Saturday, March 21, 2009

House Goodness

Before I say anything else:

My camera broke weeks ago and I just received my new one in the mail last night. I love my reading with pictures (at least online). So, I'm sorry, I apologize to those of you fellow children-at-heart. The pretty pictures will be returning very soon. I promise.

Okay, so.

I bought a house, right?

And I've had a week or two to start fixing it up and all (it wasn't in bad condition, really. I'm just not a fan of paneling).

Anyhow, this is just a short post to instruct those of you who are thinking of remodeling by putting up 1/8" paneling as to the proper rules to follow. It's amazing what taking down someone else's construction or remodel job will teach you how to do it right.

#1 - You do not need 100 nails per 4' x 8' panel. Really.

#2 - You don't even need 50. Or 25. You could probably do a great job with 10.

#3 - Don't put up paneling 1st, then window sills and door frames 2nd. This causes needless effort and is considered rude.

#4 - Never, Ever assume that because you're covering up the walls, people will not ever read what you write on them beforehand. They will be read someday.

#5 - If you must write things on the walls, you might not want to include a list of people that you hate, or boys that you think are cute.

#6 - Don't assume that the people who see your writing will be unaware of the people in your neighborhood. Not everybody moves out. This is a corollary to rule #5. =]

#7 - Please don't cover up termite damage with paneling. Ever. =[

#8 - When you run out of paneling, it is not appropriate to use rough oriented strand board(OSB), paint over the top of it, and call it finished.

#9 - Also: don't use rough-and-painted OSB to make your windowsills.

#10 - You probably shouldn't use it for your bathroom, either. But you get points for putting on a funky two-tone sponged textured paint which hides the wood texture.

That's it for today! I had a week off of work and I've been putting all the extra time into the house, coming home late every night, sore and tired. I can't wait until I get started on the garden!

Yes, that means I'm having fun. =]

2 comments:

MJ said...

Ah, that made me laugh! So, do you want to come remove our paneling too?

Ashley Breton said...

Mary! The China girls are getting together at my house next weekend. We are meeting at my house on Friday the 17th at 6pm. Can you make it? I am leaving you messages here, facebook and e-mail so we can hopefully catch you:)