Paint Prep

We're finally in the last stage of our exterior house transformation.

The painters showed up bright and early last Friday morning and began scraping away the loose paint and caulking gaps.

There are EPA rules contractors must follow when dealing with houses older than 1978 in order to keep properties, their inhabitants, and neighbors safe from the dangers of lead paint. The painter we hired will safely scrape the paint, capture it on sheets of plastic, then properly dispose of it. He can't sand because sanding will produce dust that would require a more serious level of abatement. We did get a quote from a painter who was willing to strip the paint down to the original wood following EPA guidelines, but it was going to cost us over $15,000. Maybe next time.

Chris and I don't have high expectations that scraping will remove all the bumps from previous layers of paint, but it will do the job. The way I see it, she's an old house and has earned the right to show a few wrinkles.

Barring any weather related delays, this should be a quick project. Good thing, because the anticipation of seeing our freshly painted house is driving me insane.