Cliff May Restovation

IT IS! I won't beat around the bush, this was not a fun job. People often talk about "scraping the ceilings" as being the tough job; the one that nobody wants. Actually, the scraping is the fun part. To those who have never scraped, that might make it sound as if it's not that bad. To those who have scraped, it's just a sad realization that the scraping is as good as it gets and it only descends from there. Before I get to some pics, let me just outline "the procedure."

The Procedure:

1. Scrape the ceilings
2. Sand the edges where the drywall meets walls and beams
3. Reform the seem with patch putty between the ceiling and walls n' beams
4. Find and fix blatant imperfections (gouges, nail holes, etc)
   
5. Sand the patch putty for a smooth seam
   
6. Rinse the residue from the ceiling with a sponge (takes forever)
7. Prime the entire ceiling
8. Paint the entire ceiling (twice)
9. Look at the imperfections you missed and need to go back in fix

But with all that said, it's worth it. Here's how it looks now:

I stripped and repainted the vent, too. I just haven't put it back in yet. Here's another shot where you can see the popcorn, scraped, and scraped and painted portions:

No further descrption needed.

If you've ever walked through a really nice house....and when I say "really nice" here I'm not just talking about the neigbhors who put in Bellawood compared to your Ikea laminate, I'm talking about those houses you see redone on This Old House or the ones that elicit the "wow" at first sight. If you've ever walked through a realy nice house you begin to notice the little things. The paint lines are crisp, every window is caulked uniformly, and the wall textures show no visible abberations. Taken individually, none of these items mean very much but taken collectively, it can mean the difference between a nice house and a nice house.

So with that, this weekend I decided to paint the living room. I've been a fan of subltety as of light so the color is a slight gray that is just enough to contrast with the white trim and keep the walls from looking "clinical" and plain. Of course, I could have done what the previous 2-3 owners did and slap up some paint on the walls, calling it a day. Instead, I chose a (seemingly) simple process that involed: 1. fixing previous poor patching jobs and 2. removing other surface imperfections mostly caused by cottage cheese ceiling treatment applied haphazardly.

DURING
In this picture you'll see a lot of brown marks on the drywall. Those are all spots that were sanded down -- cottage cheese droppings, minor cracks, paint runs, etc. The walls were all like that. Also, all inside corners were sanded with a Ryobi detail sander. The result is very crisp lines wherever a beam meets drywall.

COMPLETEYes, I know the cottage cheese NEEDS to go.