The Joys of New Paint - Part II

It’s done! I posted mid-way through the project last week (here). After I posted, the crew put in a 12 hour day since rain was in the forecast for the rest of the week. The forecast was right! Two days of rain prolonged the job but as soon as the skies cleared and the deck dried, the crew re-appeared. The last of the repairs, painting, and staining was finished in about 4 hours. About three hours later, the rain started again.

Here is a before and after of a window repair. The house is as close as it can get to looking like new.

The big surprise of this exterior painting experience was the deck. It’s about 20 years old and the wood is showing a few ravages of time; in some places the grain is ridges because of previous power washings. This crew used a gentler wash and then brushed on stain. Wow! I find myself drawn to have breakfast on the deck among my plants every morning (when it is still cool and shady).

Since then we have been thoroughly cleaning screens and putting them back in the windows. The hardware store will replace the screen material in 4 screens (that had developed significant holes in the past few years). The new address plaque needs numbers and then installation beside the door. We likely won’t be as fast as the painters in getting our chores complete!

Today - I am celebrating the newly painted house that is home.

The Joys of New Paint - Part I

Last year we had the inside of our house painted (posts: one, two). This year the exterior is being painted. It has only been about 5 years since the last time we had it painted but there were enough problem areas to get it done again and the painters we found for the interior were available for the job. There is not all that much to paint -- the front is brick and the siding is not wood (and does not need repair or painting). There is more than just simple painting of the house trim that the painters are providing though:

Replacing rotten wood around a couple of windows

Caulking

Cleaning and staining the deck

Washing the siding (all the dirt and stains are gone - and it is beautifully white again)

Painting the exposed walls of the basement in the back of the house

Repairing framing around the front door - which now looks like new and the new address plaque to the right of the door will soon be ready to be attached

I’ve been enjoying the daily progress. The crew got off to a fast start the first day; the weather was cloudy but dry and they put in a full day. The second day they ended about noon - the day cut short by rain. Will it all get done this week? It all depends on the weather!

As last year - I am impressed by the painters cleaning up at the end of the day. It is the same this year. During the day their painting supplies and ice chests are all over the front yard but when they leave their ladders and a few supplies are neatly stowed under the deck but otherwise there is no sign that there is painting in progress.