Color Matters

Last weekend I was able to paint the walls. Deciding on colors is sometimes a challenge for me. In the past, when I was married I was always told what colors to go with. Back then I didn’t really care and it was good someone else made the decision. Today I care. It’s just me and the cat.

I have spent countless hours over the past many weeks looking at color samples in the neat brochures you can get at the paint stand. In those perfectly staged and lighted pictures, the colors look awesome. Once the walls were done, now I had to decide which color scene would translate over into my new space.

I Picked the grey/blue/white section

In deciding how I would apply the paint I also purchased a paint sprayer. This turned out to be a great investment because I am able to spray up a room in less time it takes to tape it all off properly. In that scene, I wanted to switch colors. Lesson learned here folks. Wait until the first color is dry before going on to the next one. Just a tip.

Back to my color choices.

I picked my colors. I’m ready to go. With the sprayer I’m able to pump through five gallons of white primer in now time since it needed to cover everything. I didn’t need to tape anything off at this stage except the windows and doors. Perfect. Now I’m excited because of how quickly the paint went up.

Primed with Kilz 2 White.

It’s color time.

I tape everything off. The ceiling. The accent wall. Go.

I paint.

I’m done.

I decide I’ll sleep on it before deciding the outcome. Maybe the lighting is off. It’s something.

The next morning I go down and look and it hit me. The color I picked made this giant family room look like a bathroom. Yep. I wasn’t happy with it.

Looks like a Bathroom. Not the look I was going for.

I’m learning in this process if I don’t like something, I must stop and fix it before going on to the next phase. I don’t have to settle. I want the space to be a reflection of me and the things I like. The color I put up did not match that criteria. I didn’t love it.

I called over to Ace Hardware in Sandstone to order up a new color. I toned it down a bit and went with Louisburg Green. Some historical Benjamin Moore selection. Turns out, I like how the historical paint went up and covered over the bathroom blue very nicely.

Once I finished the new color I went back and touched up here and there. I then installed the lights. Those came out nicely.

Then I cleaned up. I’m pretty happy with the results.

What’s next? Well, I think I will go ahead and paint up the stairway a bit. Then I’ll feel better about laying the flooring. That’s the project I’m excited about next. Maybe this weekend I’ll get at it.

Walls Are Up!

I’ve learned everything in renovations will happen in layers. You never know what you’ll find when you peel the layers back. Mold, leaks, rotting wood, dirt, dust, and all things in between. Things need to be repaired and cleaned up. I’ve written about those before.

The fun and excitement builds when you get to put those layers back. Especially when they are big layers. This past week the drywall went up. I hired this part out. It ended up being 37 sheets of drywall. Joe made it look easy getting it up and even easier with the taping and mudding. He did an excellent job and it was fun to watch.

Each step in putting things back together creates a different energy feel in the space. I’m excited to get on to the next step. Painting. After that, the new flooring goes in.

Before the Taping

My Home Gym

Me at Diego Garcia 1991

I have always had an interest in physical fitness. During my time in the US Navy I always had access to the base gym. It didn’t matter where I was stationed, there was always a gym. Diego Garcia was among the best I’ve encountered. Man, did I love it there. I also left there twice, in the best shape of my life. There was really nothing else to do except workout.

Over the years my health was like a wave. Some years it’d go up and I’d be doing great. Other years it would go down and I’d feel like shit. It all depended on what life was throwing at me at the time.

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Vapor Barrier is Up

Renovation Adventures made progress today. I finished up the basement insulation. Then I hung the plastic barrier all around. When I finished I felt like I just made a kill room for Dexter. Ha. I’ll get it swept out later and clear the tools. Time to prep for the next stage. That is laying the subfloor. Problem is my chiropractor indicated to me today I may have strained a disk. Or sprained. I probably did that a few days ago when I went out and zipped up those logs with the chainsaw and added the bits to the wood pile. I’m supposed to take it easy for the next few days. We shall see how that goes. I have four run days left to finish up a six week running program. Almost too close to take that break. 😬. I did buy a carry handle to help me carry the sheets of OSB from the shop to the truck to the basement.

Logpile Remnants Moved

Outdoor Renovation Adventures part two today. Last night I mentioned I went to town with the chainsaw on a pile of logs. Well this morning I could hardly get out of bed. My back was letting me know I overdid it. Anyways, an earlier post showed the wood boiler leaving here. I’ve only been trying to get that guy out here since last fall so it was a banner moment. After work I decided to finish things up back there and move the wood I diced up yesterday. Yep. We’ll see how that feels in the morning.

Used to be Log Pile

Deck Sealing

Renovation Adventures picked up today, though a bit light. I went around the property line and staked out the markers with something more permanent. I painted old metal fence posts yellow and put them in around the perimeter. When you spend the money I spent for the survey you don’t want to ever forget where those boundaries are. Then I pulled out about 80 feet of wire fence from an old goat pen. It’s fun to use the ATV to assist. I suppose in the old days I’d use a horse or two. Moved on to the patio. I finally got around to sealing it up with Thompson’s Water Seal, sidewalk too. I’m hoping this will also keep water slowly dripping through to the garage below. I’m open for ideas on what to do next on this area. Mosquito’s can be a bit much during the summer. Do I paint the deck a color or design? The sun can be pretty intense too. But it’s nice to sit out there.

Very Shocking

Renovation Adventures was quite shocking today. Yep. Electrical work. So I decide to replace the outlets down there as the existing ones were quite worn looking. I shut the breaker off and proceed to dismantle the outlet box. This particular box has one incoming and two outgoing runs. As I start to put things back together I get a nice buzzing zap. The first time I thought I just jabbed my thumb on the sharp end of the wire because I turned off the breaker. It happens again. Now I’m awake and am wondering what the hell is going on. It took me awhile but I figured out there were two breakers running thru there. The black run was what I was working on. Yet there was also a red wire belonging to a different breaker. Yep. Once I got it all sorted out all went together pretty good.It was an exercise in patience. It kinda reminded me of praying. Often I’ll sit there and pray and meditate and my mind will wander. Imagine what would happen if we got a jolt each time that happened. I was able to go on and finish up the rest of the outlets. Tomorrow I will need to go buy two more and a few box covers.

Fuzzy Dice and Old Condoms

It’s time for another Renovation Adventures. Tonight I had to repair some leaks on the outside of the house after discovering water entering in the basement there. Got that patched up. We’ll see how that goes after some snow and rain tonight and tomorrow. After dinner I went down and ripped out the rest of the ceiling. I discovered a heat duct actually not connected and was made to rest on the drywall ceiling. Smh. Ethan calls that Mickey moused. I then found an old Trojan, a fuzzy dice and an old statement from Columbia House from 1991 asking why the music hadn’t been paid for.