08 November 2009

A hole too far...

After a couple of crappy weeks as far as the decorating goes, I've finally managed to get a the first coat of paint on the walls, so it's all downhill from here...still a lot to do, but it's looking a bit better instead of worse.

But do you know why I detest it so much?..here's a bunch of reasons.

Stripping off wallpaper for starters. Not too bad until you find much later on that there's still bits of the beige lining paper stuck to the plaster that you missed...nnnngh!
Then there's the dings left in the plaster made by the scraper...which need to be filled again...and again ('cos I missed a bit)...and again ('cos I found another bit I'd missed)
There's also all the 'leccy sockets that have been surface mounted and need to be hacked into the brickwork at floor level amidst clouds of choking dust...great.
Wallpaper that's been fitted around light switches 'cos the eejit who did it in the first place couldn't be arsed to unscrew the fitting and stick the bloody stuff underneath!
Perhaps the most intensely irritating thing though, is when previous owners haven't removed ironmongery (like hinges on doors) and have just painted nonchalantly over it, so that there's about ten bloody layers of paint to chip away before you can get to the screw slots!

Hells teeth...buggeration doesn't even come close!

On a saner note though, my additional little job for the Secret Santa is coming along quite well, despite a small cock-up when I realised that I only needed to tap one 10mm hole but had, in fact, tapped two. All was not lost though as with a little bit of careful and considered work on the bandsaw, the affected bit was removed and replaced. The bolt for this small project though has turned out rather well which considering the disaster zone indoors is something of a minor miracle.

1 comment:

Mitchell said...

Having watched a number of do-it-yourself programs that are created in Britain, I have noticed two things that differ in home construction and decorating between here and there.

First, wallpaper is a big thing in England, something that seems to have lost its flavour over here.

Second, your plaster looks very different to that which we use here. It doesn't seem to be as workable, not as easy to sand, and it is a redish-brown, instead of our white stuff, making it more difficult to cover.

Our stuff is pretty much just gypsum powder and glue. Would it be a different product over there, having something to do with the climate?

Mitchell