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| A different view of Maho and Francis bays |
What had shown up when I attempted to stain them, the underlying glue, showed up again. It seems they were meant to be painted all along. The only redeeming fact, I know how to paint. The drag, three to four coats to make them right. Two oil primers and two top coats. Who's idea was it to have 8' doors?! That's a lot of panes or is it pains?
I quickly disabused myself about taking all the doors down when I remembered how hard they were to hang. I took only one off on each side and sanded and painted the others in place.
With so many coats to do, I just slapped it on knowing I would razor blade it when I was done. It's the only way to get good production. I realized early on this is what I should have done from day one. The shabby chic look is best in magazines. Mahogany doors? Those are a pretty penny at least 5x what we paid, weigh a ton, and stained is the only way to go--not the look we were aiming for. I can't imagine what the stout hardware would look like to bi-fold three of them.
Sticking with the painting, I addressed the other ongoing failure. The walls and trim upstairs. Early on I put copious amounts of a mold inhibiting additive from Zinsser in all the paint.
It did not work....enough said. On to plan B. I brought this stuff down in my luggage.
Totally different compound, much more potent. It's parts per billion vs parts per million on the other. It is also the same chemical that is put in all plastics to prevent mold. OK, we'll find out. I put in twice the norm and painted all the oil trim and the 13' living room ceiling. It's a real drag having to bleach that ceiling. The walls and trim with a sponge mop and bleach are no big deal. I look at it as a good cardio workout--something I hate ;~), but that ceiling is a step to far! This is my third attempt at finding something that works. I'm not looking for perfection, just something that slows the process down when we go away for a month or two.
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| I have had the duster brush behind him for 36 years. Nothing like marking time with an old brush! |
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| Once upon a time it was a 4" Purdy |
So many great film makers out there.
Busted chronicles...
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| Anywhere else, no big deal. But with only one road it is. The picture doesn't do this hill justice. In real life it is practically vertical. That loader got turned side ways under load and over she went. The beauty here is whomever is nearby with equipment stops everything they are doing and goes and helps. There's no officials pretending they know what they are doing. Even the peanut gallery helps when necessary. |
Last October when I started framing out the rooms downstairs, hanging the doors etc I simply moved everything I had stored inside, outside under the porch as best I could. The rest I left inside and worked around it. Lumber storage is a problem especially for the untreated 2x4's and almost 50 sheets of 3/4" plywood that I used to frame/form all the concrete work. Why am I saving it? I still have a couple of major pours still to do. When? I have no idea at this point but they will have to happen at some point. True, most of this stuff is on its last legs but the thought of buying and transporting 50 new sheets of 3/4" ply hurts my wallet and my body not to mention the multiple trips with my poor truck.
As always, where to move it all? If it gets weathered it will be destroyed. Sooner or later the termites will definitely get it but can I put if off for a while? Finally after a couple of days the light bulb went on.
Above the upper patio retaining wall in front of the smaller 4' wall. Ultimately this area will be a planted garden area that is on two sides of the house. In an attempt to delay the termites I built a treated lumber raised base from the stair risers I'll be reusing for another pour down the road.
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| Remnant canvas samples for the awnings... |
Thank god for the job box that the plywood is standing on. The lower wall is 8' high. Originally I thought I would just lean them against the wall, bend over standing on top of the wall, pick them up, throw in the air, catch and stack neatly. Lol. Without the boost from the job box they would still be leaning against the wall. As it is the fifty sheets took me two days. These aren't the light form boards from Home Depot. It's remarkable how fast/heavy 60-70 pounds can feel.
After the plywood got stacked then came all these 16' 2x4's and every bit of scrap I thought I would ever need. Nothing gets thrown away.
The finished product, 20'x8'. I even put gutters on the front and the water routes to the cistern. ;~)
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| I can actually see the doors from the outside! |
A on going experiment--7 years and counting--the 2 types of the steel used on the house left outside to the elements.
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| No rust yet. The red iron is untreated. Encapsulated this stuff should be good for centuries. |
In cleaning out the lower floor I decided to hang the front door instead of just moving it into another corner. Which begs the question, why wasn't it hung already? Because it needed to be sanded, primed, painted several times and more importantly I have been putting off taking apart the door jam and moving it over 1 1/2" or even 2" if I can. Why? The red iron porch structure and then the layout plans for the door were not centered to the coming arch/galley kitchen. Why does it matter? It doesn't unless you are a nutjob like me that thinks two more days of work will keep me from being bugged for the remainder of my life. Every time I stand on the Juliet balcony and I see the chandelier, ceiling fan, the peak of the arch, and the entry chandelier are not in a perfect line with the center of the door I'll cringe about my laziness. Bad news, I needed 3" and I only got 2". I lucked out with the steel stud placement but it was the outside siding that ultimately limited the movement. I could only move the trim so far until there was no siding. It had never crossed my mind as I started work from the inside. Duh.
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| the great unveiling |
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| Vodka helps |
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| Lizzy consoles |
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| My face is healing pretty good.
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| Have no idea why these sit here forever.
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What would island life be without a little drama. My latest WAPA bill (electric).
$1071.00--- more than an entire year in one month. The consensus on island was I would have to pay and hope they would adjust it later. If I didn't pay they would shut off my service charging me to hook it back up in the future. When you are broke this does not help. Youtube to the rescue. I learned how meters are read, took pictures, brought old bills showing previous usage and gave them all the proof that they simply read the first digit wrong and charged me for an extra 1000kw--even stood around and waited for the nice guy who reads the meters. When he saw the picture with that morning's time stamp he realized he read the meter wrong. Short conversation later, I paid the same as last month and an adjustment would be forthcoming in the next month. Crisis averted. Trust me it is no small matter. I'll be nervous waiting for the adjustment. If you recall, years before I had a $5k tax bill that I said I wanted to pay just $500 on. The cashier charged my card the full 5k. When I protested I didn't have the money, she simply looked over and said the charge went through, next in line! She refused to cancel and run my card again. Complain? To who? She was the IRS rep on St John. Get on the wrong side of her and your life will be ruined. Never forget this is Peyton Place or for the newbies, Desperate Housewives on Wisteria (hysteria) Lane!
Full screen, speakers blaring!
