My New Looking House - Painted

I bought my home 16 years ago the first of
this month. The year after I moved in it
was painted on the outside. The original
color when I moved in was a country, gray
blue color. I went back with that same color
when it was painted the first time, not a lot
of impact when you do that, but change the
color from a dark color to a brighter, lighter
color….you have impact.

~ Before ~
Fifteen years have gone by and the house was
yelling out to me ( loudly) that it needed a fresh coat of
paint again. My house is a wood siding home and with
that said, there were some pieces of wood that
needed replacing also. Then there was also damage
done by the freak’n squirrels that ate a hole in the
eve of the house and moved into the attic back in
the winter. It cost me a small fortune to rid myself,
my attic and my peace of mind of them pesky,
freak’n squirrels!

Anyway, I had Dave (painter, and hubby of the
woman that cuts my hair) come out and give me
an estimate. Dave has been painting for 27 years,
he is a professional licensed painter and very picky
at what he turns out and leaves his customers with.
Excellent job…well done.

Here is what I got for my monies worth: Boards
replaced, repairs done, caulking around all windows
and seams where boards meet, pressure wash the
house, but hey, let’s throw in pressure washing of
the deck and the front porch! While doing the pressure
washing, take it to the inside of the gutters and clean
them out. Thanks to things the squirrels left behind
I had “things” growing in my gutters, a first for me
since moving there. Now with the gutters done, let’s
tack the sagging gutter, (the one that had something
growing in it) back up and while at it, check the rest
to make sure they are up and secure. Trim the holly
tree away from the porch some to paint (but since it
hangs so close to the ground, trim that a bit too so it
looks better), trim back the crape myrtle bush that is
on the other side of the deck and is so big that it is
touching the house. When I say trim, I don’t mean,
whack it off, I mean, a nicely done, clean cut trim.
My shutters, front and back house lights and house
numbers were removed, not painted around. These
were replaced after the house was finished.

Then came the paint, or tinted primer. I was hoping
to get a price for paint with primer already added to
it to avoid painting twice but with the type of stuff
my home is made of (junk, crap, cheap stuff)…that
was not doable. The paint rep that Dave works with
told him priming and then painting was the best
way to go. My home is made of what I call pressed
partial board put together with a wax. After awhile
that wax bleeds through and leaves dark spots.
Hopefully with priming that will not happen again.

Okay, primer is on. Dave and his team had taped
kraft paper up over the windows and doors because
they spray the primer and paint on. He explained
this to me by saying that it gives a more even coat
and a thicker coat, hence lasting longer. Plus,
instead of going with a flat paint, I went with a
light satin, to last a bit longer.

~work in progress~


Next, the final coat for my home. The Prairie Dust
color I picked out. Then the white for the trim,
around my porch, the under hangs (eve’s), and
under the roof of the porch. My white shutters
that I had put up a year ago were replaced. My
house numbers that were once a brass color
were painted black (an extra Dave threw in for
he knew it would look so much better) and the
rail on the porch painted black again (another
extra). My lights were put back up. Dave looked
over the house to make sure nothing was missed
…all was well and the house looked so new.
Wow, a different looking home, and done with
paint…and lets not forget the hard work of Dave
and his guys. Great job guys. Michael, his nephew
did an awesome job with the saw and his repairs,
so much so that I have him getting me and
estimate for repairing my deck!

I am hoping that I did not leave any details of
the work that was done out. They were great,
professional and it is a given that they pay
attention to details, but the best is, they take
pride in their work. Thanks guys.

~Finished Project ~

~ Back ~

Oh yeah....the shed matches too!!

Thanks for stopping in,

Pam