In My Prime

Tomorrow, I begin my hands-on renovations project. Until this point, everything I have done has required a contractor. I'm sorry, but let's just be honest: I could not have possibly built an addition to my second floor myself. It would have fallen down. I am good, but I am not that good.

The upstairs of my home consists of two bedrooms and a new bathroom. I intend to use these rooms as my bedroom and an office area (for all my hard work... yeah right). We added about 150 square feet to these rooms, which we used to create the bathroom and two walk-in closets. The latter is especially exciting because large closets are basically unheard of in my neighborhood of post-war homes.

So now that the upstairs construction is finished, it is time to paint. We are not painting the downstairs yet as there is no real new flooring going down there. So in the course of 30ish hours (hopefully), I will be covering my upstairs walls so that my carpet, tile, and new bathroom vanity can go in sometime next week. So exciting!

Now with new construction (and old construction for that matter), the most important step of the painting process is to prepare your surface perfectly. This means three things: sanding, cleaning, and PRIMING.

Sanding is vital to a successful paint job. Using a sanding block and 120-150 grit sandpaper, you need to go over your new drywall and make sure there are no imperfections left from the putty or caulking. Unfortunately, the sanding makes the next step necessary: cleaning. Using a damp cloth, you have to wipe down your walls. Sanding dust, if left on the wall before you paint, will cause your paint to adhere poorly and no one wants that.

Last but not least, you must prime your walls. Using a drywall-sealer such as Behr's Primer/Sealer for new drywall. A product like this will not only provide a smooth, clean surface for your top coat, but adds a barrier against stains that may affect your walls.

So if you are around Louisville in the next few days, come on over to my house... because I will be there, covered in paint and happiness. And if you are thinking about it, pressure me to finalize my colors because the decision is driving me crazy!