandelier is on back order, so that will have to wait, and I need to finish the paint on the moldings tomorrow, but aside from that, the dining room can be referred to as DONE…
> 
> ...


Believe it or not. I find the painting itself to be pretty relaxing. It is the prep for painting that I find aggravating. Particularly sheet rock prep… Ick.

The tape came off last night, and there was some bleed. I am going to take a fine artists brush to those spots tonight, and see if I can't finish the dining room up, then just sort of bum around for the rest of the night.

I did a LOT of pre-cooking for the week yesterday so we can just pop stuff in the microwave when we get home from work. Tonight should be a beef / chicken fajita night.

I haven't rested well all weekend.So I am glad the food for dinner is already prepped. All we need to do is heat & eat, do a tiny bit of touchup work, move the dining room pieces to the other side of the dining room, mask, and lay down the first coat on the remaining trim…

I am anxious to start the walls in the living room. The front room, front hall, laundry, and living room / hallway wall are completely done. Things are coming together and it is looking sharp. I am anxious to see the rest of it done…

I do kind of wish that we were living elsewhere while we do the remodeling. Sure would make things easier!


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Didn't get as far as I wanted yesterday...*

So I got to looking, it wasn't that the Frog Tape let the paint bleed, it appears frog tape took paint with it when my wife pulled it off of the wall. So I got the first coat applied, with an artists fine brush

Tonight is going to be interesting,

I have work I need to do remotely from home, start certain jobs on the computers, and let them run, I will likely be running back and forth between the computer and the dining room!

Once that is done, and assuming work gets done at a reasonable time. I will move on to the trim on the remaining wall…

Time to be moving out to the shop to clean is coming up FAST. The next room to be done is the living room, which will get the ridge beam wrapped with cedar, which means the shop needs to process that cedar before I can install it!

Oh well, slow and steady right?


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## GrandpaLen (Mar 6, 2012)

dbhost said:


> *Didn't get as far as I wanted yesterday...*
> 
> So I got to looking, it wasn't that the Frog Tape let the paint bleed, it appears frog tape took paint with it when my wife pulled it off of the wall. So I got the first coat applied, with an artists fine brush
> 
> ...


You are slowly but steadily becoming the 'Master Multi-tasker'...carry on. ;-)

Best Regards. - Grandpa Len


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Didn't get as far as I wanted yesterday...*
> 
> So I got to looking, it wasn't that the Frog Tape let the paint bleed, it appears frog tape took paint with it when my wife pulled it off of the wall. So I got the first coat applied, with an artists fine brush
> 
> ...


LOL…

Too busy for my own good most of the time.

Need to get get the front area of the house, and the guest room prepped for a family visit in February… Need to finish getting the truck road worthy (rebuilt the front end, and swapped all 4 shocks for Rancho RS9000 adjustables this past spring, getting new tires, alignment, brakes, belts and hoses next month.). Once the truck is road worthy, planning a trip to Memphis, and then to Padre Island National Seashore before it gets too cold…

LOML wants to visit Padre, I want a remote fishing vacation. We are going to split the difference. The idea is to set up a "Glamping" camp site complete with the large tent, raised airbed, sheets, comforters etc…

My only concern is the rule of no generators after 10 P.M., not sure how to run my CPAP without a generator… Kind of worried too. I have stripped the mask off of myself in the middle of the night a few times in my sleep, and paid a HUGE price for it the next day…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Didn't get as far as I wanted yesterday...*
> 
> So I got to looking, it wasn't that the Frog Tape let the paint bleed, it appears frog tape took paint with it when my wife pulled it off of the wall. So I got the first coat applied, with an artists fine brush
> 
> ...


I assume the wattage on your CPAP is too high for a battery plus inverter? A deep cycle battery charged by your truck, and then through an inverter might work. I keep a battery charged to run an inverter for my aquarium. It's rare that we have prolonged outages, but we had one last year due to very destructive winds.

Docked at Greenock near Glasgow, Scotland. Finally getting relaxed.


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Didn't get as far as I wanted yesterday...*
> 
> So I got to looking, it wasn't that the Frog Tape let the paint bleed, it appears frog tape took paint with it when my wife pulled it off of the wall. So I got the first coat applied, with an artists fine brush
> 
> ...


I need to double check the power requirements for the CPAP… I know Phillips has an "official" battery pack, but it provides power for "up to 20 hours". Users are experiencing real world run times of 5 hours. Not good…

I happen to have a sine wave inverter that I have used in the past. Just need to lay my hands on a deep cycle battery… Before I drop the bucks needed for one of those batteries, I need to make sure it will work…

If it weren't for the ban on generators after 10, which I fully understand, this would be a non issue. I am actually looking actively for a good, quiet portable generator. Need one for hurricane prep anyway…


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## jbertelson (Sep 26, 2009)

dbhost said:


> *Didn't get as far as I wanted yesterday...*
> 
> So I got to looking, it wasn't that the Frog Tape let the paint bleed, it appears frog tape took paint with it when my wife pulled it off of the wall. So I got the first coat applied, with an artists fine brush
> 
> ...


Honda makes a fairly quiet one, I have been told. Right now I don't have a generator, since it really wouldn't get much use. My motorhome had one of course, but that was a while ago…........


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## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

*Dining room, check. Moving on to living room..*

So the paint and trim in the dining room is done. Admittedly I still have the old bright brass lighting installed as I have yet to fund the new chandelier, that is coming, but I need to keep on with what I have supplies for…

The next item on my list was drywall repair and paint in living room.

First off I hit some small holes in the sheet rock with drywall mud, and let it dry over…

Next was the less fun part. Move all of the furnishings that I could out of half of the living room, and put down drop cloths. It's ugly, but effective. I spent a good hour and a half shoving things around and laying down drop cloths until I was satisfied that I wasn't going to drop paint on anything important.

I did manage to drop a wooden curtain rod bracket and break it in the prep process. Yay fun… The break was clean, and I was able to glue and clamp it. It is currently in the clamps drying.

Now with everything clear, and the window uncovered, LOML opted to start taping newspaper to keep me from painting the window, and maintain our privacy. Hurricane Ike took our nice big oak tree, and the neighbor across the Bayou can see straight into our living room. Yuck!

Finally, I got to rolling out the ceiling white. I discovered some more areas that need patching / texture in the process, but not terrible stuff. I am going to simply jam wallboard mud in there, let it dry, sand and paint it for now… A foundation repair job appears to be necessary, and I am pretty sure I will need to re-patch / paint afterwards when the walls move again. Ick.

I have another coat of paint, and some corner cut in to do tonight, that should go MUCH faster though. Once that is done, and dry I get to move to the other side. Not going to be fun. I will need to mask off the fireplace, and cover up or move a VERY large CRT TV set… Ick…


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