Do up diary

[Gerrard]

Another idea is to replace light switches and power points if budget allows.
You can get them for $8-10 and if you are painting a room make a big difference in looks.

Hey Whitt - do you replace these yourself? I'm scared as all hell of electricity. Managed to zap myself once pulling out a ceramic fuse, and abother time touching the distributor cap when the car was running. They weren't bad but don't like the idea of frying myself any more than I have to!

Gerrard

[Monid]

I'd strongly recommend getting in some help, it usually is better to get it done as soon as possible. The one big reno job I've done myself took far too long and would have benefited from having some extra hands... Its a common false economy to do it all yourself.

Cheers
David

[SuperDad]

Hi Gerrard,

Light switches and power points are easy to replace yourself, as are light fittings.

I have a small electrical tester I bought from Dick Smith. It cost around $15. (Yellow with a black tip.) You place the tip on the light switch or power point, bres the button, and it will beep (and a red light will flicker) if there is power going to the fitting. What I do is: (1) make sure the tester is working by testing a live circuit. It beeps, therefore it works. (2) Turn off the mains switch. (3) test the point you want to work on. No beep, you're safe. Hasn't let me down yet (unless this is all just a dream!).

I love replacing chinaman's hat light fittings (on batten holders) with nice stylish fittings, which you can often pick up for around $25. Really modernises a room.

Many new light fittings dont have the black/red colour scheme, but rather have blue and brown wires (and a green or green/yellow earth). Black goes to blue, red goes to brown.

As for removing the switches in order to get a better finish, I would dispute that this results in a better finish. If you mask and then cut in with a speedbrush (a little pad on a handle), you get a really good finish. A professional might tell the difference, but otherwise it is a goos finish. Note: if you are dong this, use medium tack masking tape. Lo tack doesn't stick (and man is that frustrating). Regular masking tape sticks too well, and is a pain to remove.

All the best for Day 5!

Paul.

[Gerrard]

I'd strongly recommend getting in some help, it usually is better to get it done as soon as possible. The one big reno job I've done myself took far too long and would have benefited from having some extra hands... Its a common false economy to do it all yourself.

Cheers
David

Take it to the extreme and you end up managing a crew who does all the work for you. I've always known about the leverage of other people's time but it's really starting to sink in now.

[whitt]

yes I have changed myself and it is fairly simple as long as you follow Superdads advice.
*test your tester prior to power off
*power off
* retest tester on another cirucit to make sure it still works ok. Incase you blew it up.

[Monid]

Take it to the extreme and you end up managing a crew who does all the work for you. I've always known about the leverage of other people's time but it's really starting to sink in now.

Yeah, in our case the problem was that the property was in another town, and we could only do it on the weekends... Which took longer and sucked far more than we expected, it can be very disheartening especially when doing prep work, which often takes the longest and is most essential but you don't get any buzz out of having finished.

It was interesting, and a profitable experience in the end, it just would have ended costing about the same if we had given some of those jobs to tradies rather than doing them ourselves, given the extra time it took us.

Cheers
David

[Glen]

Great thread!
Another good idea to cut costs i've found is just to take photos of all the things that you're replacing(the old handles, vanity, carpet, anything), and selling them on trademe, instead of taking them to the dump.

$1 start with $1 reserve , buyer to pickup, and you'll be amazed at what people will buy.

You'll save on dump fees and travel, and make some extra money.
Plus it's better to recycle it than throw it out!

[SuperDad]

I toss everything.

I can't be bothered with the hassle of being careful when removing old fittings, photgraphing and listing, corresponding and organising pick-up. All for a couple of bucks.

Paul.

[Monid]

I've done neither, but I would probably go for the middle way... (just to make any Buddhists reading happy) not spend too much time on things that are likely to sell for very little, curtain hooks, straw, etc but have a go with things like carpet and vanities which may be worth a reasonable amount...

Cheers
David

[Gerrard]

Tag team day

Itching to get into it, my wife decided she'd do the sanding and cleaning today while I look after the kids. Not a bad deal when there's cleanup to be done! So I ran around town doing other things like acquiring a portable stereo (now I'm a real tradie 'cause I'll be listening to Hauraki or radio sport all day long ), getting the paint order in, and picking up a few odds and ends we need. So far a it's been a trip a day to Mitre10. They know me by name already...

Good progress today (perhaps even better than if I'd been there). So the sanding is done, the mess is cleaned up and the painting has begun. With mother in-law providing child care services for the next couple of days, and the weather suiting to indoor work, we're planning to knock out as much painting as possible.

I don't really have any gems or tips from the day except that Watties tinned whole baby beetroots are a god send. I neglected my household duties by not hunting and gathering during the day but found a can of the suckers in the back of the pantry. That met the vegetable quota for tonight...

Gerrard

[Gerrard]

Painting painting painting

Not alot to report today other than painting the ceilings all day. Progress wasn't quite as good as we hoped but are still doing ok.

White ceiling paint is bloody hard to see when you are putting the second cost on. Most paints are different colours when wet and dry but white paint is, well, white all the time. I ended up at funny angles all afternoon trying to use the light coming in the windows to try and spot the glossy / wet bits. Seems to be ok in general.

Might not be luch new to report other than painting painting painting for the next few days.

Gerrard

[whitt]

Your Blog is looking good so far Gerrard.
To help other readers following here.

Whitts painting tips:

I have heard good reports of the ceiling paint that is pink when wet, white when dry.

Gerrard did you tint the under coat to same colour as top coat or leave it as standard?

I have tried cleaning rollers etc but that is a pain.

I now use the cheap packs of 5 rolls then throw away at end of each session. Quality of roller is not as good but still fine for a average rental. And cost is only a few $ each.

Some tarps are porous and spillages/ drips still leak through. Learned the hard way, lucky it was polished floor.

Instead now I use the small rolls of plastic sheet with masking tape attached. You just roll it out then unfold. Brilliant invention.

PS
GIB 4 compound is a must.

[SuperDad]

Hi Gerrard,

Here is what I have learnt about painting ceilings.

1. Use a roller sleeve with a 6mm bristle, not a 10mm bristle. It doesn't load up with so much paint, so you don't get as many splatters.

2. Figure out where the main light source in the room comes from. Then paint from the opposite side of the room towards that light source. This makes for a better finish (as there are no "edges" for the light to catch).

3. Rather than clean your roller sleeves, semi-load it with paint, leave it on the roller handle, and wrap it well in glad wrap. This will keep for a good week. This is much easier than cleaning.

Paul.

[Gerrard]

Hi guys- nice tips!

Whitt - we are just using flat white for the ceiling colour so are just doing 2 white top costs over what is already there.

Paul - Gladwrap is a good idea. W've been using supermarket bags and putting the rollers / brushers in the fridge overnight. Surprisingly we haven't died of food poisining so far!

Gerrard

[SuperDad]

Hi guys- nice tips!

Whitt - we are just using flat white for the ceiling colour so are just doing 2 white top costs over what is already there.

Paul - Gladwrap is a good idea. W've been using supermarket bags and putting the rollers / brushers in the fridge overnight. Surprisingly we haven't died of food poisining so far!

Gerrard

Hi Gerrard,

I don't bother putting them in the fridge. The paint in the pail stays at room temperature - I figure that the paint in the roller sleeve can to. So far, no problems. Also, if I end up with a roller tray 1/2 full of paint, which I will be using the next day, I just gladwrap it.

Paul.