First Reno in progress

[Robbiep]

Hi All,

I started the minor reno today.

So far I have pulled up the carpets, first coated all the ceilings. I really under estimated the effort involved in doing the ceilings, not as easy as it looks!

I have given the dark stained door frames a coat of Zinsser Cover Stain. The floors have been booked into be sanded on Wednesday and I have the following questions.

1: Is it advisable to give the skirting a coat of Zinsser Cover Stain BEFORE the floors are sanded?

2: How close does the floor sander get to the skirting? I just want to know if it will touch the skiting and actually sand away any messed paint i get along the skirting.

3: When first coating the skirting, which is the best way to keep the paint off the floor?

4: I will give the walls and ceiling the 2nd coats of paint after the floors have been polished. How do you protect your polished floors again paint and is it quite easy to remove paint off a polished floor?

With limited time, this has been a very stressful reno!

Look forward to hearing your advice.

Regards,
Robbie

 

[Stu]

Personally I would finish walls and skirting before the floors have being sanded.
The floor sander will sand the floors right up to the skirting but not the skirting.
The edge sander may slightly mark your skirtings if you paint the skirtings first (depending on who is doing the floors) but this is easy to touch up.
Doing it the other way around means you will have to cut in all the skirtings to the finished floor and also any spilled paint you put on your new floor could go into cracks, grooves, nail heads etc and look crap.
Hope this helps.

 

[Robbiep]

Thanks for the advice!

If i do the skirting before the sanding, what methods can u use to stop the skirting paint from going on the floors?

I'm a bit nervous about doing the skirting as I dont want to mess any paint on the edges of the floors (where the skirting and floors meet).

Do I put tape of the floors?

Any suggestions?

 

[Ruff investment]

((shakes head)) I've been bad.

We are doing it the wrong way round. My parents advised me to do all painting and one coat of skirts before having the floors done.

We simply have just run out of time to do it that way round. We will be laying paper down along the edges and taping up to do the walls and edging. As well as trying to be darn careful.

Oh yes, tape on floors! I think I'll use a roll of butchers paper/ plain newspaper that you can get from the newspaper for around $6 a roll. I usually use it for kids paintings, but I think this will be a good way to use it too.

 

[travelbug]

Hi Robbie,
I usually do ALL painting before the floors are polished. I'm a bit messy and don't want to risk anything on the finished floors. Plus I don't like other tradies coming in with stuff after the floor is polished.

I have heard some polishers say paint the skirtings after but my guy said that he won't mark the skirtings. And true to his word I have only ever had to do very minor touch ups.
I'd ask your polisher, then you'll know how good he is.

Just put tape around the floor edge when painting if you are concerned. Have a turps rag nearby to quickly wipe up any wayward brushstrokes. I would at least get the zinzer on before polishing. You don't want to be3 doing 2-3 coats after the floor is done.

Maybe see if the floor sander can come in a week later after you've finished the painting and bathroom.

Did you get some painting done today?

 

[matto_]

Hi robbie,

thx for sharing. Any chance of pix, and numbers?

Matto

 

[Robbiep]

Thanks for the advice guys.

Lynne, I have pretty much first coated the ceilings and put Zinsser on the door frames.

Today I plan to first coat the walls and window frames.

IF I have time, i will first coat the trimmings. With the flooring guy coming on Wednesday, the first coat will have over a day to dry before the flooring is done.

Dont think i will be able to change dates for the flooring as they very busy.

As a backup plan, i am also getting a quote from a painter to have my kitchen painted.

Will keep you all posted

 

[JWR]

On a semi related note:

What is the cost of professionals sanding and polishing the floorboards? For about 100sqm?

Is it possible to DIY by hiring the sander from Bunnings - or is the risk of stuffing it too great to contemplate?

 

[Property Meister]

I got quoted any where betweeen $1500-$2000 for a 2bdr house of below average to average size, ive heard that some people have done it for $800 cash, but ive yet to come across anyone who will do it for less then $1500 cash.

also, you can hire them from bunnings for between $70-$110 per day, that being said, check out a few other woodwork/investment forums,

about 75% of the people who have done it themselves, say they wont do it again, the 2 issues main issues being

1. Physical work: its quite physical work, not many people can do it, or find it quite a stress

2. The finish takes a bit of skill/technique to do, a crappy job makes it look quite crappy overall.

 

[Ruff investment]

We tried to DYI floor boards.
Here is the approximate cost run downs;
Floor sander and edger from Bunnings
$100 deposit
$110 a day (ok, the job will take 1 good day at least to sand everything)
Floor and edger sanding pads $200
Require around 10 large floor sanding pads at around $12 each and 8 edger pads around $10 each.
Varnish and tools to varnish the floor- Allow at least $250 here.

So all up, you could do it for around $560 in cost for materials alone.

Add three days labor (if you are experienced, more if inexperienced). Even at $25 an hour, this is approx $600. But I doubt any sole tradie types would charge that little. If you are taking time off work or doing it in your own time, rather than giving up income to do this it would have a greater impact on the bottom line in your favor.

So then it is up to around $1160.

Personally I think the spend for someone to do this for us is well worth it, for under $2K. And we are gaining a professional finish. Another reason we tried DYI, is because we thought it was a simpler job than it is. Because we thought it would be miles cheaper than getting a professional in, which it isn't. And because Bunnings supplied up with a broken floor sander, and we wasted one whole night trying to get it to work and time in the morning to return the thing and get our money back. So it was not worth the hassle.

 

[JWR]

I'm very strong just not skillful

My brother could do it though - also strong but much more skillful with his hands - me more so in the brain

Given I never have enough money for these reno's I think DIY could be the way to go...

What about buying a floor sander in terms of cost (under $500?) - as I will be using in many many times in the future I am sure.

 

[Ruff investment]

GWR- Well that is an enterprising idea Well done for thinking outside the box.

However, for us I'd be very happy to hire this guy again! And recommend him. Dh is very impressed with him, and described him as a hard worker. Now that is no mean feat when DH's does physical/manual work himself and is a sole trader so works long hours. Apparently he has had to punch every nail down. Knows his stuff so well he knows which grit paper to use straight off the bat saving a heap of time. Was able to cover the hole in the floor for us, after being given two planks of tongue and groove flooring. And also fill up any holes that were previously drilled in the floor. It would have taken us WEEKS! He is doing it all in three days.

I'm sure you could build up to that kind of knowledge and expertise, and having your own machinery would be brilliant to get it done. However, you are still only saving $700. I think the equipment would be a lot more than $500. And spending twice the amount of time, so it may not be ready to rent as quickly. For us, to be truthful having someone else do it professionally is a real blessing and worth the little bit extra. I feel good supporting another local sole trader in their business. It's justified in my mind.

 

[Robbiep]

Hi All,

Some updates on my reno..

After 3 solid days of working, roughly 10 hours solid each day. all i managed to do is first coat the doors frames and lounge window frames, first coat ceilings of 3 rooms and the lounge, and first coat 2 rooms.

My estimate was that im about 10-15% complete with the painting. I totally underestimated the time involved in painting, for a 3 bedroom house it could easily take an experience painter 2 weeks on his own... and i thought it could be done in 4 days of working! I was painting alone.

With these older houses, theres alot of work involved in treating the finishes, holes etc.

Long story short, I called in a painter and he is going to finish the job for me in 9 days and at a very good price. If I had 10 days off work to focus purely on painting, I would do it myself, but I don’t have the time and my time is actually worth more than the saving of painting myself.

I also need to take into consideration the loss of rent if I did it myself, which could easily be losing 2 weeks rent.

It was also my first painting attempt, and the lesson I have learnt from this… I would rather pay someone to do the job for me and leverage their skills and time while I focus on other aspects of property.. the deals and managing the tradesman.

The weekend I will do a few minor painting jobs outside the property i.e. the gate, stairs etc. Nothing major.

I have rearranged to have the floors started as soon as the painting is fully complete.

With regards to the costs, they are as follows:

$4000 - Total cost for painting, including cost of paint
$1200 – Floors
$1700 – shower hob installation, water proofing shower area, moving shower head higher, fitting new shower head, rail and curtain..and a few other little jobs around the house

I will keep you all posted.

Regards,
Robbie

 

[Ruff investment]

Robbie, it sounds like you are doing the same thing we are! Well almost.
I'd love to see your pics