Soaking the blues (paint) away

Another weekend gone and we're slowly making headway in the house. We got a late start on Saturday and after a quick stop to the Restore, we headed to the house.

If you're not familiar with the Restore, you should be. They are awesome! There's one in Newport News and Franklin. I'm sure there are more in the area, but those are the two I've been to. If you're trying to find materials out of an old house, say for instance, old style tile, they are great. They carry lots of building materials that are priced very well. Plus, they help Habitat for Humanity.

Anyway, when we got to the house, my task was to start sanding the walls where I had stripped the paint. Since there are places that wouldn't strip off, we sand to smooth out any lines that are left. So now the house is a giant dust storm.

Fred took on the task of the yard.... such a brave task. He started to trim the Holly bushes, so they actually have a shape. The yard is starting to look better, but we're still tasked with having to dig up many Magnolia and Pine trees. They are free to a good home for anyone who wants one in 757. We'll probably start digging those up in the fall. I read that is the best time because they start to go dormant, but the soil is still warm enough for transplantation.

We had several guests stop by. One of the neighbors popped by to say hello. We had met these neighbors before and welcomed the break. Also, my mom, uncle, and grandmother stopped by to see the house. It was good to see that they all like the house as much as we do.

Our neighbors also showed us a storage shed on the property that we would have never known was there. It's covered by ivy and looks like a big bush. It's pretty cool though.


We went back to the house on Sunday to get some more work done and I think we got a lot completed.... Fred and I started off with removing doors. They all need to be sanded and repainted. Some are blue, some green; none in what I would call a pretty color. We wanted to take off all the hinges. They are real brass and have been painted over multiple times. We're determined to get the paint off. We found a process that we're hoping works. Take an old crock and put the hardware in it with warm water and dish soap. Turn it on low and let it soak all night. The paint is supposed to peel right off. We tried it and it seems to be working! (http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,20055784,00.html)

So after we removed the doors upstairs, I got to work stripping more paint in the stairwell. I spent all day doing that and the stairs are almost done... hopefully I'll be done scraping and onto sanding next weekend..... until then, we're hoping the demo starts soon!