Spray Away (Day 355)

Its Wednesday, Oct. 13. Approaching the one year date for the house, having felled the trees on our lot on Oct. 23, 2008. Doesn't seem that long, but then again there were some cold rainy days last winter that I'd prefer to forget.

This week I need to finish laying the shingles on the back of the house, but the hard part is finished now. I think there are about 3 bundles (75 sq. ft) left to hang. Then I need to spray all the shingles (above) and then the hardiboard (below). The paint goes on fast (like a gallon a minute), so most of you time is spent in preping the windows and vents, and moving scaffolding. If the weather holds, this should be done in a week or so.

The drywallers are done. Frank's no. 1 daughter put plastic over all the windows and installed doors in the house and will finish the garage this morning. Then daughter no. 2 will be by to clean up all the debris and mud boxes (about 20) before they shoot the PVA paint on the walls. PVA is a primer with vapor barrier in it. (Poly Vinyl Acetate is a professional primer sealer for new construction and all unpainted interior drywall and texture coatings. A proprietary formula that includes acetate instead of the usual acrylic which is an improvement for sealing out moisture and odors. Designed for the professional painter and for the quality conscious consumer. Formulated for excellent adhesion, even sealing and holdout, it provides a uniform foundation for alkyd or latex paint.) After this is dries, Frank will roll up his drywall texture machine (cement mixer with a pump on it) and start shooting the texture on all the walls that will get painted. Three walls will be left alone: 2 for American Clay plaster and one for the rock fireplace surround. So, if all goes well, the house will be back in our hands by Friday night. Off to Portland for the GSA meeting, where there is a special session to honor Michael's career in geology and a dinner to roast him. This is something that Jeff Knott cooked up—apparently its easy to impress (or fool) him since he's from LA. It'll be a welcome break from the house, an opportunity to see Portland and some old friends (including Bill and Mary Scott).

When we get back into the house on Tuesday, it'll be time to start spraying all the walls with another coat of primer (not PVA) and the finish coat of paint, which will be backrolled. That ought to be quite a workout for the old arms, but the house will start to look finished with color inside. If we paint all the drywall, that would be 16,000 sq. ft. I'm figuring 15,000 sq. ft at 250 sq ft/gal will require 60 gals of primer, 50 gals of the basic color paint, and 10 gals of highlight colors. At $15-20 a gallon (average), the paint bill will probably run $1800 to $2400. However, Home Depot offers contractor prices to everyone if you purchase $2500 or more. You need to set up an account, give them a materials list (paint, backer board, mortar, some tile, electrical outlets, etc), and they'll give you a bid at reduced rates (ca. 5-10% off). At those prices, paint and electrical suppliers can't complete. We'll see how it goes. Right now we're in a race between the checkbook, the end of the year (for taxes and income), and completing the house. I suspect the checkbook will lose.