tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post392430000666420750..comments2023-09-23T11:16:00.352+02:00Comments on The Franco-American Flophouse has moved: The Flophouse Painting Project Phase IIVictoria FERAUGEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-39595069015944834352014-05-08T19:12:01.151+02:002014-05-08T19:12:01.151+02:00so, it sounds like you are starting with paint str...so, it sounds like you are starting with paint stripper, a good choice since it's almost certain that the previous coats of paint contain lead. And, I would get that lovely child up and moving since paint scrapping is well within the skills of the average college student. Call it an addition to her valuable life skills or the joys of working with mom and dad. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-79634528489097696122014-05-07T10:00:05.831+02:002014-05-07T10:00:05.831+02:00Brick is porous, the cheaper the quality of brick ...Brick is porous, the cheaper the quality of brick the more porous it becomes and also as it ages. Coating it extends it's life, acts as a barrier for molds and mosses.<br /><br />I think coatings must be professionally removed. In the States, where I lived, it was considered a health hazard on some coatings and bricks requiring identification and then special equipment.Sauvehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01904505685103914256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-912984398598866562014-05-07T07:31:55.129+02:002014-05-07T07:31:55.129+02:00@Catherine, It's easy to write about the hous...@Catherine, It's easy to write about the house because I think I'm in love. :-) It's just so damn cute (and easy to clean). The younger Frenchling is home now and she's watching all this and thinking that her parents have gone insane.<br /><br />@Em, I like that - a blank canvas. And it sounds like you have YEARS worth of projects (that's a lot of space to play with).<br /><br />That red/brown is a nice one, isn't it? And here I think it will highlight the yellow brick very nicely. <br /><br />And about that brick - there is clearly a future project ehre which is cleaning it up. Looks like a previous owner put a kind of varnish on it. I never heard of such a thing. Anyone have some tips for cleaning brick? And does anyone have any idea why there is varnish on it? (and should we put another coat on to protect the brick?)Victoria FERAUGEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16319699673885400472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-80979662071754194432014-05-07T01:18:23.046+02:002014-05-07T01:18:23.046+02:00While I was drawing up the building plans for the ...While I was drawing up the building plans for the house we are still building I drew elevations of the house from all four sides. I used an old but very good drawing program (freeware actually) on our still operating (touch wood) 20 year old Mac. Anyway by dropping my drawings into a paint application I was able to paint and repaint the house a hundred times or more. What fun and so easy! BUT so hard to decide on what colours we liked best too. Guess what colours we ended up with? White stucco, white trim, grey roof! We essentially made a blank canvas for the day we finally decide which combination of colours we really want. <br /><br />We are living in a less than 500 sq. ft. attached "granny" suite while the main part of the house (about 1000 sq. ft.) is nothing more than a partly insulated shell. It all appears finished from the outside though so at least it's not a neighbourhood eyesore (I hope). The outside walls are double walls with a space between (total 12 inches thick) but the inner wall can't be insulated until we do the plumbing and electrical. That's why the main house is only partly insulated right now. I knew solar heating wasn't practical in our mountain valley in Canada so I designed a "quilted" house (some call that super-insulated) to keep as much heat in during winter as possible. <br /><br />We haven't done any work on the main house for several years because we lack the enthusiasm we once had for our retirement building project and the whole FATCA uncertainty factor has also played a part in our putting the tools away for awhile. We also made the "granny" suite (conventional single outer walls) too comfortable so we are happily and quite cozily biding our time here. All this to actually say I love the colour you chose. It was one of the trim colours I did on the computer years ago that I kept coming back to. I love your house and I love the care and love you are putting into it. Emnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2424131704277823220.post-49023517810451303192014-05-06T17:09:27.800+02:002014-05-06T17:09:27.800+02:00I just love when you write about your house. :)I just love when you write about your house. :)Catherinehttp://www.facingcancer.canoreply@blogger.com