Yesterday was Waitangi Day, a public holiday marking the day in 1840 New Zealand’s “founding document”, the Treaty of Waitangi,was signed. Like all public holidays, it means a great deal to some and little to others. While some people fill it with honour and ceremony, others garden, picnic, go to festivals (such as our very own I ♥ New Brighton) or enjoy a lie in; for yet others it is a day tinged with sorrow and anger. Each and every one of these viewpoints is entirely valid, real, and right if you ask us and we’re not going to be drawn into any hot-under-the-collar debate. Besides, we’re too busy for any kind of pontificating because this weekend has been ringed on the Homestead calendar for the longest time; identified as the start date for painting the outside of our humble dwelling.
The south wall, the direction from whence all our truly hideous weather arrives, has already been spruced up; job-done over the summer of 2011. As luck would have it, ignorance of the local body building laws regarding compliance and permits and that kind of stuff by the previous owners resulted in the replacement of the soggy mess of cladding on that wall being their responsibility. It’s a long and boring story, suffice to say we didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth and slapped on the required coats of paint before someone else’s hard work was undone by the weather again. It was only the next year when we went to undertake step two of the predetermined four year external Homestead makeover, the prevailing wind-beaten east wall, that we struck the whole weatherboard replacement problem so documented in previous posts. But, oh happy days, that excuse no longer exists and a-painting we will go.
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The obligatory “before” picture
Friday dawned rather bleak and grey after a wet and wild night, but we were undeterred. The Renovator had been around filling all the nail holes and such earlier in the week so, with sandpaper in hand, and belt sander in the arsenal we set to work.
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Through rain, shine, and everything in-between, we sanded and sanded and sanded
Some of us atop ladders, some of us with our feet on the ground…
we all worked intently, cheerfully and diligently…
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ish
until, by the end of the day, with spaghetti arms, no fingerprints, stretched tempers, and only barely speaking to each other, the front wall was ready.
This morning was spent spot undercoating the filler and cleaning the front wall
and after lunch…
it was time for the first coat of paint.
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What do you think?
It still needs another couple of coats, plus the trim and window sills, but we’re pretty pleased. Will we be working on it tomorrow? Not likely. Tomorrow, we’re taking the day off: a walk down the beach, maybe a bowl of chips and a glass or two in the garden at Pierside, maybe an ice cream in the sun…
We reckon we’ve earned it.
Union Homestead 
What memories your post brings back! How hard you must have all worked and how pleased you must be at the splendid result, what a team you have.
Team spirit stretched rather thin at points throughout the undertaking, but we all came out the other end still friends 🙂
Looks great! Congrats on all the hard work.
I dreaded those work days while growing up, but looking back they are some of my most rewarding memories!
Thanks! We’ve still got a way to go, but at least we’ve set off 🙂
Well done. What a great start to the job. It’s all the prep work that kills me – why on earth is this job called “painting”, when that piece of the job is the smallest and easiest? False advertising…
We have been painting the eaves, fascia boards, window trim etc on this place for 4 years, and are not yet finished. I will admit that because the house is 1 1/2 storeys tall, there is a lot of ladder work involved – some of it dizzyingly high, and in the summer there are always wasps nests to contend with, but frankly, even by our standards, we have set a pretty low bar which I believe your crew can surpass, even by painting the whole house and not just trim. Good luck!
I’d take straight-out house painting any day over fiddly trim – window frames in particular. Yuk! And heights?! That is definitely The Bean Counter’s domain, although The Renovator has been doing his white knuckled, sweaty forehead stint in the interests of back preservation.
Thanks for your enthusiasm, but in truth it’s a job loooong overdue 🙂
I think it looks lovely, such a dreamy, creamy color! I love that window going ‘around the corner’ too. A job well done and very thourough too. So enjoy that day of, with chips, a glass or two and indeed lots of ice cream! Cheers, Johanna
We’re about to head off now for our treat day. I’m glad you like the colour; it’s called Lambs Fleece and we’re so keen on it we’ve got it inside as well. It’s one of those colours you can put just about anything with and it looks great.
Hope you’re feeling better x
Looks good. I leave all this sort of thing to my resident painter and decorator. She doesn’t care for amateur help.
Sadly for us it’s very much a case of all hands on deck and the blind leading the blind 🙂
Excellent team work. All hands on deck and all that. 🙂
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