This was a job that I had been on my to-do list for a long time. The dreaded wall on the side of the house! I can't believe I let this slide for so long:
And it's a loooong wall!
It just keeps going!
Oh wait, have to clear up some of these branches that are in the way. Never ending with this house!
Alright, I maybe exaggerating a bit, but this is probably why it's taken me this long to tackle this job. So first things first - scraping off lots of loose bits of wall. Most of it due to years of water damage:
What do they normally say about everything? It's going to look worse before it starts to look better! Or something like that. I'm feeling optimistic!
Next, I have to mix up some concrete and patch up all the holes. Now it's really starting to look bad:
One of many holes where the wall touches the concrete floor:
Phew! It's a good thing I bought the new big bucket of concrete so I didn't have to make a trip to the store. Now, we just wait a few days for the concrete to dry.
So,... a few days later, it's time to paint! It needs to be done before the rain comes in the next couple of days. I still had some more of that green yarn left so I started the day by crocheting a headband. Just because I can. Ha ha! :-D
I'm ready now! Let's do this (as Graham would sometimes say)!!!
First, the prep work to tape and put the newspaper down. I sometimes wonder if the newspaper/prep is really necessary. And then just as I start - with paint dripping and splatting everywhere, I know it was the best thing I could have done:
I sealed up the holes in the wall as best as I could. Oh look, the Corona virus on the front page of the FT Weekend! I don't think anyone is going to forget these crazy days:
Looking better already!!!
Instead of using a roller brush, I am using just a little regular paint brush. It is taking a long time but I know I am getting into all the nook and crannies. The tape is not quite sticking to the concrete so my lines are not very clean at the bottom. Oh well!
It's taken 2+ hours to just paint over half of the wall:
Again, so glad I prepped with the newspaper because I am making a mess!
Almost there!
Just over 4 hours later... we are done! What a contrast to what we started out with:
In case anyone needs a reminder (which would be me, ha ha!), here again is the before photo:
Hopefully we won't have problems with any water and mold issues:
Might have to wait until the summer holidays to tackle this wall that's next to newly painted wall. It already looked bad and now it looks EXTRA bad next to my clean white wall. And don't even get me started with the fence that's above it. YIKES!
I didn't think I would get this much paint and dirt on my hands. Maybe next time I need to take my rings off first. Ha!
Got away pretty nicely with my "work/paint" pants and only one spot on one of the sandals:
I definitely feel really accomplished this week! A nice pat on my back for sure :-)
I guess I really shouldn't be thinking about the wall on the other side of the house yet. But that's also been on my mind for a while too. It currently has artwork from the kids of the previous owner. I'll have to dig up some leftover paint to see what we can do. Not sure when we will tackle it but in time, I guess. Graham actually wanted to do some graffiti on it. We'll see. Might be too much work to clean it all up when it's all said and done.
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