Saturday, September 21, 2013

Best $204 purchase and some good news - Reno day 122



Firstly I wanted to say thankyou for  the comments, thoughts and suggestions that you all left regarding all that floor trouble. It certainly takes the sting out of a problem to have so many calm, wise and sensible friends around the world to share it with. The good news is that the floor polisher has been talking to his rep and may have a product that can successfully remove the silicone. This would mean only a light sand and re-coat rather than a full re-sand which would save days of time and expense. Fingers crossed.

So, here we are, 17 weeks into the renovation and finally a chance to slap some white paint around. The original plan had been to move home this week but since the floors put a kibosh on that, and we were both on leave from work, we had a spare week to make a start on the epic job of applying the white paint makeover to all Betsy's previous dodgy paint jobs. First stop Liongirl's room, a previous unseemly shade of brownish cream.





Now, while slapping white paint around is definitely my idea of a great week, the standout moment  would have to be Legoman running off to Masters and coming home with this portable scaffold. After spending years painting ten foot ceilings in our last house, my god, what blessed relief to be up on this magnificent structure rather than a wobbly ladder. Can I state that this would have to be the best $200 the man has ever spent. Bunnings had nothing similar in this price range and it is light, sturdy, rolls around on castors and is height adjustible. We have put some mdf panels underneath to protect the floors (this is one of the rooms in the house where the floors did not need to be repolished).




And the other $4 of shopping joy would be this awesome item. A paint bucket/jug thingy with a handle, and a magnet to grip  the paintbrush. It even comes with thick reusable plastic liners so you can change colours and have a few different pots going at once.  I just about fainted with excitement over this one too. So far untippable off the top of ladders and that is saying something where I am concerned. Given that we have an entire house to paint, these sorts of things get a girl excited.




When I say that "we" are painting the house, what I actually mean is that I am painting and Legoman is gapfilling and performing general destructive duties. This would be evidence of him unsupervised for about five hours in Roboboy's room. It started out as just a teeny tiny area of flaking paint. The man borders on ocd with fun tasks like this. I cannot even bear to show you the ceilings in this room, it is going to be a big job.




Luckily, while I slog it around the room a few times, he is also happy to trot down to the bakery for treats, pour me more paint and crank the music. Bliss. Now I just need to remind him that he will be painting the ceilings in the rest of the house.  Can I add that the view from the work zone is mighty nice as well.



Anyway, hopefully only a week to go and we will be home. In the meantime some serious painting action will be going on and hopefully some finished rooms. Yippee! And just in case anyone was wondering, this is NOT a sponsored post, I just get very excited about sharing products that make massive painting tasks slightly less daunting. 


23 comments:

  1. Anything that makes painting easier is a win in my books! That paint tin in particular is amazing!!!
    Fingers crossed for the silicon solution! xx

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    1. Yep that paint jug is the best ever, so simple and so clever. mel x

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  2. I'm so pleased you have found some good tools to make the painting job a little easier. Betsy is looking so fresh with the lovely white paint! You are so close now to the end. So exciting!

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    1. Yes, hopefully I can maintain my painting mojo with my new gadgets. I must say I had a small moment of envy looking at your beautifully painted exterior as my poor Betsy will be staying blue for a little bit longer. mel x

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  3. Onwards and upwards.
    All the white paint is looking amazing. And being white you'll never need to update it as trends change. and i'm guessing by the time Betsy is all done you'll never want to see another paintbrush again.
    x

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    1. I'm looking forward to a white house, my last house nearly every room was a different colour and it is nice to do something different. Also I have so many colourful bits and bobs we need to white walls to balance it out. And yes, I'm sure you will be right by the time the house is done I'm sure I will never want to look at that yellow scaffold again. mel x

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  4. It looks really wonderful. Well done. I might have missed this . . . which white are you using? Thanks

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    1. Using Dulux Vivid white which has no tint at all, a very pure colour. The only problem is it takes 5-6 coats to get good coverage so it is quite labour intensive. I am also using semi gloss as on vj's it really helps bounce the light around. mel x

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  5. Honestly this post makes me shiver! After prepping and painting our house with its previously dark green and bright pink vjs and twelve foot ceilings, I never want to paint again!
    Although I can totally understand your excitement about the scaffolding and that bucket!
    Speaking of painting there are some bits of trim that, after the trauma of painting all the walls and the ceilings, I never got around to doing...if you are really on a roll and want to come say hello and bring your paint brush, feel free!

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    1. 12 foot ceilings, crikey what an epic! and the colour combo sounded frightful, what on earth were the previous owners thinking? Oh yes the trim, don't worry I am sure there will be trims at Betsy's that never get finished as they are sooooo fiddly and time consuming. mel x

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  6. How exciting, I have had fun catching up on all your posts! Heidi

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    1. Thanks Heidi, know you appreciate a white paint makeover,. mel x

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  7. Ha! I'm going to show this to Jason. That's a great price too. Happy painting! xx

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    1. Tell Jason that bucket jug thing will change is life, probably to late for the scaffold, unless, next house maybe? mel x

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  8. You definitely sound like you have your mojo back Mel! I know the task ahead is huge, but you will get there and it won't be too long before you're back at home. I can't wait for the big reveal!!! xx

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    1. Mojo is back and luckily I really like painting. It is productive, quiet, peaceful and I get to listen to music I like and there is no whinging ( when the kids are at school/kindy that is) As for the big reveal, ah, not exactly. More like a slow reveal over the next year probably! Will enjoy your big reveal! mel x

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  9. It's only when you are renovating a home that such simple things like labour saving equipment, brings such joy! Glad you found the right bit of kit....it's a shame Legoman doesn't come with an on/ off switch, then when you thought he was going a bit to far, just switch him off!!! :) x

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    1. Ah yes the on/off switch, now that would be a great feature! He does sometimes have over enthusiastic gusto when destruction is required and can go a little toooo far at times. His other favourite thing is to over tighten things until they break- eg cots, ikea furniture so I have to watch him like a hawk with those too. mel x

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  10. Mel: your home is looking spectacular. I can't wait to see Betsy in her full glory. Good luck with the painting. I still have a half finished fence that needs doing. I hate painting - so hats off to you! S xx

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  11. I too would get really excited by that paint pot! Your house is looking amazing and I'm sure you are dying to get moved back in and start enjoying your new look home. We are on the home straight with our renovations, although there's still major work to do in the garden. Good luck with moving back in. xx

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  12. Haha, unsure as to whether Legoman is in the good books or not? It's all looking fab Mel, hope the move home is trouble free. Spending my days painting as well, isn't that what school holidays are for?

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  13. I'd get excited about the laddery thing too. How great it's all looking - just like waiting for christmas to arrive when you can finally move back in.
    x

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  14. Wish that I could get one of those buckets for painting, we are about to start soon in our living room for the second time since we moved in to our house. It would save a lot of work for sure!!!!

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