With the attic reno on hold because of Steve’s shoulder I was looking for another project we (or mostly me) could do.
I decided to paint the garage!
The garage construction was actually completed in late February and because the Hardi Board & Batten Siding was primed,
it bought us some time before we had to paint it.
Ironically the primer on the garage pretty closely matched the yellow on the house
so that wasn’t rushing us to paint it either.
We had so many other things that needed doing, we kinda forgot about it.
Now 6 months later and one man down, it was the perfect time and I love to paint!
(I really do, in fact I painted the entire interior of our old home
prior to putting it on the market and I loved every minute of it.)
First I had to decide on a paint color. No more yellow!
We both wanted a simple white house and garage, but which white?
Do you know how many shades of white there are? Way too many!
I got 5 different white paint samples and put them up in various places around the garage.
In the picture on the right (from left to right) they are:
Behr Swiss Coffee, Behr Spun Cotton, Benjamin Moore Simply White,
Benjamin Moore Cotton Balls, and Benjamin Moore White Dove.
In these photos they all look alike but in person you could see some subtle differences.
Benjamin Moore Simply White, the 2016 Color of the Year, was definitely the whitest white. It’s super clean, crisp and fresh.
Benjamin Moore White Dove had undertones of gray which was different from all the other samples.
Behr Spun Cotton was a creamy white and didn’t look good with the white garage doors.
The other two looked identical and had a yellow undertone that we didn’t care for.
We debated the Simply White vs. White Dove for a few weeks before finally choosing Benjamin Moore Simply White.
I was a little worried because it is really bright but I had a backup plan.
We had planned on putting up two coats.
The first we would roll/brush and the second spray.
If the Simply White was too bright, we could use White Dove for the second coat.
With the paint color decided it was time to get the paint.
So last week Thursday I headed to Home Depot to get
Behr Premium Plus Ultra Exterior, which is ranked number 1 by Consumer Reports.
A very nice gentleman helped me at the paint counter.
He found the Benjamin Moore color in the computer and the 5 gallon bucket of paint with the finish I wanted.
(I opted to get the 5 gallon bucket because eventually we would replace the siding and it would need paint as well.)
After it was mixed, he started to unscrew the cap to check the color, you know how they put a dab on the label and dry it for you.
He opened it, looked up at me and we both started laughing as I said,
“Yep, it’s definitely white!”
I paid for my purchase and headed out to my Acadia.
I put my two bags in and then realized I had not thought this through.
How was I going to lift that 5 gallon bucket out of the cart and into my car?
I did a test lift in the cart and it was pretty heavy.
I looked around the parking lot and of course there was no one in sight, which was good and bad.
Bad because there was no one I could ask for help and good because there was no one to see my lame attempt at getting it into my car.
I was successful, however it did clip the edge of the cart and then bounce off my bumper before coming to rest, thankfully upright, in my vehicle.
No injuries and no scratches to the bumper, that’s a win win!
I decided to worry about getting it out of the car when the time came.
I headed home to tackle the prep work that lay ahead of me.
We have a lot of red clay in our soil here in North Carolina. When it rains, especially in areas where there is no grass, it splatters onto anything and everything. Needless to say, the light yellow garage walls had a bit of splatter after 6 months.
I had read online about a house cleaner called Krud Kutter which had great reviews, so with that and a scrub brush I tackled the garage.
It only took a couple hours and tuned out great.
I prayed it wouldn’t rain until the painting was finished because I didn’t want to have to do that again anytime soon.
The forecast for the next few days was mid-eighties and “no rain in the foreseeable future.”
Perfect!
My plan was to paint the lower section of the garage walls on Friday and then the upper portion on Saturday,
when Steve was home to walk me through(and spot me) using the scaffolding.
(I may be a bit sassy but working on scaffolding 10-12 feet off the ground, home alone, is insane.)
Oh, I forgot to tell you,
Steve didn’t have a clue about what I had been up to
or my plan for the weekend
when he arrived home Thursday after work!
Surprise!
I got the next surprise!
Friday morning when I got up to take the dogs out it was sprinkling
and by the time Steve left, it was pouring.
Ugh!
By noon on Saturday we had finally dried out.
The minimal clay that splattered on the garage was quickly removed with a broom and we started painting.
Steve was actually able to roll/brush using his left arm.
We made quick work of the lower sections of the west, north and east sides of the garage
(the south side gets direct sun and we can’t paint when the siding is hot).
I was able to reach everything with a ladder except the top trim board, so we brought out the scaffolding.
I sat up on the platform to paint the high stuff and when I finished a section, Steve rolled me along to the next one.
I’m sure we were quite the sight.
What a transformation! We just love it.
On Sunday morning we painted the lower portion of the south wall (below).
By the time we finished, the sun had heated the upper siding so that would have to wait until next Saturday morning.
The north side was shaded so we moved on.
In order to reach the upper portion we had to assemble the second layer of scaffolding.
To do that, I had to stand on the first platform and place each piece Steve handed me
and build the second level.
I then had to crawl out around the side to the ladder and climb up to the top.
It was a bit tricky but we did it!
I was able to reach all but the top 1 foot or so of the peak.
Dang it!
We had two options.
We could either dismantle the second level and rebuild it higher or Steve could climb up and finish it.
Steve was not comfortable putting me up any higher without any safety measures in place
and I was not comfortable with him climbing up there with the full use of one arm and limited use of the other.
(Unfortunately our 6’3″ son with a 6’6″ wingspan was at work.)
We were at a standoff!
As you may be able to see from the picture, the peak is painted!
Who won? He did, of course!
With his bum shoulder and me taking the lead on this project,
I think he needed to “flex his muscle” and do it himself.
Sheer determination and brute strength took him up that scaffolding
and his desire for a cold drink and a shower brought him down
(that and not wanting to spend the night suspended 12 feet up in the air).
Oh, the adventures we are having!
If you ever want to change the color of the doors (including the garage doors), I’ve heard wonderful things about gel stains. I wish I had a project to try it out on myself!
I’m going to look into that thanks. We would love to paint the windows black. I made that design decision long after the white garage windows were installed.
Thanks again,
Kim
Amazing ! Ya’ll are doing a great job and will have wonderful memories when it is all completed.
Looks so much different with just a coat or 2 of paint! Wish we lived closer, it would have been fun to sit back and watch you and Steve tackle this project! It’s done and looks amazing! Funny stories to tell down the road…… making awesome memories!!
I know, I can’t wait until we can replace the house siding and paint that too! Then it will look really different!
The white really looks good with the brick foundation. Does it look like a second coat will be needed? Wish I could be there to help. I just started back at Habitat, my hand feels good, just can’t do everything with it yet. I just built two support roof brackets for a rear door shelter on another Habitat project. I built them at home using some of your play set treated lumber and some 4×4 lumber from our old living room ceiling. Will probably install next week and then build the roof on top of it. Have fun and stay safe. Building Is Fun.
Love:
DAD
Yes it needed a second coat. Steve sprayed all the lower walls this past weekend. We will need to rent a lift for the upper north and south walls. Glad to hear your back at Habitat and the hand is doing well.