Grout and Paint

Wonderboard. The tile adhesive sticks to it like owl snot on a door knob... You need to make sure to get the special screws for it. Plus the little plastic spacers work well too. If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to answer.

-Frank

Regrouting...

Preparation is the key.... Find a Good grout cleaner... The best I have found was a Wal-Mart... the stuff I have used from Lowes and Home Depot take twice as much work to accomplish the same results... I can't remember the name of the grout remover but it may have been Goop Off (which is a strong multipurpose cleaner).

Try to get the old grout sealant (assuming the grout was sealed in the first place) and dirt (specially any oils) off the grout before you regrout. I also take fine grit sandpaper and give the grout a once over... the more porous and clean the old grout is, the more successful the new grout will bond to the old grout.

All and all, re-grout is a pain and I'm not sure it is a whole lot easier than just re-tiling and don't think it looks good if you try and skimp on preparation.... but, it is definately cheaper.

As for painting... A fundamental rule is this...

Make sure the paint your covering is the same kind of paint your using... by that I mean, if it's oil base paint... then cover with oil base paint... If it's water base, cover it with water base. Mixing these two will result in one of two things:

It won't dry or After it drys, the paint will peal off.

Never skimp on good brushes and floor covering material... that crappy cheap plastic covering typically causes more problems than it solves by making a mess. Use canvas... WAAAAY better than plastic, but expensive... Heck, I'd use old towels and newspaper (in combination) befoire I would use plastic. Canvas, paper and cotton will absorb any spills and prevent it from getting spread over everything.

When it comes to paints, if you want a good looking job... take your time and always let it dry before you add another color, add a new coator remove the tape.... and use a razer blade to remove the tape to keep it from taking the paint with you as your remove the tape.

Like re-grouting, painting is all about the preparation... How much preparation is dependent upon what you are painting and what condition the original paint is currently.

FWIW Joe Moya

Edited by Joe M 2005-02-17 11:24 PM

so, Joe M

can you come to Denver for a weekend? I am moving and fixing all the little things I have just lived with for years...... how are you with dry wall - my upstairs neighbor leaked on me......

I'm with Joe on the prep work. Ask my wife how much scraping and sanding she had to do this winter because she didn't prep surfaces well a few years ago... I know, never listen to hubby, but sometimes we do know what we're talking about - even if we're messing with your head half the time.

And if you have a chance to sit in on a grouting seminar at your local Home Depot (not a plug, I just know that they do it), do it. An hour of supervised practice and learning will make for a much better experience.

-Frank

I stared at this for almost 5 minutes trying to figure out if I had heard any metaphor as obscure, funny, or non-sensical as "owl snot on a door knob" and I just can't do it.

All the same, thanks for the chuckle.

bts

One of my customers used to say that a lot. His other favorite phrase for something really cool was to say that something was "Slicker than owl s#!t." Looks like it rubbed off. I guess he had a thing for owls.

-Frank

I find it particularly ironic that your customer would hail the adhesivness of the owl's mucus while at the same time noting it's feces being the opposite (i.e slick). I'd be worried if he had pet owls.

bts



Edited by Brett 2005-02-18 4:15 PM

Hmmmm.... Bootygirl.... that's sounds soooo enticing.... but, I'm beginning to peak for my IM training the next couple of weeks... and, I really don't see how dry walling could be fit into a long brick. However, I'm sure if given enough time and thought an intelligent girl like you would figure out a way make it fit. :-)

Sorry... but, my quota for dry walling, HVAC, electricical, painting, carpeting, furniture refinishing days are long gone... My dad burned me out on that in my youth. This is what happens when you have parents who were:

1) .... Owners of a small furniture mfg. business... and, restoration of airplane interiors.
2) .... Rental Home owners...
3) .... Mother who was a psychotic house remodeling nutt... and, on the side she bought old houses to restore... Plus, held down a full time day job working for JNJ.

And, coming from a family of 5 children... we were all required to work like slaves (although we didn't realize this at the time).

Perhaps, this is why we all went to college ... got as many sheep skins, certifications, and what not we could get our hands on... to get out our own little Afghanistan and join the "normal" world (which would be anything less than 75 hrs. a week of hard manual labor).

In retrospect, because of the things I learned to do in my youth... today, I do know when contractors are trying to screw me... and, that is because... I now have my own business... bought a few older homes and had them restored... buy anitique furniture... collectable art... and, even now rent homes... hmmm.... only problem... I have no children to abuse ...uh, I mean teach how to be handi - dag nab it!

Thanks for the offer... but, I'll pass... got a 6 hr. indoor ride with a 30 run to do tommorrow... NO dry walling for me... although it does sound much easier.

Joe Moya

http://home.grandecom.net/~jkmsg/Me_html1.htm

If anybody cares...I made the now infamous grout attempt. And it turned into a very large disaster.....

Lessons learned:
1. Contract Out
2. Grouting is not very fun
3. Scotchbrite is a wonderful invention

If I ever get the bright idea to do a home improvement project again, someone beat me with a wet noodle....

well, since Joe won't come be our slave, we have endeavored on our own as well.

My emerald forest room has needed 2 coats of neutral paint (I think "wheat" is the color name - I want the job of naming paint colors!) on top of 2 coats of undercoater. Will need to repeat this process in the orange sunset bathroom. In the kitchen I had to spackled up about 20 nail holes (plate collection) and when I went to paint I discovered no less than 4 shades of yellow in the closet, none of which matched. so, we have a wall of another color giving the kitchen a tone on tone look that is not bad. Late last night, I spilt a quart of paint on the floor - half on the kitchen tile, half on the wood floors of the next room, up the wall, all over my jeans and shoes, and on the bar stool. good fun, that! the dry wall work I have contracted out, along with the tile "heave" around the sink. I have stripped down the grout in D's bathroom - truly amazing how nasty that stuff gets and I get totally anal about getting it perfect - and will seal it tomorrow, after which I repeat the process in my bathroom and later in the kitchen. I highly recommend this process for the obsessive-compulsives amung us. The contractor on the condo-ization of our building did some interesting things, including leaving huge hole where the bathtub drain goes into the floor (why bother cutting tile when you can just leave it open. The bathes here are all claw foot tubs with a ring above to hold the curtains. often people do not overlap the shower curtains enough and the splash from the shower runds down and ruins the downstairs neighbor's. I discovered a neat product in the expanding insulating foam - just mound it all up and later cut it flat. that was kind of fun. I will give the left over foam to the girl upstairs who leaked on me causeing the affor mentioned drywall work (yes, she pays - she is cool - does tris herself). My other dry wall work is caused by my former substance abuse issues - I used liquid nails for everything for a while until a friend had an intervention and just took my tube from me.....

Why am I detailing this for you all? Why am I detailing this all at 3:30 in the morning? I am obsessed with my packing and moving and woke up needing to take come antacid. I hate moving. I have loved my little victorian condo and hate thinking of moving (it appears that mobile homes and prefabs are all that is available where I am going) and I hate thinking of some dodo renter coming in and mucking up my condo! I hate that I hate this - lots of more important things out there.....

You are right - next time, contract it all out and take a long bike ride!



Edited by bootygirl 2005-02-24 5:48 AM