Did You Think I Was Done Being a Stripper?

The brick may be the biggest stripping job. Way bigger than I thought it was. But don’t forget the wood. I was super excited about how restorable it was…

But it still needed restoration. And how to restore it? I decided from other paint removal projects went that heat was better than chemicals. Best would be an infrared paint remover, for speed, my health, and the risk of burning the house down. But it would cost $500. I asked my dad what he thought. He said, “What, are you nuts?” So we were in agreement. I used a heat gun.

And here we are! As of today, I’ve gotten all the paint off! All of it! This is weird after 4 months of restoring my brick, but it’s also exciting! Because I’m used to jobs being not fun, but I’m not used to them going fast.

So! Tomorrow I apply a consolidating treatment on the dry rot and weathering, then I reattach parts that are falling off, fill holes and other damage, and be ready to…………… paint! This worked out well because the weather right now is not hot and really dry. Plus, filling the holes and making this look clean will feel like SUCH  an accomplishment!

It was fun to see that the cornice used to be green! I plan on painting it a very dark green again. It looks like it will be a little darker than the original color. If you weren’t following before, I used the Sherwin Williams Color Visualizer with a picture of a different house on the block. I had a few more color schemes I was going to test out, but I like this dark green so much I decided I was done. The color shown on the marble was my best guess of what mine would look like stripped, and the tan is meant to be a similar but darker color. I’m still pondering what color to paint the front door, but do think a “fun” color makes sense.

So, we’re counting down on what this facade needs. Funny thing though is we’re also counting down on working time in 2018. Next week should be the end of cleaning brick. Which is important because it needs to dry out before there’s frost. The windows will be here in October. I hope I can paint them before Thanksgiving. Everything else I hope to deal with in September. That means:

• Clean the brick if I can get it cleaner
• Paint the cornice
• Remove, strip, and restore the window casings
• Have glass made for the front door.
• Either install the glass in the front door or have that done
• Have new front door jambs made. Hopefully also new reproduction moldings to match what’s around the windows.
• Have a new transom made? Or will I live with plywood for this year?
• Apply a consolidating treatment to the brick (except some of the marble).
• Patch holes and some severely damaged parts of the brick and marble. (I won’t worry about mortar for this year.)

Can we make this work?.