One of the few things about the house that we hadn't liked when moving in, was the wallpaper in the hallway. Being a split level house, there's one hallway that spirals down through the house, more or less connecting all the rooms.So we decided we would remove the wallpaper, and paint it instead.
I come in from mowing the lawn to hear, "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiip!" Looking around the corner I see Mietzie playing in a large pile of scrap and Dotty gleefully ripping down the wallpaper.
Well - A simple ideas get complicated quickly. There were a few problems:
- The old paint under the wallpaper had become damaged and crackled due to the glue used to adhere the wallpaper.
- There had been quite a few layers of old paint, and the trim was literally gummed over with it.
No problem! So, I yanked all of the trim on the upper levels, where it was really needed - eight out of thirteen doorways and floor boards worth. Fixing the walls was another matter. We managed to burnout out my orbital sander, go through scores of sandpaper, and use more spackle than should be allowed. In retrospect, it might have been easier to have had the plasterboard replaced. ;)
In the middle of all this came several family emergencies surrounding my father's health, which didn't help any, including five weeks of hospitalization, and two weeks of recovery staying here with us. All I have to say is that Dotty must truly, truly, truly love me.
To put up trim you _must_ have one item in your at your disposal - a finishing air powered nail gun. It allows you to countersink the nail heads. I think I ended up using well over 100 nails - 100+ nails that I didn't have to tap down. :)
"Anywho" - Several months later, the trim is finished, and the walls are painted - they look wonderful, and even if they didn't we'd still say they did. hehe