5.17.2009

Pink Is My Favorite Color

NOT!

The other bathroom in our house is pink. With some white. Originally it had blue-pinkish paisley wallpaper, but we took care of that atrocity right quick!



Underneath the wallpaper we found lovely plaster walls that had been painted...pink. I can live (for now) with the pink wall tiles. Mostly because they are the real deal - real tiles, as opposed to acrylic or some other kind of plastic substance. Same with the floor. The floor is the original hexagonal tiles, mostly white with a few scattered pink tiles.

The walls, however, must be dealt with.



First, we sanded them to remove any bits of wallpaper still clinging to the surface along with any wallpaper glue, and any other unidentified anomalies. We tried using elbow grease and those smallish foam sandpaper blocks. When this method proved mostly futile, we brought out the big guns - namely, an electric sander.

Hello, my friend.



I adore the electric sander. Best $29 bucks we've spent so far! And, let me tell you, we have certainly been spending the bucks lately, at an alarming rate.

Once we sanded the walls, we went about patching them using a spackling substance called DryDex.



Anyone who has plaster walls, knows that they are prone to hairline cracks. These cracks are not indicative of any structural failure or wall damage, it's just the nature of the beast. Personally, I find the innocuous cracks charming. But, since we have the opportunity now, and future cracks are inevitable, we went ahead and repaired them along with any nail holes before we paint.

The DryDex is applied using a plastic spatula scraper thingy (that's the technical term). It's a bright pink color (think bubble gum on speed), and the consistency of thick cake frosting...just like the Betty Crocker stuff that comes in a tub at the grocery store.



Then, as it dries, it turns from psychedelic pink to white. When it's completely dry, we will sand the walls again, wipe them down, and paint them using a paint that is both primer and paint in one. I've never used such a product, but we thought we'd give it a try. Ultimately, if it means LESS painting...I'm in!



On the NON-PINK front, our contractor has been working on tiling the kitchen floor. I'd say, 85%-90% of the tiles are laid, no grout yet. And they're kinda dusty from general construction dust, but MAN, I am loving those tiles!



Sure beats the black and white vinyl checkerboard floor that was there before.

4 comments:

Mars Girl said...

Love the kitchen floor! It's fun watching your house transform... without, for once, having to do all the work... ;)

Jennifer said...

Looks great!! I can relate to the "pink" bathroom (only room left in our house to remodel!)...some actually find pink charming. Thanks for the plaster putty idea - we have a few cracks that need repaired and the typical stuff for drywall wasn't working nicely!! Can't wait to see the finished product!!!

cathryn said...

MarsGirl: Thanks for saying so! I love it too :) And from what I hear, the work to be done to a house NE-VER ends...


Jennifer: OH yeah - I forgot you have your very own pink bathroom. I think every house built before 1950 was required to have at least one pink bathroom!

boty said...

Good to see your hand on that sander Cafra!! Now you have proof that you HAVE done somne of the work ;-)