PeelAway Results

This is the door after removing the paper, the stripper, and washing it off a little. 

 This is the other side of the door, shown to show you how much paint we removed.

 Here is what it looked like as I removed the paper.

It worked very well. I will have little sanding to do, especially in the grooves around the panels. It's a bit expensive, but overall I rate it better than KleanStrip. Less poisonous, less volatile. seems to work a lot better overall, removing more. But it takes more time, too.

New Paint Removal Product

Underneath the paper is a door slathered in a white paste called PeelAway. You're supposed to apply the paste, cover it with this paper, and wait 12-24 hours.

We have used Klean Strip in the past. It is volatile, caustic, and messy.

This product isn't as smelly, did not burn my skin immediately like Klean Strip. Let's see how it works.

Monday From Hell

Apparently it was National Fuck With Paul day and I did not know it. I had to take Tuesday off and fix a few things.

First, I hit the gas shut-off valve with the mower, which bent the shaft. Time for a new engine if I could only figure out what would be the best replacement. Luckily, the a guy named Craig at Small Engine Suppliers was very helpful. He identified two possible replacements based on the model number I gave him. Both were lower prices than I could find anywhere else. The folks at Northern were nice but gave me a bad recommendation.

Before going to bed Monday night, I noticed the downstairs toilet started leaking. The wax seal was poorly done to begin with, and the whole connection between the toilet and the closet flange was hokey.

Then I noticed that the faucet on the sink was in bad condition all of a sudden. It wouldn't shut off. Time for a new one. 

Floor

 Jennifer lays the felt down.

 Goodbye, old southern yellow pine floor.

 With three courses down, here is what the cork floor looks like so far. We matched the tiles up because our room just happened to be a multiple of the length of a tile.

We just ordered a new bed, and we're dying to move back in soon. Stay tuned.

Fan!

Today I got the power to the house upgraded to 200A service. While the electrician was there, he also installed a lamp/fan in our bedroom.

Before We Painted

Using The Tissue Paper Texture Technique

Having rumpled the paper, Jenn straightens it back out.

Applying the paper to the wall - paint a little, put some paper on. I ran ahead of and behind her, doing the paint.

Up on the ceiling now (we're doing one wall and the ceiling the same).

Drying.

Closeup of the texture.

Testing Out A Texture Technique

We hate finishing drywall. We hate obsessing over every little crack, undulation, bump, blemish, hole - whatever. We especially hate it on ceilings, where you tire your arms out and get dust and joint compound in your eyes.

So, we started looking for ways to avoid finishing these things so perfectly. Like people wear cosmetics, we discovered that you can hide imperfections in your house with color and texture.

We had thought of getting textured wall paper for the ceiling, but the paper we liked was going to set us back $500+. Then Jenn started reading about some other ideas and came across a technique where you use rumpled tissue paper and paint over it. Here we are testing it:

Humidity Sucks

It prevents drywall joint compound from drying. That and the Memorial Day holiday prevented me from accomplishing much of late.

Here you can see I started mudding and taping. This picture was taken Sunday, 5/22. The week after that I started painting and framing out the cupboard to go above our bed.

These last few days the humidity dropped a bit, so the sanding can continue. Yay.