Friday 25 February 2011

Recycled

Did you know you can buy recycled paint? When I was at the local big box hardware/building supplies store a while back getting the stuff for my house's makeover, I was looking at a 5 gallon pail of paint and trying to decide on a neutral colour to paint every wall in the place. (Houses show and sell better when in neutral. Just don't leave your car that way unless you use the parking brake.) And as I wandered down the aisle, I saw more big buckets of paint, but the price was $40 less.

I had no idea they recycled paint. But for neutral tones, I think that is all I will buy in the future. There are various shades of beiges, browns and greens. It covers well, and looks very nice!

The painting is coming along well. I've finished the living room and foyer. Well, the walls at least. Have the trim to do. The next job is tackling the little main floor bathroom. Had a friend (plumber) cap off the water lines for me and rip out the old sink and vanity. I've got some repairs to do to the walls before painting, and will be putting down vinyl flooring as well, then he'll come back and install the new sink/vanity for me. All for the price of a home cooked meal! (Gotta love a guy who will work for food.)

After that, it will be the kitchen. All the cupboards will be painted white, and the walls the same neutral as everywhere else. Eventually I will have a new countertop installed but that will have to be done by professionals. I asked my plumber friend and he said although he's a handy guy, that's a little above his skill level. He will do the sink and faucet for me.

So things are coming along. I'll be ripping the carpet out of the livingroom soon as well and putting down laminate flooring. I've done that before and know how. Should be able to manage that mostly one armed. It's not that my right arm is completely useless, I just have to be careful what I do. Very careful. I think becoming an enforced southpaw has some advantages, though. When I do finally get this shoulder fixed, at least I will be fairly adept at using my left hand for a lot of things.

Just as an aside, winter has made a very big comeback. It is -30C right now, with a wind chill of -40C/F. That's just downright rude of Mother Nature... Last kick at the can, I suppose. In two days' time, it is supposed to be up to -7C! Perhaps she's menopausal....

9 comments:

  1. Didn't know about the recycled paint thing. Good tip.

    It's sold in gallons there?

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  2. XL: Okay, so it's not labelled as a 5 gallon pail, it's 18.9L. But it's still the same size as a 5 gal. bucket. I call a spade a spade. Or a pail, as the case may be! ;-)

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  3. I'm not going to ask what you call a 2x4!

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  4. XL: Actually, they are still called 2x4s up here. Same as all lumber... still measured in imperial, not metric. Go figure!

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  5. Recycled paint!!!
    I would hate to be the poor bugger that has the job of scraping paint off old walls. Damn the economy...

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  6. 19 Liter Farbe? For the whole house, maybe, it's a small barrel. Beer is sold in this amount.
    Be careful with your arm.

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  7. SF: Hey, it's a job! ;-) (Actually, I think it's partial cans mixed together...)

    Mago: A keg of paint! You can buy beer like that here too. And yes, it is for most of the house. All except two of the bedrooms.

    I've become quite adept at painting with my left hand! But yes, I am careful... don't need things any worse than they are.

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  8. Neutral is a great idea and so much easier to 'dress'
    I wonder if in the recycling the paint loses its smell. That would be good.

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  9. Pat: Yes, and neutral shows better. Lets people have a better idea of how the house looks without being blinded by some garish colour! The recycled paint has a very faint smell. Not chemical-y at all.

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