This post starts a new series of posts I am calling “I have lost my mind:”\u00a0\u00a0 These will be the stories of the projects that even I can’t believe I have gotten myself into.<\/p>\n
A salesman once told me the 3 most dangerous words for a homeowner are “might as well”, as in “while we are replacing the bathroom faucet we might as well gut the whole room and retile.”\u00a0\u00a0 I disagree.\u00a0 I think the 3 most dangerous words for any DIYer are:<\/p>\n
“That looks easy!”<\/p>\n
So with that in mind, I will tell you about my latest adventure.\u00a0 I am painting the outside of my house.\u00a0 The whole thing.\u00a0 Without professionals.<\/p>\n
I have never liked the harvest gold (with hunter green trim)\u00a0color of my house but it was put off so I could make messes in other parts of the house.\u00a0 Once I realized the south side of the house was peeling like it hadn’t worn sunblock on spring break I knew it would have to be done before the winter.\u00a0 I started planning this project while I was still working at a desk in NYC while business was slow.\u00a0 That meant all I did was research which gave me\u00a0a sense of confidence.\u00a0 I had lists and plans all written out.<\/p>\n
The basic issues were:<\/p>\n
1. My house is covered in cement fiber board shingle that contains asbestos.\u00a0 It sounds scary but it’s really only harmful if you breath in the asbestos fibers.\u00a0 These fibers are currently inside cement then covered in multiple layers of paint.\u00a0 Fine if I leave them alone but this means I can’t sand anything.<\/p>\n
2. Time – I thought I would be leaving\u00a0my job in early July.\u00a0 I didn’t leave until mid August and then it rained all of September.\u00a0 So I would now be starting this project in October.<\/p>\n
3. Just because I think I am big and strong and tough doesn’t mean it’s actually true. I am 5 feet tall.\u00a0 My arms will give out way before the sun goes down.<\/p>\n
4. There is beautiful original woodwork.\u00a0 It also has peeling paint which means I need to strip it off.\u00a0 There\u00a0are windows, doors and 3 sun rooms (don’t ask) that all need trim redone. Very time consuming.<\/p>\n
5. I\u00a0am,\u00a0once again, not tall.\u00a0 Like I\u00a0have been given nicknames all my\u00a0life focusing on how small I am.\u00a0 And I have a very high peak in the front of my house I have\u00a0no idea how I will reach.<\/p>\n
So the first step in the process was a good wash down to get all of the dirt off so the paint will stick.\u00a0 In my research I had read it wasn’t recommended to power wash my lovely siding in case it was too powerful and broke the shingle.\u00a0 I thought that was probably a bit cautious but the worse case scenario was enough in my mind to stop me.\u00a0 What if I did use\u00a0the power washer and broke the shingles?\u00a0 What if this caused a domino effect with other shingles it was attached to?\u00a0 What if the boyfriend came home to a large hole in the side of the house because the shingles all fell off and the 80 year old clapboard under it fell into dust?\u00a0 How could I still say my garden was organic when the still blooming tomatoes have a layer of crunchy asbestos on them?<\/p>\n
So I got a scrub brush\u00a0with a long handle, a ladder, a bucket, a hose\u00a0and some Dr. Bronner’s soap (which is good for apparently everything, just read their label). And I gave it a good once over.\u00a0 Luckily its warm so the fact that I was soaking wet wasn’t a big deal.\u00a0 The fact that my feet were in wet flip flops hanging off the side of the ladder while standing on the step marked “do not stand on this step” probably was a bigger deal.<\/p>\n
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