Textured paint and why you should never use it...

Sorry for the long delay in posting. Coming back from Hawaii we've had to play catch-up with various everyday things like work, lawn care, etc and that isn't nearly as exciting to read about as demolition of construction news...

Textured paint might be the single worst thing ever invented. If you are looking for a house and see textured paint, walk away. If you are thinking of using it in your home... don't even think about it unless you think you'll NEVER want to change the color or style. In order to remove this heinous material you actually have to sand the walls flat. "Not so bad" you might say? Well, it took us 2 straight nights of solid sanding to sand the walls and ceilings of a 5x6 bathroom. We'll see how it comes out after a new coat of paint, but SHEEEEEESH! Our arms, shoulders, abs and back are all sore from this tiring task, so keep that in mind when you say "doesn't that look nice" the next time you see a Tuscan plaster finish in a magazine.

In other news, as we get to the point of tiling and laying the floor, I decided I'd better seek and find a little more how-to help on laying this tile and getting some opinions on ways to go about laying the subfloor/underlayment for natural stone and I happened to come across the John Bridge Tile Your World forums. Having been an early adopter of the internet, I've been surfing as long as anyone and this is by far the most helpful, courteous, and accurate professional forum I've yet to find. There are professional experts in tile laying, plumbing, structural issues, and general construction everywhere on this forum, yet it is actually geared towards the knowledgeable DIY'er. If you are considering doing a DIY tile project, I recommend you read this forum religiously and ask any questions there, because their answers will be more complete and knowledge/experience-based than anybody you'll ever find at a tile store or worse yet, one of those big Box stores (HD, Lowes, Menards, etc). I also recommend getting his book on tile as a complete guide to laying tile and all that goes with it like planning, design, layout, etc. You can find the book on Amazon.com or at the Tile Your World On-line Store. Do your research, plan your project, get your materials and go to it.

And once you've laid out your plans and have your materials, give me a call to borrow my tile saw. I did a little quick math in my head and decided it was time to think about buying a wet saw. Since we're figuring on remodeling this current half-bath/laundry room and 2 other full baths, at $45-50 a day for some worn-out saw/blade that might not be produce as quality a finish (particularly important with natural stone), I decided to buy the Felker FTS-150 tile wet saw and got a much better deal on a far superior saw to anything I would ever be able to buy at a Home Depot or Lowes type of store. This saw is able to cut up-to 19" tiles (or a 13" tile cut diagonally) in addition to making delicate cuts and custom corners like adding a bullnose finish to a square edge (instead of paying 2 or 3 times the normal price per tile for a prefinished bullnose tile).

If you are ever in need of a wet saw, let us know and you can rent it from us for about $50 for however long you need it (assuming we don't need it). This just covers the cost of a blade, nothing else, so it's not like we're trying to make money off our friends, it's just to keep the saw in the best condition possible.


A few other updates from our various homeowner adventures:

After attacking and stinging both Chompers and Dusty at different times, it was all-out warfare on the wasp nest in the ground when I decided to take Jenni's uncle's advice and light that bad boy on fire. One night I took a can of lamp oil and poured it down the hole and lit it on fire... Ain't seen a live wasp/hornet since! Justice fo' tha DOGS!

We initiated getting a second quote on our windows and siding. We found a guy through Lee Lumber and Marvin windows who seems very professional and knowledgeable about just about everything to do with windows and doors. We'll see what the price comes back as, but it's a toss-up between him and the guy who did my parents' house at this point. Hopefully we will have a decision in 2 weeks or so and work can get started as soon as they receive the materials.

The company I work for is in the news a lot right now. There is a huge battle on-going for what would be one of the single largest leveraged buyout transactions in recent memory. Several investment firms are bidding to buy the company back from the shareholders in a move that would make the company private instead of public. What this means for me isn't quite clear yet but I don't feel it would affect my job status, but it may have some financial ramifications to it, most likely good, but as of yet, undetermined. Our stock shot up $7 per share You can read about it by following any of the links here: Freescale (FSL)

Once the bathroom fixtures arrived, we officially became hillbillies since we have a toilet both in the yard and the living room!

The chipmunk warfare has begun. Chipmunks have steadily burrowed and caused sinking in the foundation of our patio and before we think about getting it mud-jacked back to being a level surface, we need to do something about the cause of the sinking. This morning I trapped and killed our first of what will likely be many chipmunks. Rest in peace, little guy.

Sorry still no pictures from Hawaii or of the latest "state of the house". Will have some soon.