After 3 weekends of painting, the house is beginning to feel like a brand new home. You could feel the anticipation in the family – everyone is putting in their time on this project. Celine has taken Saturday off her work and devoted the morning cleaning up and doing regular chores that were falling behind. Jessica, who had Thursday off convinced me that she could do all the painting and did the complete second coat of the living room. She did a very good job that we now call her the master painter. Even Jeanne, who is currently recovering from a viral infection can not help herself to put in the effort.
22-Mar-09 08:44pm - Red Box Colour on the feature wall. It looks really dark when I was applying it and slightly lightens as it dried. I did 3 coats on these because of a very bad noticeable patch on my second coat. On this photo, you could see on the right, part of the recently completed dining area, and on the left - the family area prepared for another week of painting.
As we do this project, we made mistakes but never hesitated to redo the walls when we had to, even if, sometimes, it means moving the furnitures again. This is the living room, we have not mounted any frames yet as we wanted to take some time to design and think on what would go on the wall.
There are a few notes on this experience, I need to improve my method of applying plasters, they are too thick and sanding them back is hard work. It has markedly improved now, but there are quite few patches I did that are too thick.
Using good brushes is also a good idea. We started this job using brushes sold in bulk and throw them after use rather than washing it. However, they are so crappy that some of the bristles gets painted on the wall. Good brushes cost a bit more but with proper care they last longer, produces markedly better results and more cost effective in the long run.
Work in Progress Photos
 15-Mar-09 08:40PM - Getting Ready to Paint |
 19-Mar-09 10:31pm - Jessica's Second Coat |
 21-Mar-09 10:27am - Celine, The Mover |
No rest in sight yet … this week’s job – The Rumpus Room
 One of our busiest room. |
 This wall will be transformed into a library |
It’s funny… how come Pinoys overseas can do that… paint & make their own houses? Bakit dito sa Pinas parang hindi magawa? Naisip ko kasi nga naman it’s easier to pay someone to do it for you at a reasonable price? Pero hindi na rin nowadays e….
I wish we could do what you are doing…what with 3 men around di ba? Hay naku bilib talaga ako kay Jessie…. how did she learn how to paint? I wanna learn too so I can paint our house too? 😛
Your living rooms looks like it’s been re-done ala reality interior design shows. And that’s a bold color you chose but it looks great.
Will you share a step by step guide on how to paint? hehehehehe…. thanks for sharing this… regards …love you all!!!!
I have a feeling that Francis, Mark and Paolo will not be very happy to hear about our painting project 🙂
Sinabi mo pa! Actually I’ve broached the idea to Francis a few years back but he said he’d rather save up and pay for it na lang.;D kaya ayun, hanggang ngayon di pa na-pe-paint ang house.
Ate Ditz, the answer to your question is quite easy. Paying painters here is like paying for the jobs we do in the office. Tradesmen here are highly paid so if we want to savour what we earn, we’d rather do the daunting tasks ourselves :-). Dyan sa atin we pay our painters only a meagre sum compared to what we earn so it may be worth it to just hire them. But of course, mas matipid na naman if you do it yourself.
Steps on how to paint?
First you should have the “guts” (lakas ng loob). Pick a room you are willing to use as your guinea pig.
Next, you will need to prepare the surfaces to be painted using sugar soap (or any solution) for cleaning. This is applicable to most houses here because walls and ceilings are usually made of gyprock. Probably this can be used for cement walls, too. I’m not sure what’s appropriate for wooden walls.
If painting a whole room, make sure the switches, window frames, skirtings and everything that should not be painted on are covered with masking tape. Light fittings should be removed, if possible.
Move out as much furniture as possible.
Cover the floor with old sheets to protect the floor from paint drips. Any furniture that can’t be taken out should be covered with cloth as well.
When these are done, the fun part starts – the painting. Usually, we do the cornices first using paint brush, then the ceiling using roller brush, one coat at a time. We usually let them dry for a day.
When the ceiling has dried after two or three coats, next is outlining the walls with the paint brush. Use a cut-in brush where 2 colors would meet or use a painters masking tape. Finish the wall with a roller brush. Depending on how it looks we usually have two coats for dark colour and three coats for a lighter one.
There! 🙂 You should have methylated spirit in tow just case of slip ups 🙂 And make sure you have all the materials you will need.
I’m an honours student now!!! YAY!!!!!
Congratulations! Be prepared for more academic work for your honour’s degree.
Thanks for the painting guide Jing ;D
Pero mukhang iba dito e …. nagma-masilya pa to even out the wall and then sanding it before actually applying the first coat. Maybe because our walls are either cement or wood? Enjoy din kasi kung magagawa namin ‘no? Maybe i’ll try it on our maid’s room hahahhaha.
Anyway, congratulations to you all because you’ve done such a good job! I bet Jessie inspired you to embark on that project after she did her room ;D
i love the effect and i admire your teamwork as a family. someday we’re going to do this. 🙂
Thanks Bing – it’s hard work but a handy man told me that painting and doing your floors are the two most rewarding d.i.y. jobs to do. You have a little bit longer time of satisfaction between jobs – as oppose to regular house work that does not seem to last longer than a few days 🙂
magnificent!…nice home… you guys done a good job!…the style and the color is better!…
You’re back …. I miss you Sakura!