I finished painting the inside of our project house today. That puts me ahead of schedule and I am overjoyed. I am sick and tired of painting. I don't mind painting the outside of houses because I get to fire up my sprayer and just wave my hand back and forth.
Inside is a lot less fun. Roller and a cut brush and a lot of climbing up and down. This is the sixth house interior we have painted since the third week of November.
I sure hope gray paint stays popular for quite a while because almost every room in the six houses is some shade of gray.
Some lighter some darker, but all a gray color. Almost every prospective tenant I showed the houses to commented on the lovely shades of paint.
Well, here's the thing, we bought a house in early 2017 and it had a 5 gallon bucket of blue paint in the basement. I could not throw a way a full 5 gallon bucket of paint. First of all where would you dispose of it? You can't take it to the landfill unless it has been opened and dried. That would take a long time with a full 5 gallon bucket. So if you add some tan paint you get gray. Then you add white to get it as light as you want. Remember it will dry darker than the color in the bucket. I used the last of that 5 gallon bucket of blue this week. all gone.
For those of you who read this blog every week, you might remember this stack of 40 gallon of paint. There are 20 of them gone. I had to go buy more this week because I did not have enough left of the color I want to paint the exterior of a house, hopefully within the next 30 days. This is where I confess to a few "shortcuts" I have taken recently. Yes I used a lot of cheap paint by mixing my own. All those houses were painted with paint that cost less than $9.00 a gallon.
See those lighter strips on this wall? That is caulk drying under the new paint. The former owner had put paneling in this hallway instead of drywall. I caulked the joints and painted it. Unless you are looking for it you won't know it is a cheap fix.
I used the tile we purchased cheap at the thrift store and wanted a a light gray grout. I had some left over dark gray and most of a bag of white from former projects. Mix them thoroughly together and there you have a light gray. It is a win, win deal. "free" grout and 2 bags off my shelf.
I took all the nails out of the trim boards in our project house and piled them up. Then I realized the pets of the last people who lived in the house had left their scent on the baseboards. I could not put those ammonia laden boards back in the house so I went and bought a pile of pine lumber. I laid it out on the lawn today. If I have enough time to leave them in the sun and rain they will turn a lovely golden color.
We put a lot of pine 1x4 lumber up as trim. These had not had time to turn as golden as I like but time is money in the rental business. Oh, that wall is also paneling that has had the joints caulked.
My last painting project today was the stair way down into the basement. The ceiling was about 16 feet above the bottom stair. When we purchased one of our first houses, there was a painting scaffold left in the garage.
Someone in the past had attached a 2x4 to the joists at the bottom of the stairs. I could lay the scaffold from the top step to that 2x4 and just reach within 2 inches of the ceiling. Now kids don't try this at home. I then set a 5 gallon bucket upside down on the scaffold, climbed onto it and finished the top 2 inches and the ceiling. It was a bit wobbly at times. Not recommended for the faint of heart.
2 years ago, one evening Jim stopped me and said there is a vanity by the curb a couple of blocks from here you have to go get it. I had just gotten home from a long day and wanted to get a shower and chill out. Jim was adamant, "you need to go get that vanity before someone else picks it up. I was kinda like, I'll go look later. Jim was kinda like, get in your pickup now. He finally said "I will go with you and we will get it, now". It set in the front of my garage for the last 2 years and now it is in our project house. A free vanity and sink top. Thanks for being persistent Jim. I am not the only one who takes shortcuts. this vanity was made for a single sink, not a double. To make the double sink fit they had to cut the back corners out of the top 2 drawers. Still I guess 2 sinks are better than one right?
I put in the last 2 new windows this week. After I had taken out the old ones and installed the new ones, there was a gap between the windows and the siding. We will be putting new siding on the house as soon as we get the inside finished. I did not want water running down behind the siding and getting the insulation wet and damaging the dry wall before we get the house buttoned up. Before in a situation like this we have cut boards and nailed them in to seal the wall. Then you have to tear the boards back out and throw them away when you side the house. I went with the red neck solution this time. We will see if the duck tape stays until we get the siding on.
When fixing up a house, I will take short cuts and cheap fixes. I can do that because our plan is to own these houses for long term investment. We are not taking any shortcuts and then selling the house to someone else. If anything doesn't hold up, we will come in and fix it.
You don't take short cuts or look for cheap fixes for the things that really matter in life.Don't take a short cut or a cheap fix in your relationship with God. Spend the time to have a real relationship. Take the time to talk to God, not some quick formula prayer, but an honest conversation. Explain to God what is happening in your life. Tell God where you need some help and intervention. I know God already knows but I firmly believe He wants you to tell him and ask Him for help.
Jesus said " Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you." But if you only talk to God when you are in need or desperate for help, you are taking a short cut and looking for a quick fix. God gives to His children. Does He also give to those who just show up when they need something, but have no time for God when life is easy?
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