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Painting the house
April 23, 2006
One of the final steps in renovation of a house is painting. For our house, there are three main parts to this process.
The first is what they call putting the 'putty'. This is a substance that gives a smooth finish to the walls. After it's application, the putty has to be scrubbed with sand paper. If the ceiling paint is to be changed the ceiling also might need to be scrubbed.
The second phase is the first coat of wall paint and all coats of ceiling paint. This phase also includes polishing of wooden doors, windows, cabinets, etc.
We had used Teak for our new furniture and had decided to stain it a dark color similar to rosewood finish. To get the wood to this color, there is quite a bit of work. First the wood is cleaned with a blade (shaving blade!), then scrubbed with sand paper. Then a coat of sealer is applied and scrubbed again. One more round of polishing ensues and then it is ready for application of stain.
To get a good finish it is better to use a spray painting machine. This also ensures that the work goes on fast. The spray machine cannot be used in narrow areas and those need to be hand stained.
The third phase of painting involves the second coat of wall paint and the painting of grills and doors & windows (that are not polished).
If you need to lay floor tiles, it is usually done after the first coat of wall paint. If there are electrical fixtures to be fixed, that is also done after the first coat of wall paint. The second coat of wall paint is kept to the very last so that any dirt or spots that result from the other work is erased with the final coat of paint.
We used 'emulsion' for the interior paint and 'apex' for the exterior paint. Usually the exterior painting is done after the first coat of interior wall paint as this time can be used for laying floor tiles inside the house.
Posted by liveit at April 23, 2006 7:47 PM