| |
May 11th, 2008 - Wallpaper removal complete - West Wing walls ready for paint
The wallpaper removal is finally complete! We have now removed all the wallpaper in Equinox and the West Wing. During a prior major renovation the contractor had removed all the plaster and installed new drywall. He or she did everything right except for one detail...the walls were not sized or even primed. The slowed our removal progress waaay down over the last few weeks as the bare drywall bonded very closely with the wallpaper.
Removing the wallpaper also caused a lot of damage to the drywall. Last week I had a sinking feeling that we should have just painted over the existing wallpaper. Luckily, that sinking feeling was off base. The orbital sander we bought to prepare the exterior trim saved the day. Laura got to work early on Saturday morning sanding the walls smooth upstairs in the west wing so they would be ready to size and mud.
Sarah Emily, Alison and John, who had helped way back on our first demolition day in early March came back for another day of fun. They worked their butts off all day long. Unfortunately we were so locked into our work...we forgot to take any "people" pictures. In the afternoon Dan manned the orbital sander and did a fantastic job. Thanks to the internet I found a "miracle" product called Gardz by Zinnser. After the walls were sanded down but before they we put the joint compound on the walls John, Alison and Jane coated the walls with the Gardz. The Gardz made the walls less porous so they didn't cause the joint compound to bubble. The Gardz also made the walls less "thirsty" for primer. One of these day's I'll write a detailed step by step blog on how we were able to restore the drywall.
My parents dropped off Adam and Zoe around 5pm. Thanks mom and dad! After we got the kids fed, showered and ready for bed we were amazed to see that Dan, Jane, Alison and John were still working away mudding the walls downstairs in the West Wing. What a crew! Below are some before and after shots of how the rooms in the west wing look after our weekend of work.
Next weekend we'll finish priming the walls in the West Wing and hopefully start painting the ceilings and the interior trim. Our contractor Jim Dance says that he'll likely be done with the exterior siding on back of the building and might even be done with the two gable ends. Can't wait to see it!Posted by Jeremy
5/13/08 8:50 PM Return to Pemaquid Beach Home Page from Sanding, Mudding and Priming
|
