Almost ready...

February 6, 2010
Peoria, AZ

...to paint the house, that is. This project has been everything I expected, and more. Emphasis on the "more".

All in all, we had a good week. I've got everything mostly prepped and washed, and will be ready to start spraying next week. As with any good do-it-yourself project, there's a "pride of process" effect that grows as you realize (or theorize) that you're doing a better job than anyone you could have hired to do the work since you have the desire (and the time) to pay attention to all the little details. Extra scraping and sanding here, more stucco patch there - you get the idea. Of course, this also means that every time I walk around the house I find a new "little thing" or two that I should address.

Much of the time this week has been spent addressing things on the roof. Huh, what does painting the house have to do with the roof, you ask? Good question! Part of the answer has to do with the design of the house, which has several roof levels and associated eaves. All of the eaves have their own fascia, so that all had to be sanded. Our foyer is a 10' round area, and the ceiling there is raised to 16' height. This yields a round "turret" for lack of a better word that extends above the normal roof line, with its own fascia (eighteen two-foot sections angled together). All of this had to be sanded and then washed. Since the house hasn't been painted since it was built in 2001, and builders are notorious for watering down the paint, sanding the fascia has resulted in taking most of it down to bare wood.

And then there are the birds. Surprisingly, since we have very few flying insects here in the desert, there are a lot of birds in the area. We have a hummingbird feeder in the yard, and there are various sparrows, wrens, and finches (OK, I'm not an ornithologist, so I'm guessing here) around, along with a few doves. More prevalent are pigeons and quail; they're everywhere. And, we have a group of white-tailed hawks that nest in the neighborhood and hunt quite successfully.

So? What do birds have to do with painting? Well, birds make nests. Some eaves are good places (according to birds) to built nests. So far, I found two spots where nests have been made. Up under the turret eaves, which are only 4-7 inches deep, I found two small nests. Over the garage, I knew there was a pigeon nest, since we've seen them out the kitchen window for two years now. So, I pulled out all the nests (including all the pigeon poop and one hatchling carcass) and custom fit wire mesh into each opening to prevent further access. Closing up the eaves on the turret was actually easier than over the garage. I used 24" wide 1/2" coated wire mesh and cut the eighteen sections to length (4 to 7 inches wide - you didn't expect the builder to actually make the thing even all the way around, did you?), and then worked each into place. Air stapler in hand (have to have the right tool for the job), it was easy to staple each piece to the bottom of its associated fascia board. A few gaps were filled with small pieces wired in, and it was done.

In the front of the house, the hip roof from the house meets the angled roof over the garage. This provides a great place for birds to nest. I can tell because it was most difficult to prevent. I used small pieces of chicken wire mesh, cut to fit to close off the opening between the ceiling joist and the roof, and stapled them in as best I could. To actually see, I had to lay down on the roof "upside down", feet high and head low. This was not a comfortable position to be in!

While I had the ladder in place, I took a can of flashing sealant and treated all the various vent pipes and chimneys (hot water heater and furnace, both gas appliances). We don't have any leaks, but why wait for that since I'm already up? It's part of that attention to detail thing.

I've concluded that I no longer like being on the roof. When I was younger, it was no big deal. Now, while I don't really suffer from acrophobia, I'm much more cautious. I had Geri out "spotting" for me while on the extension ladder, and I was very careful, especially when near the edges. Since I've got the whole thing sanded, patched and washed, the only time I need to get back on the roof is to actually paint. I'll be glad when that's done.

Geri's been keeping Facebook updated with pictures.

So, today, I'll finish up the stucco patch. I noticed some cracking and deterioration (and some crappy stucco work) along the bottom edge of the stucco, right above the foundation, pretty much all the way around the house. Given that I'm working to make this the best job it can be, it didn't take long to convince myself that I had to take the time to fix it, or I'd be kicking myself afterwards. It's supposed to "shower" this afternoon and tomorrow, so I'll hold off on painting until it clears. With the El Niño pattern still in effect, we may get more cloudy/rainy days than usual. I set a target to have the house done by the end of February, so I can afford a few "off" days.

In other news, the big deal is that Geri found a small local house cleaning service for a reasonable price. They arrived in force (four cleaners) yesterday and spent 3½ hours scrubbing the inside of the house. Next week, the carpet cleaner will be here. Soon, I'll be done with painting and will wash all the windows and screens as part of the clean-up process. It'll be like having a new house!