house rules #4

[truepenny]

Today's word is spackle.

Mirrorthaw and heres_luck stripped the ghastly wallpaper off the wall in the big front bedroom. Mirrorthaw did more plaster repair, and h.l., after most valiantly measuring all the windows and radiators, even more valiantly cleaned the scary-ass sink and cupboards in her front room. (Why there's a sink there we're still not sure.) And at various times both of them joined me in the spackling.

I spackled. Full stop. Small front bedroom, the hall, the front staircase down into the foyer, which is where I was when Mirrorthaw said, "It's 6:40. What say we call it a night?"

There's this new and rather disturbing sort of spackle that goes on pink and dries white. It's like splodging one's walls with raspberry ice-cream colored play-doh.

We also went out and bought a big trash-can with wheels, and a new light-fixture for the foyer. The one there currently is perfectly nice, but it seems to have been designed to hoard light rather than to shed it. Which is not really so helpful in one's front hall.

The joints of my hand hurt. Perhaps my spackling technique needs work.

Comments

[kate_nepveu]

But it works! It's so satisfying to see it go on, just pink to the edges of the crack, and then dry white.

Oh--the more satin-y the paint finish, the more little nicks in the wall show up. Flat paint is most forgiving in this regard.

Good luck good luck good luck.

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

It's an old house, so the walls are going to have, um, character no matter what we do. But, yes, nice, kind, forgiving paint is what we want.

[kate_nepveu]

Our 1941 house was also pin-cushioned with nails (into plaster, and painted over, so you can imagine the mess) and full of little cracks from seasonal movement and otherwise--we got, umm, eggshell? the middle option, and while isn't _awful_, I would go with something flatter in retrospect.

Are you going to have to prime?

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Odds are good, yes. At least on some walls. We're feeling a little anxious about time constraints, so, enh.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

The pink spackle is better than the old kind that you had to mix up, ugh.

It sounds to me as if you're getting on really well.

Are all four of you moving there?

[truepenny.livejournal.com]

Three of us. Yes. Although h.l. only for the short term.

You know, if you've sent me any email recently, it hasn't gotten through.