It was finally time to paint the house.
On Labor Day we laid the first bead of caulk. Three weeks and 54 tubes later every seam, joint, window, door, and nail head was caulked. A rough estimate had the nail head patches somewhere upwards of 8,000.
We then selected the paint color from a panel of five finalists.
Then came the powerwash. The entire house took a bath, the water running dingy with old, chalky paint residue. While I was at it I powerwashed the fence and the driveway.
A builder oversight allowed ten years of rainwater to run behind the siding and cause some pretty serious woodrot. So we replaced siding, plywood and a ream of rusty nails along with the frame around the back door which had the consistency of an old kitchen sponge.
Then we taped and papered the windows and doors prior to spraying on the primer coat, followed by the top coat and at long last the trim.
To top it all off I sprayed three gallons of boiled linseed oil on the fence.
Seven weeks, the help of Laura, the tools and assistance of her stepdad Mike, 14 gallons of primer, 16 gallons of paint, 3 gallons of linseed oil, $1,300 and a personal investment of about 135 hours – and the biggest job I’ve ever undertaken was finally complete.
Last night, at last, I sat in the driveway and admired the fruits of our labor.
And I smiled.
4 Comments
I’m already working on my upper body strength for the next time we paint a house…I’ll be ready to move ladders when you say so 🙂
and it looks beeeutifull!
Today I’m handing over the keys to my house to its new owner. Onward!
Wow! Smile indeed!! Gorgeous!! Love to see some views from other angles too – what sort of view do you have from other sides? Do the neighbours have to pull up their respective socks now to keep up with you or were you the one in catch-up mode?
Laura, take your time. I’m not doing that again for a while!
Thanks Aunts! Congrats on the sale Aunt Marion.
Aunt Ruth Anne, if you click on the darker text you can see some of the other shots from other angles and from before and during the job.
Some neighbors have asked me when I’m moving. I’m way ahead of the Jones’. 🙂