painting – Garden Rat

Remember when we got a shed put in our front yard?

We had to paint it within 60 days to make our warranty. We chose a nice blue with white trim.

The first step was caulking, which became a mini whirlwind of disaster for me.

*Caulking on seams and nail holes. Remember NOT to caulk under the windows so water can get out.*

I bought two paintable silicone caulk tubes off Amazon, and unbeknownst to me, they were old and stiff. It was a new product, so I didn’t know caulk could go off, so I assumed it was just stiff? The problem of being self taught DIY is sometimes you just don’t know what you don’t know.

First, this became an issue as I forced it from the tube, as my wife was not strong enough to do it. That was a mistake physically for my half disabled self. I hurt my right shoulder and bicep so bad! Ouch! It took me days before I could move my right arm right.

Then came the self doubt. We looked it up, and found sometimes caulk that is old like this does not cure. Oh no. . .

The problem when you have a disability is that it’s not just fine, and you can rip it out and do it again. It’s not fine, because you pushed your body to the brink to get it done the first time, you are in pain, and you know another full day of ripping it out will do the same. Then you have to do the same work over again, again in pain. That also means you have to schedule it out farther as your body can only do so much at a time.

Luckily for me, we put off painting for a week to see if the caulk would actually cure, and it did. (My body also was up and running again, so yay!) I left a 1 star review on Amazon, which I never do, and moved on with my life. I had been so freaked out that I had failed.

I blame that caulk for giving me some insights into my anxiety around getting things done, which while was useful in therapy, was not a fun revelation. Also, thanks Dad! Love that your freak outs about house improvements could make an appearance in my psyche at age 53. Love that. . .

Anyways, it turned out okay and the next week we were set to paint.

*Roller nap was not thick enough to get into the paneling grooves. Ignore the “grass” as it’s 90% dandelions and won’t exist in the end.*

I had bought a thicker roller to try and account for the grooves, but no dice! We had to cut into every groove on the shed. I have a second shed coming in August for the back yard, so I will try to find better rollers by then.

My wife and I worked together and it didn’t take terribly long. Longer than my body liked, but in the scheme of things we got it done pretty quick.

*Blue paint done, except for touch ups.*

I had to wait a week to do the trim because I was sore again.

I took the opportunity to hit some spots in the stupid panel grooves that didn’t get covered to my satisfaction. The trim took about an hour or so, and when I went out to check, I spent a half hour to put a second coat on. It looks so nice with the trim painted. I mean, I knew it would, but I was still unprepared for how nice, and how happy that would make me.

It’s always amazing to me that it takes so long for the first coat and so much paint, but the second one takes a fraction of the paint and is done in minutes.

My biggest issue is now my house looks really dingy next to the shed. I might have to figure out how to afford getting that painted. It’s likely too expensive for me this year, though.

This was the point where I could really see the shed idea coming together. I still have to insulate and panel the inside, slap down some flooring, and build a ramp, but it’s really working. We will have an exercise space and storage. It’s really happening.

As an aside, the door knob is pretty cool. I got a pin activated one off Amazon. (Not an affiliate, I just liked this one.) I guess to get the supper upscale features I need a hub, but I don’t need those. I am not an AirBnB, just some guy that doesn’t want to worry about his keys when he works out.

I liked it so much I added an identical model to my house’s back door. Very easy to put in, and it worked immediately. This solves the issue from a few months ago where I accidentally locked my wife and I out of the house. I mean, thank god I had my lock picks in my wallet so I could get back in, but having a back door pin will at least mean we can’t ever be locked out. It’s not like we have family or any close friends in town, so being locked out would be an expensive locksmith call.

This weekend, body willing, I am going to try and do the insulation on the ceiling bits.

Well, with my wife’s cancer health scare behind us, and my health being more reasonable these days, I am starting to work in things again.

I managed to drywall the hole in my bathroom wall from the HVAC install months and months ago. I was pretty intimidated by the idea of drywall work, but I watched a few YouTube videos, and got the strapping in and the drywall up.

*Drywall hung and first bit of joint compound added. I used a brown construction paper to shield the other side.*

It was actually easier than expected. What really helped is I own a multitool and was able to cut the old drywall back to where it made sense and could allow me to drill the new stuff into the studs. I made sure to use the natural clean edges of the drywall to where they hit the opening. I used 150 grit sandpaper between to just knock things flat. I am inexperienced so it was easier to build it up and then sand it down. The 150 grit made it quick work, and I was ready in minutes. Clean up was a bit messy, but fine.

I also used Fibafuze instead of paper tape. It’s a fiberglass tape. It was so easy to work with, but I recommend gloves because of the glass bits in the fiberglass. I used duct tape to get all the splinters out of my fingers after. I just stuck the tape to my skin where I felt it, and eventually it lifted them out. Despite that oversight, I would use fibafuze again. It make really easy smooth joints.

*Finished joints in the drywall with an orange peel texture over it.* There really isn’t any lines between the new and old, but the camera seems to think there is.

I used the same orange peel texture that is over every wall in the house, and it disguises my imperfections. It’s all done, and ready for paint.

I thought I had a bit of leftover paint from the previous owner, but it was a solid puck of acrylic when I opened it. Apparently 2.5 years have gone by since we bought the place, and time does that.

I probably won’t paint until we get the mirror area fixed above the sink. This place was built for a very short elderly lady, so the vanity mirror is very low. I am 5’6″ tall and I am at the very top of the mirror. My 6’2″ wife has to stoop to see herself.

What’s stopping me is the lighting is also right on top the vanity mirror. I need to get an electrician to move the light upwards towards the ceiling because I just don’t fuck with electrical. I have a quote for $454 to move it up where it should go by the ceiling. I’ll pay it just to not fuck with electrical.

Then I will have to rebuild the vanity, and I can install a sink cabinet that isn’t so low my wife has to bend over.

That’s a long way to say I’m not painting and finishing the wall right now.

All in all, though, I feel like I conquered drywall. Am I an expert? No. Can I do it well enough to be happy about it? Absolutely! Even better, I have enough leftovers I can patch anything that comes up now and not have to worry about it. Having the tools on hand really makes a difference.

Tag: painting

Shed Paint

Bathroom Drywall