Monday 20 April 2020

Step 2 comes with a snag

The first finished wall.
You can see the painted paper on the floor, ready to be disposed of
The next step in my renovation progress started off well. First the wardrobe needed to be removed, so I could have access to the wall in order to get it painted. In nearly white. We knew that behind the wardrobe there was wallpaper, which was the original builders' paper, put on when the house was first built. 

The paper came loose the minute we had freed the wardrobe. Pulling it caused the whole thing to come loose and we could tear large strips off without any problem, exposing the bare plaster wall beneath. We cleared it up until the section where the paper was on the wall properly again: I would paint over that. 

We moved the single bed to the back and my bed to the front
The wardrobes are still being moved around though.
I got the paint and the roller and got stuck in. And within minutes I hit a snag. The remaining wallpaper was not on as properly as we had thought. In fact, the paint on it made it loose and again whole sections were just peeling off. Smaller pieces got stuck to the roller, big sections just came down by themselves. Which meant I was painting and peeling and then painting again. But, finally the wall was done and it looked fine. 

To the other side of 'my' old part I went. This time it was the concrete outer wall and again I was going to paint over the wallpaper on it. Fingers crossed... it went fine. It did. No paper came loose more than usually does when you paint over it. It looked good and it was easy to do. The first bit was done. 

Peppered with those production bubble holes. Very rustic
Then on Saturday I decided to do the next wall. Which involved some jiggling of furniture as my bed was against the wall that needed to be done first. Again a concrete wall with paper on top and it held beautifully. Then we removed wardrobe number two. Behind that again was builders' paper, and on top of that other paper. Which had to be removed as it was nearly flapping in the wind.  

Snag number two. As I removed that tiny bit of paper, the builders' paper came loose as well. Which was pulled off. Revealing a bare concrete will peppered with little holes. So many holes that painting over it was not going to help those holes go away. First we got rid of all the remaining paper on a section of the wall. Then I went to the DIY store to get some filler. Which looked like yoghurt mousse, but worked a treat. 

We filled in most of the holes, leaving only some smaller ones
The renewing process has not been plain sailing. And I still don't know what the fixed-up concrete wall and the remaining plaster wall will have in store for me. I will start again today to finish the painting of the walls, and then I will continue with the ceiling. Not the lowered one (yet), but the sloping one. I also want to do the trusses and beams as they are yucky dark brown. I would prefer a grey-blue to create a more Scandi-feeling. 

Then after all that is done, it will be time to pick out some carpet to put in, which then means removing the wardrobes altogether although the beds can stay put apparently. They just have to be moved around when the laying is going on. By professionals I hasten to add!

13 comments:

  1. That must have been very satisfying to pull the old paper off. A fresh new room, how lovely.

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    1. It was satisfying it came off easily. It would have been even better if it had stayed on though and safe us a lot of extra work.

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  2. Hari OM
    Oh yes, I am super impressed! Love your idea of lightening those roof struts. Never been a 'beams' gal. With very few exceptions. Like in a Tudor palace. Keep the reports coming! YAM xx

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    1. I don't mind those trusses/beams, but they were dark brown which just didn't look nice with the off-white paint.

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  3. I also read your previous post, so you will have a bigger room if I understood well. But why do you need two beds ? I like the beams like they are looks a bit countryside. Compare prices of carpet or fake parquet, because parquet is easier to entertain and to lay out and it's more hygenic then a carpet. We had all carpet removed years ago and replaced by parquet and tiles. You can't imagine how dirty the felt carpet was in the bedrooms ! A real virus catcher !

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  4. Well done. IN spite of all the moving, rearranging, moving again etc...it is looking very very nice!! Carpet laying is definitely for the professionals.
    Hugs cecilia

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  5. That looks like a lot of work. Dad used to do a lot of home-improvement projects when he was younger. (My ghostwriter thinks he should get going and remodel the bathroom!) Good luck with your project!

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  6. It seems that nothing ever goes according to plan when you are dealing with a home improvement project. Glad you were able to get that part of the painting done.

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  7. Just think how fresh it will look when it's finished, well worth all the effort.

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  8. Oh the joy of minor spruce ups, always a few surprises. Some more expensive than others. Best of luck with the remaining steps.

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    1. Further steps have been taken and slowly I am getting there.

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  9. I think that a grey blue color for the beams will be just right! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

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Any weighty (and not so weighty) comments are welcome!