House renovation and garage build
Discussion
The job for today was to sand the stairs, but first the carpet needed to go. Another one of jobs which you think will take a few minutes, but there were a lot of nails, gripper and staples to remove, so it took much longer than expected.
Nails removed from stairs by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
With the carpet removed I could crack on with the sanding. As dust form lead based paint and pregnant women aren't a good mix Jen left me to do this on my own. Based on the warnings I put some PPE on, but ditched the googles after a few minutes as I decided that seeing was more important...
Safety first by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
There were a few bits where I sanded through the top layer of paint and it started to flake off, which isn't ideal, but hopefully it will paint over. There are also a few chips in the old paint that will need filled, mainly on the handrail which would be difficult to sand out by hand.
Naked stairs by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Nails removed from stairs by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
With the carpet removed I could crack on with the sanding. As dust form lead based paint and pregnant women aren't a good mix Jen left me to do this on my own. Based on the warnings I put some PPE on, but ditched the googles after a few minutes as I decided that seeing was more important...
Safety first by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
There were a few bits where I sanded through the top layer of paint and it started to flake off, which isn't ideal, but hopefully it will paint over. There are also a few chips in the old paint that will need filled, mainly on the handrail which would be difficult to sand out by hand.
Naked stairs by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Progress has been slow and gradual, but we are getting the stairs painted, Jen managed to get her Mum to come over and do an afternoon painting, which was helpful. We're aiming to get the first coat of gloss done before the plasterers start on Monday morning. The lighter evenings are helping, I've been able to get a bit done most evenings.
We had Jen's Mum round to help us again today, my parents also offered their help, it seems like a grandchild on the way means more help!
Between the 3 of us we got the first layer of gloss done on the stairs, which was where we were hoping to be by the end of tomorrow - this means I can go to the Sunday Service at Santa Pod and take my MR2 on the strip. As it was such a nice afternoon we gave the patio under the veranda a good clean, as the carpenters have been doing all their sawing under there and the sawdust was taking over.
We've got a few small jobs to do tomorrow before the plasterers start, removing the radiator etc.
Between the 3 of us we got the first layer of gloss done on the stairs, which was where we were hoping to be by the end of tomorrow - this means I can go to the Sunday Service at Santa Pod and take my MR2 on the strip. As it was such a nice afternoon we gave the patio under the veranda a good clean, as the carpenters have been doing all their sawing under there and the sawdust was taking over.
We've got a few small jobs to do tomorrow before the plasterers start, removing the radiator etc.
Called in at the house to meet the electricians and see how the plasterers were getting on, the ceiling upstairs has been boarded and they made a bit of mess downstairs!
Hall ceiling down by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
With the ceiling down the electricians were able to first fix for a potential electric car charger under the porch.
Hall ceiling down by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
With the ceiling down the electricians were able to first fix for a potential electric car charger under the porch.
Fortunately the hallway didn't stay like the previous post for long - I've just been a bit lax with the updates...
The ceiling was boarded and the walls skimmed:
Hallway plastered by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
This has got us a decent finish around the stairs (now cleaned up):
Hallway plastered by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
However, I'm not too pleased about the finish above the door:
Hallway plastered by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
The gap isn't the main problem, its the fact that the ceiling isn't level. Going to speak to the plasterer about it tomorrow. He seems to have subbed out most of the job, which is annoying, as we had use the guy before and he was really good. Am I correct in expecting there not to be a 10mm difference in ceiling height along the width of a door?
We took the opportunity to have a few days away whilst the plaster was drying, but have been prepping the woodwork for painting, which is a tedious job and frustrating because you don't feel like you are making progress. In order to sand the skirting boards in the hallway we had to remove the carpet. Previously we had peeked underneath, but didn't know what to expect when it was removed fully - would the tiles all be intact? Would they have been damaged by the carpet grippers?
Thankfully they were all intact:
Hall floor revealed by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
And look better after a quick clean:
Hall floor after a clean by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
We still get surprised by the tiles each time we go into the hallway, I will need to give them a more thorough clean and put some kind of sealant on them when the rest of the painting is done, for now we've got a sticky backed floor protector down.
The ceiling was boarded and the walls skimmed:
Hallway plastered by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
This has got us a decent finish around the stairs (now cleaned up):
Hallway plastered by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
However, I'm not too pleased about the finish above the door:
Hallway plastered by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
The gap isn't the main problem, its the fact that the ceiling isn't level. Going to speak to the plasterer about it tomorrow. He seems to have subbed out most of the job, which is annoying, as we had use the guy before and he was really good. Am I correct in expecting there not to be a 10mm difference in ceiling height along the width of a door?
We took the opportunity to have a few days away whilst the plaster was drying, but have been prepping the woodwork for painting, which is a tedious job and frustrating because you don't feel like you are making progress. In order to sand the skirting boards in the hallway we had to remove the carpet. Previously we had peeked underneath, but didn't know what to expect when it was removed fully - would the tiles all be intact? Would they have been damaged by the carpet grippers?
Thankfully they were all intact:
Hall floor revealed by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
And look better after a quick clean:
Hall floor after a clean by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
We still get surprised by the tiles each time we go into the hallway, I will need to give them a more thorough clean and put some kind of sealant on them when the rest of the painting is done, for now we've got a sticky backed floor protector down.
Edited by Craikeybaby on Wednesday 20th April 08:07
Updated.
As it is on the previous page, I'll leave this here to show what the carpet looked like before.
Hallway Before by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
As it is on the previous page, I'll leave this here to show what the carpet looked like before.
Hallway Before by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
I had a floor like that (seems I live about 500 yds from you) it had a crack running along the front door so while I went to work in Germany an ex got her dad to replace the floor with concrete as a surprise.
She was surprised when I threw her out
I renovated mine about 20 years ago but I'm itching to do it again.
She was surprised when I threw her out
I renovated mine about 20 years ago but I'm itching to do it again.
Well neither of the trades that were meant to come over the weekend :roll eyes:, the carpenter turned up this evening and did a bit this evening though - we are close to having our dining room back after 5 months.
Most of the work over the weekend was general tidying, which was well needed. We made a start on the mist coat, with a slightly ropey ladder, step ladder & plank contraption to do the cutting in above the stairs. Not looking forward to going back on that another 4 times for the rest of the painting.
Most of the work over the weekend was general tidying, which was well needed. We made a start on the mist coat, with a slightly ropey ladder, step ladder & plank contraption to do the cutting in above the stairs. Not looking forward to going back on that another 4 times for the rest of the painting.
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