What have I gotten into??

Jeff Horton

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4,272
Location
The Heart of Dixie
If you know me you probably know two things about me.

1) I am pretty handy. Can do most anything around or to a house. (If I want too that is). I do nearly all the repairs. (I avoid plumbing if at all possible!).

2) I am careful with money. Not cheap, but definitely frugal.

Well, we have been waffling back and forth about having the house painted. Wife convinced me we could take the week off and do it ourselves. Well, I had to work Monday. Plus we had a family pet almost die last week so we are still spending a lot of time doctoring her. So Tuesday morning we are going to start painting!

I went to start the bucket truck and apparently it fried it's computer. Now it won't run and we really needed it for the back of the the house. I should have seen the signs! :bang:

I reluctantly rented a very expensive lift for the week. It great on heights of 10 feet an up. Below that is pretty much useless. Just can not maneuver it where you want. Anyways we have been busy every day painting. Anyway, we finally get really started Wednesday morning, not 2 days behind schedule.

Here it Friday night. So far I have 90% of the eves painted. Exposed rafter tails take a L O N G time to paint. I have 80% of the fascia painted. Hoping to finish that up around noon tomorrow. The wife has been working on the trim around the house. I got all the gables painted today and see a hint of the colors on the house.

HOPEFULLY tomorrow afternoon I will be able to start putting the main color on the walls of the house.

This has been a MUCH bigger job than I thought.
It has gone MUCH slower than I expected.
I am much more stressed and tired than I have been in a LONG time.

I also came to the conclusion that painters earn their keep. I don't mind insides to bad, but I have added exterior painting to my list. It is right beside plumbing!!

And add to that I have a throbbing finger. Not sure why. I think maybe I got a splinter beside the nail. I don't think much about splinters, get them all the time. But my finger it red. It's just started to mildly throb and I can see no reason or injury.

OK, I think I am through venting! :dunno:
 
I hear ya. I've successfully put off painting the trim on our house all summer. Overhead painting is a killer for me. I hope I don't regret my procrastination next spring. :rolleyes:

And watch that splinter stuff. Ken Fitzgerald can tell you nasty stories about little splinters gone bad.
 
You are almost finished Jeff!

I kind of like painting but most of my friends think I am crazy to enjoy it. When it comes right down to it, I like it because I save a lot of money and almost always do a better job.
 
Painting is on my BIG 3 list. I can do all the things on my BIG 3 list but I hate doing any of them: Painting, Drywall, Electrical (plumbing is makng its way onto the list slowly). Now working on cars is not on my BIG 3 list because it isn't even part of my reality. I don't think I have ever worked on a car that didn't cost more to fix when I was done than when I started.
 
I love doing electrical, my whole family are electricians, so grew up doing it. Plumbing is OK, not fun, not a huge downer, but painting is my 4th level of hell, anything I can't paint with a rattle can, I'm not very happy to be doing :D

I think that Greg Cook is painting or has just finished painting his house too, but I think he got some fancy spray gun thing, I would think this would make the painting part easier, but the taping and prep part longer.

Good luck!
 
Jeff I feel for you. I don't care much for painting myself, but its not the painting I did lately that makes me relate to your story. Rather its the cedar shingling I did that makes me feel for your pain.

For me that job was just never ending. 28 square of shingles to put up and over a big area. It seemed like things were never ideal. You started out putting on the shingles stooped over, hit a fairly comfortable level only to go past that to working overhead. The gable ends were even worse and the days dragged on, the hours dragged by and it seems I was cutting and fitting shingles more than I ever thought possible.

But just as you are about to find out, its also very rewarding. The look of your place is well worth it and spending the time with the Mrs has its own reward. Too many married people spend so little time together (I am firmly in this camp) so even being together painting the house is time well spent.
 
I hear you loud and clear Jeff. Though your project is many, many times larger than mine! Rest assured when it is finished, it won't need to be done for a while. Our neighbors had their place professionally painted while we were stripping and painting ours 14 years ago. Every 4 or so years since they have needed to paint - I just started to redo ours this summer.:D For some reason it is taking much longer this time - maybe it's because of the 5yo I'm trying to keep track of at the same time.:rolleyes::D

It's almost over - and the time spent will be well worth it every time you use that "new" piece of old iron the money saved went to buy!
Wes
 
Jeff,

Watch that splinter really close! I had a piece of wood I was using as a frictioning tool break, causing my left hand to be driven into a bowl I was finishing. The bowl was spinning around 2200 rpm when my hand hit it, breaking the rim and driving a splinter into my hand. Dummy (that's me) returned the rim on the bowl, finished it, went inside and had my birthday dinner with my family. Later that Saturday night after unsuccessfully digging the splinter out I had to make a choice......(1) go to the ER or (2) go use the Eric Burdon and the Animals concert tickets I had. Even at his older age he still sings well and puts on a good show. That's what I told the doctor at the ER on Sunday when she dug the splinter out. And that's what I told the next ER doctor on Monday when he installed the IV in my right arm to remain in it and I returned for 3 days followup IV antibiotics.

Like you I hate painting my house. Since I broke my back I refuse to get up on the roof of my house or my shop. You've never seen anyone as cautious as I am when I painted the eves on my house two years ago. I really appreciate my Little Giant Ladder system and.....It doubled as a lathe bench for nearly two years with a 2x12" across it. What makes it really bad, is my contention that I have to double coat everything when I paint the house. Twice the pleasure, twice the fun but I seems to get me the desired rewards! I don't paint as often as some folks do.

Enjoy!:eek::rolleyes::D
 
My $.02 as a semi-professional painter.

How long should you go between applications? A good job should last approximately 10 years, + or - 2 years, depending upon a lot of factors I'm too lazy to go into.

The first (and biggest in IMHO) mistake many folks make is that they wait until after the damage occurs before they get around to painting. Once the siding shows serious signs of blistering, cracking, peeling it's likely never to be completely fixable. My experience says that if you're starting with an issue like this, subtract 2 years (at least) off the length of time your job will last.


Prep is (just about) everything. At least 75% of the success of the job will be determined before the paint ever hits the wood (or stucco, brick, etc. etc.). The siding needs to be clean (free of dirt and mold) and in good condition (scraped, sanded, primed) if you expect the job to last. Light fixtures, address numbers, signs, downspouts, and shudders need to be removed prior to painting. A good masking job is essential. Also, utilizing the right kind of caulk (and applying it correctly) is crucial. No short cuts are allowed with any of these steps.

Generally speaking, professionals do it better. This is of course a rule of thumb -- there are pro's out there who low bid and do a crappy job and homeowners who get it right, but generally speaking, the experience of having painted hundreds (if not thousands) of home pays off in fewer "goofs" and saved time in the long run.

If you're hiring someone to paint your home, the best thing you can do is get references. The first thing any good painter learns in the business is referrals are everything! Every job you do is a lead to the next job, therefore unless you want to spend the majority of your time going out on highly speculative bids, you're better off doing the job well and making the customer happy.

Methods of application. As most professional painters, I spray nearly 95% of the time. Sometimes though, like on T-111 or cedar, you must back brush (or roll). On the newer siding products like Hardiplank or LP, this is not necessary due to the impenetrability of the material. It's very seldom that spraying done correctly is not superior to simply brushing.

Spraying is harder then it looks. Typically, when I see a home with overspray blown all over the roof, foundation, driveway, windows, and deck I know that a homeowner sprayed the house the last time.

Don't let your pride mail a check that your experience level can't deliver. It takes time and practice to get it right. If yours is the first (and only) house that you're going to spray, accept that you'll make some mistakes along the way.

Water is almost always the root of any failed paint job. Either it's entering via window, a backed up gutter or downspout or the roof. These issues have to be addressed before you paint or the new job will fail too.
 
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