A few weeks back a couple good friends came over to help me install hardwood floors. It was a lot of work but I’m very pleased with how things are going. The project isn’t complete; a little more in the dinning room, bathroom and hallway closet. We came across a few trouble spots and I like to share how we tackled these problem areas.

Uneven Sub-floor

Most of my sub-floor was uniform and in good shape. I found one instance where two pieces of plywood were not even. The easiest way to resolve this is to drive a few screws into the sub-floor to pull things snug and even. Fortunately, the area beneath my dining room is unfinished. We cut a 2 x 4 and I held it in place while another friend put in some screws. Unfortunately, this did not resolve the problem. The next solution is to use a sander or grinder. Be careful not to remove too much. You still need something to nail (or staple) your floors to.

Hardwood Meets Carpet

I’m laying hardwoods on my entire first floor. This does not include the stairs going up to the second floor. How do you make the transition? One solution is to use quarter-round to hide the transition from wood to carpet. Instead, we choose to put the wood tight against the carpet. We made sure to use the manufacturers edge and hide any cut edges on the opposite side with baseboard. Make sure each board is snug but not more (or less) so than any of the other boards. This will create a professional, uniform looking transition to carpet.

Cutting the Door Jam

Often you’ll find that the door jam is too low for a board to fit underneath. Here is the best way to cut your door jams. Lay a scrap piece of flooring against the door jam. Take a handsaw and cut away the jam using the scrap to maintain the correct height. A typical handsaw will be very awkward to maneuver. We used the Irwin Reversible Flush Cut. It’s a useful tool with an ergonomic handle that will swing around, letting you reverse the blade. The handle made it so easy to use and it saved us a lot of time. The Reversible Flush Cut is available from Amazon for $11.89.

Slip-Tongue to Reverse Tongue and Groove Orientation

We started laying the floor on one side of my house and worked toward the opposite side. This resulted in a few unfinished spaces. The picture shows how we continued the boards from the hallway straight into the bathroom which basically created an unfinished area “behind” us. A slip-tongue is a slender spline of wood that fits into two grooves, allowing you to reverse the direction of the boards. I used a slip-tongue to complete these areas.

Floor not Square with Hearth

I almost assumed that the walls and other various items would not all be square with each other. One of the first trouble spots we came across was the hearth. It wasn’t square with the floor or walls. I choose to use some T-molding transition strip to hide this. By laying the transitions strip parallel with the floor boards, no one will ever know the hearth is skewed.

What do you think? Are these helpful tips? What tips can you share?

When we designed and contracted to have our deck built last year, I did’t think too much about the railings.  We knew we wanted traditional rails without any special features like a sunburst.  We ended up with traditional 2×2 pressure treated southern yellow pine balusters fixed between parallel 2×4s at the top and bottom.  It’s plain, but it’s just what we were looking for.

This simple design works well because the balusters are fixed close enough together that there’s no chance of the kids’ heads getting stuck between them.  And, the 3″ gap between the bottom 2×4 and the deck surface makes it much easier to sweep debris off the deck vs. if the balusters were attached directly to the rim joist. (Our previous deck was constructed that way).

One thing we were pleasantly surprised with was how our contractor attached the deck railing posts to the rim joist (a.k.a header board, or fascia).  Instead of the posts being attached on the outside, as shown to the right, our contractor cut holes in the deck surface and installed the railings on the inside of the rim joist.  This creates a much cleaner look on the face of the deck.  It also means the bottom of the 4×4 doesn’t have to be cut to sit partially on top of the deck, making it stronger.

This style of installing deck rail posts was popularized by composite decking companies because it is impossible to sheath a 4×4 post with a vinyl slip when it is installed on the outside.  Even though initialily popularized by the CDCs, this works just as well with traditional pine, redwood, and cedar decks, and is pretty easy to do yourself if you’re building your own deck.   Here’s the steps:

1. Finish the deck up to, and including, laying the decking surface.  This includes mounting the rim joist and laying the decking boards, but not any additional trim (our deck as a 1×4 piece of trim over the rim in the picture above)
2. Plan out the railing post locations.  In most cases, railing posts should be spaced no more than 6′ apart; but local codes vary.  If you install the posts too far apart, the railing may sag over time.  Remember that when installing posts on the inside of the rim joist, you’ll need to avoid the joists underneath. 
3. Mark out the 3.5″ x 3.5″ hole location on the top side of the deck.  Using a drill with a 1/4″ drill bit, drill four holes down through the surface of the deck inside the corners of the square marking.  Note that drilling the holes completely inside the marking is important, otherwise you may end up with odd looking rounding gaps at the corners where the 4×4 will be inserted.
4. Use a jig saw to cut out the hole in the surface decking boards.  Insert the jig saw into one of the drill holes and follow your marking line to the next hole.  When finished, you should have a perfect 3.5″ x 3.5″ hole.  (An alternative to the drill-and-jig method is to use a rotary tool with a sharp bit to trace the line).
5. Insert the post into the hole and lag screw through the header board from the front into the post.
6. Attach railings the same as if the boards were attached on the outside.

What do you think?  Do you have a preference for railing posts?  Did your deck have any railing innovations?

I was in North Carolina this past 4th of July visiting family. Most of the time was spent relaxing and enjoying great food. But part of a day was devoted to pouring a concrete stoop for Jocie’s grandmother. The answer to your question is yes. I enjoy doing stuff like this on vacation.

Grammy needed easier access to the rear of her home. Right now she walks down off the deck but the stairs are becoming more problematic. She has an alternate door but it opened up to uneven ground. Me and about 5 other family members took on the challenge of making a nice concrete stoop for her. Click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

Preparing The Porch (Stoop) Area

We started by digging out a sort of trench around the perimeter. The goal was to get down to more solid ground and provide an even starting point. We also dug extra deep at the front two corners to create footers. The trench was shallow but even still we had to be careful not to damage any buried lines. We removed 8″ of siding on either side of the door and secured a piece of flashing to protect the house.

Creating the Concrete Frame (Mold)

The stoop was to be 4′ x 4′ and almost even with the door threshold. We used spare 2″ x 8″ and 2″ x 4″ to build a square horseshoe shape. All the pieces were secured with double headed nails making the form easy to remove once we finished. We placed our form and nailed it to the house. Then, we drove wooden stakes into the ground and attached them to the outside of the form.

These stakes made it much easier to achieve level. We placed a level on the form and hammered down or pulled up on the stakes till we were satisfied. We repeated this process for each side (and then double checked). In the end, we sloped the form slightly so water would run away from the house. We also measured the diagonals to make sure everything was square.

Adding Rebar (Reinforcement Bar) to the Porch Frame

Rebar are ribbed steel bars placed in the concrete to provide extra tensile strength. We drove 4 bars into the ground, centered in our form, and attached two more perpendicular with ties. We also used rebar to secure a flexible tube running through the stoop. You can see the duct tape used to cover the ends. We removed this once the stoop was completed.

Mixing and Pouring Concrete Into the Porch Frame

We purchased 80 lb., 4000psi bags of concrete from the local Big Blue. The bags have a chart showing how many are required to fill a certain volume. Purchase more than you think you’ll need. It’s much easier to return concrete than run back and buy more.

We mixed each bag with water and Terracotta Concrete color (at Grammy’s request) in a large wheel barrel. Make sure to be thorough else you’ll have pockets of unmixed cement. We made the first couple bags thicker to prevent too much from oozing beneath our mold. After that, we aimed for mash potato consistency. Add water slowly. It’s easy to add too much causing the larger pieces of gravel to sink to the bottom.

Finishing the Concrete Pour for the Porch

We worked to keep the concrete from drying too quickly as that results in a poor bond. Use a trowel to remove excess water and give the slab a smooth finish. A board can be used as a screed to keep it level. Finally, we used an edger to give the concrete edge a nice bevel.

What do you think? Was this helpful? Any tips for pouring concrete for a porch?

Well, one thing’s for sure: the Behr Premium Deck Sealer is working.  Water beads up on contact.  But now we’re faced with a new problem: Every time it rains, it takes several hours for pooled rain water to evaporate off the deck.  The back of our house doesn’t see sunlight until about 11:30am in the Summer, and since the deck surface is now impervious to the water, it just sits on top… for hours… all wet. 

I’ve inspected the decking boards and most of them are not warped in a way that would cause water to pool (the term for the type of warp that would cause pooling is a “cup” in the wood, where the edges of the wood curl upward leaving a pool of water in the middle–Thanks TCBD!).   Almost all of the decking boards are flat or cupped downwards, a testament to good installation technique.   The ones that are flat still have imperfections in them that lead to some water sitting on top of the deck, and of course a certain amount of water will sit on even the most perfectly shaped boards.

So we’ve been experimenting with several techniques for taking care of the water.  I tried sweeping it off with two different types of brooms.  Both were only marginally effective, mostly spreading the water out more than getting rid of it.  I considered a squeegee, but figured the imperfections in the surface would prevent the squeegee from getting at most of the water.  For our recent fourth of July party, I used beach towels.  These worked great; in fact, the deck was nearly dry after dragging just one towel across the surface.  But towels get soaked quickly and must be constantly rung out - so that solution is more of a pain than a solution.

Finally, I got a bright idea (only 3 ideas in!)  I pulled out our kitchen floor mop.  It’s a standard kitchen mop with a handle that allows you to squeeze excess water out of it.  The kitchen mop turned out most effective for the job.  A few passes and the excess water either dropped between the boards, or was easily rung out over the side.   Why a mop didn’t occur to me earlier, I’m not sure.  It’s what you’d use to take care of a water problem inside.  I guess I figured the deck would be too rough on it.

Anyhow, unless we find something better, our kitchen mop now doubles as our deck mop.  If you’re facing this problem, a simple kitchen mop just might solve it for you.

Actually, I didn’t But this did just happened to someone close to us who poured used oil (from automobile oil changes) into the gas tank of a Craftsman Push Lawnmower. I guess there should have been labels on the containers…

I thought this might happen to someone else out on the web, so I give some tips below for how to fix it.

Before I start, note the following disclaimer: Accidentally mismatching fluids in an engine could lead to overheating, fire, engine destruction, serious injury, or even death (in rare, worst case situations). These instructions will require you to empty gas out of your lawnmower which, if not done properly, is an environmental hazard and adds to the danger of fire/explosion in this type of fix. If you’ve made the mistake of pouring oil into a gas tank and you choose to try to fix it yourself using our method below, you do so at your own risk. We recommend taking it to a service center

Steps for Fixing A Lawnmower With Oil in the Gas Tank

Pouring oil into the gas tank of a lawnmower engine isn’t the end of the world. You’ll probably be able to get the lawnmower working just fine by following these steps:

1. Make sure you’re working in an open, well-ventilated area. This should be done outside.
2. Disconnect the spark plug wire from the spark plug.
3. Empty out the regular oil from the lawnmower following the lawnmower’s regular oil change instructions.
4. Empty out all the oil and gas mixture from the lawnmower’s gas tank into an approved gasoline container. If you have a push mower, this can be complicated because you’ll need to turn the mower over in most cases. For riding lawnmowers, there’s likely a fuel hose you can disconnect.
5. Refill the engine’s oil resevoir to the appropriate level according to the manufacturers’ instructions.
6. Refill the engine’s gas tank with new gas.
7. If applicable, prime the engine using the push button primer.
8. Start the lawnmower.

You’ll likely end up with white smoke billowing out of the exhaust for the first few second as the engine burns off the oil. In the end, the engine will likely start up find and you’ll be good to go.

If the engine still won’t start, you may need to replace the spark plug, which could be covered in oil [thanks Jennifer], or repeat steps 5-6 one more time. If the engine won’t start after all that, you should take the lawnmower into an approved service center.

What do you think? Did this help you? Do you know anyone who’s done this before?

Image Courtesy of Ansik.

This week’s Before and After is brought to you by Beth @ A Cotterpin House.  

Beth and husband recently renovated the kitchen in their 1929 midwestern style bungalow.  They’ve created a beautiful space on a tight budget of only $6000, managing to install fantastic granite tile countertops and a great looking backsplash (two of our favorite parts of their remodel).

As a result of  Beth’s submission, OPC will make a $25.00 donation to Habitat for Humanity in her honor. (See below - Habitat is receiving matching donations through June 30, making OPC’s contribution in honor of Beth worth $50.00 to the organization.)

Also, Beth’s article is now entered into our Before and After contest for $50.00 to the home improvement store of her choice.  We’ll select a winner by community vote in October.

Before & After: Bungalow Kitchen Remodel by Beth

Our house was built in 1929 in Milwaukee, and is your typical Midwestern bungalow - small, compact, but efficient.  Everything you could need is all on the first floor, with extra storage upstairs.  We moved in two years ago (almost to the day!) and loved the character and charm of both the house and neighborhood.  The house has had only two previous owners- which was turned out to be both good and bad.  Good in that the owners prior to us took good care of the house because they spent so much time here- but bad that they hadn’t changed anything since 1960. 

The kitchen was the main example-  with two doorways leading into the kitchen, there was no room for the extra counter space we needed, and no ideal place for the refrigerator.  The wall with the stove was too short to hold both appliances and the opposite wall had two doorways.  The only solution was to place the refrigerator in front of the the double windows looking out over the garden- which cut on the light quite a bit. The counter was also too short, and pitched forward, so anything round placed on the surface would roll to the floor.  Finally, the linoleum- which held up great for 48 years- was a horrible orange pattern.

On a limited budget of $6000, my husband and I knew we would have to do much of the work ourselves.  Luckily, my father and brother-in-law were both great help in installation.

In total, we pulled out flooring, built a half wall to move our sink, put down Pergo flooring, ran electric lines for extra lighting and a new garbage disposal, ripped out cabinets, installed new cabinets, installed large granite tiles for our counter tops, installed back splash, and painted on our own.  The only professional help we’ve gotten so far was the plumbing lines for moving the sink.  It took a bit longer than we expected (it usually does)- but we’re happy how it turned out, and that we stayed in our budget!

Before Pictures:

After Pictures:

Thanks from OPC

Beth, thanks for submitting an article to us & supporting a great cause. Your kitchen remodel is fabulous!

Habitat for Humanity Quick Fact

Habitat’s busiest building season is the Summer.

To encourage donations in early Summer 2008, Habitat has sponsors committed to matching every donation, dollar for dollar, through June 30, 2008. For every $1.00 donated, Habitat will receivee $2.00, up to a total of $3,000,000. 

From Habitat’s site:

We are working harder than ever in these days of warm temperatures to build as many houses as we can. That’s why, as part of the 2008 Habitat Challenge Campaign, every donation we receive will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to our $3 million campaign goal.

That means that your support right now can help double the resources we have available to serve families in need of a decent, affordable place to live. That’s right! DOUBLE! But only until midnight EDT June 30, so don’t delay.

If you’ve been considering donating, now is the time.  There’s only 2 days left to take advantage of the matching donation event.  

You can contribute online right now, using Habitat’s online donation form. 

Submit Your Own Article for the Event!

Article submissions can be sent in virtually any format to oneprojectcloser@gmail.com.

You can also show your support for Before and After supporting Habitat by displaying a one of these Before and After graphics in your sidebar.

What do you think?  Let Beth know what you think about her project… And let us know if there’s any way we can make the event even better!

If you’re pondering how to get self leveling mortar to spread evenly over electric radiant heating wire (or, in fact, any other fragile surface), this article might give you just the help you were looking for.

We recently faced this problem in our basement, where we’re laying a retro-fit electric radiant heating system over a concrete slab. The instructions on the side of the self leveling underlayment we chose indicated that you need to drag a guaged spreader through the underlayment as you pour it in order to ensure that it spreads out evenly over the surface. The problem with this approach is that the spreader is highly likely to pull up the heating wires while you’re dragging it over the surface. In a worst case scenario, the spreader might even cut/knick a heating wire, which would render the heating mat useless.

You might be thinking to yourself, “But isn’t this stuff to supposed to be self leveling? Why do we even need to drag a spreader through it?” That’s a good question. The answer is that even though it’s called self leveling mortar (or underlayment, or cement), it really is only self leveling to a point. The reason it doesn’t completely self level has to do with other forces present in the material that make it tend to hold together rather than spread out completely. The best way to visualize the problem is to picture pouring a moderately thick pancake batter into a large pan. The batter is self leveling to a point, but not entirely. Now, if you drag a fork back and forth through the batter, you can eventually get it to cover the entire pan bottom. The same concept holds true for spreading self leveling mortar over a substrate.  If you drag a spreader through the mortar, you will eventually spread it out sufficiently to cover the entire floor. 

In order to preserve the heating mat, a metal guaged spreader is simply not an option.  So we considered attaching a squeegee to the end of an extendable pole and using that to spread out the mortar.  The squeegee is flexible, and not likely to damage the wires.  This was somewhat successful; however, it still left high and low points in the surface.  The reason?  It’s a little easier to conceptualize from the pancake analogy:  If you used a spatula instead of a fork to spread out the batter in the pan, the likelihood of pushing the pancake mix into one area (thus creating a hill and a valley) is much higher.  The squeegee acted like a spatula.  It was better at spreading out the mortar, but it still created a slightly uneven surface.

Finally, we arrived at the conclusion you see in the picture at the top-right of this article - a squeegee with gaps cut into the rubber to create teeth.  When we poured the self leveling mortar over the next area of radiant heating wires, we dragged the modified squeegee back and forth over the mortar as we poured.  The holes between the teeth prevented the squeegee from pulling too much or too little mortar into one area.  The result: a perfectly level floor, even over a very large 250 sq. ft. area.

Note that in our example, the radiant heating wires were actually hot glued to the slab at short intervals.  This created a strong bond between the heating wire and the slab, and was necessary to ensure the heating wire didn’t come up as we were dragging our improvised spreader across it.

Using this squeegee method is only one part of achieving a level floor.  For more information, see my article on achieving level floors using a self leveling mortar.

What do you think?  Was this article helpful?  Have you had any successes or failures with self leveling mortars?

The first article selected for this Summer’s Before and After series supporting Habitat for Humanity is brought to you by Mary @ NotBefore7.  

Mary (and husband Eric) recently installed Konecto Flooring in the kitchen and family room of their new home, a recent foreclosure in need of some serious TLC.

As a result of her submission, OPC will make a $25.00 donation to Habitat for Humanity in Mary’s honor. Also, her article is now entered into our Before and After contest for $50.00 to the home improvement store of her choice.

Before & After: Konecto Flooring by Mary

We recently purchases a foreclosed home, so every room has a Before/After story to tell. 
 
Located in the back of the house was a kitchen and family room area.  The two rooms are basically one big area, but separated by a railing in the middle of the room and different flooring.  The family room had carpet and the kitchen was covered in vinyl flooring.  Both needed to be replaced. 
 
Another issue was the pantry in the back of the kitchen. (located on the far side of the refridgerator)   It was only about 12 inches deep (of usable space) and it made the doorway into the dining room very tight.  In fact, if the pantry door was opened, it blocked the entire entryway into the dining room.
 
Before (while standing in family room)

Before (while standing in kitchen)

 
Our goals were to brighten the room and to open up the space in order to create more of a Great Room area.
 
Brightening up the room wasn’t too difficult.  We painted the entire area with Sherwin Williams paint color, Cottage Cream.  It is a very neutral yellow color that brightens without overpowering a room. 
 
Our next step was to paint the trim and molding, as well as the fireplace, with semi-gloss white.  It made a huge difference to have bright white trim, especially at the fireplace.

Our final step in brightening up the room, was to remove the ceiling fans and add recessed lighting.  We added 10 lights so far, but are going to add 2 more and install a new ceiling fan.  We are huge fans of recessed lighting and it definitely paid off in this room.
 
In order to open up the space, we began by taking down the banister which was separating the kitchen and family room.  This helped brighten up the area too because the banister was so dark.  Immediately, we knew we had to choose one type of flooring for both rooms so the two areas could become one large area.
 
We wanted durable and easy to clean flooring because we have 3 little children.  In the past, we have installed laminate wood flooring (such as Pergo) to achieve these goals.  Unfortunately, laminate flooring is not water-proof and therefore, it will not stand the test of time in a kitchen, especially with little ones.
 
Konecto flooring was our answer.  It is an easy to install and waterproof laminate flooring.  Each floor plank is flexible and can be cut with an exacto knife.  Adhesive is not required for installation because it comes pre-packaged with adhesive striping as part of each individual plank.  More about the easy three step installation can be found on their site.  Truly, this flooring is amazing.  I can’t speak highly enough of it. 
 
We choose a style from the Prestige collection because it has an aluminum oxide finish which will help protect the flooring.  It has a different feel than a traditional laminate wood floor.  It has a “grainy” finish to it with true cracks and crevices in the finish.

I think the finished look is beautiful.  We have been complimented on our “wood floors” numerous times.

The final step in creating a more “open-space” feel was to remove the useless pantry that was closing in the doorway to the dining room.  Unfortunately, there was an air duct behind it, so we still have a “bump-out”, but the open doorway into the dining room was well worth the pantry removal.
 
After (standing in kitchen):

After (standing in family room, complete with kiddos):

We are very satisfied with the results so far.  Clearly, our 1980’s kitchen needs to be the next project on our remodel list, but as Fred states here on his blog, at least we are One Project Closer to the end!

Thanks from OPC

Mary, your floors are fantastic… truly an amazing before and after story, and an excellent one to kick off the event.

Habitat for Humanity Quick Fact

Even with the downturn in the US housing market, in the last three years building costs internationally have risen more than 17%. This increase must be met with increased monetary donations in order for Habitat to continue its oustanding work across the globe.

OPC will donate $25.00 this week in Mary’s honor. Admittedly, that small amount only scratches the surface of the enormous need. We hope you will consider donating monetarily or through volunteering with a Habitat program in your area as you are able. If you choose to donate, you can find Habitat’s online donation page here.

If this post inspired you to donate or volunteer, please leave a comment below and let us know. We want to honor all those people who are participating with us periodically throughout the summer.

Submit Articles for Early Summer!

There are 12 Sundays left this Summer and we’ve received very few articles for the first few weekends, with many folks planning to submit articles later in the Summer.

We would very much appreciate additional articles submitted early (even if they technically don’t comply with the project being completed in the late Spring/early Summer).

Article submissions can be sent in virtually any format to oneprojectcloser@gmail.com.

You can also show your support for Before and After supporting Habitat by displaying a one of these Before and After graphics in your sidebar.

What do you think?  Let Mary know what you think about her project… And let us know if there’s any way we can make the event even better.

You may be thinking, “Wait, did I already read this post?” Congrats, you are not crazy, this is a sequel to Paint Worth the Price? Valspar, Duron, Behr, and Ralph Lauren Review AND Valspar One Coat Primer.

After my previous posts, I received a lot of good input from fabulous readers like yourself, who recommended Kilz Primer, since my experience with Valspar left me wanting more. So, I took your advice. But, just to make the research project a little more valid, I compared Kilz to both Behr and Valspar.

The project was to prime over my very red walls. On the top of the chair rail will be the color “Sea Star by Benjamin More” (review coming soon). Below, the chair rail will be painted white and will eventually be
wainscoting. Particularly for the bottom half, it was important to fully cover the red.

Valspar Primer

$17.98/gallon

Pros: Even coverage.

Cons: Higher cost comparatively, requires multiple coats of paint to provide full coverage and therefore is more work.

Conclusions: For a small job, you will need only one can of paint and therefore it may be the most cost

efficient. But it’s not worth the time and effort, in my opinion.

Behr Primer

$10.98/gallon

Pros: Even and full coverage, low cost, required one coat

Cons: None!

Conclusions: Behr is well worth the money! Buy Behr!

Kilz Primer

$13.78/gallon

Pros: Even coverage, lower coat than Valspar.

Cons: Required two coats, and on the bottom, still needed two coats of paint over that to cover the color.

Conclusions: For a small job, you will need only one can of paint and therefore it may be the most cost efficient

So was the cost worth it? Valspar and Kilz are not worth the cost, even though Kilz is comparatively inexpensive. Kilz was a little lumpy out of the can and for those of us with texture/sensory issues, this was a little gross, but it went on fine. Behr was worth the cost - it was by far superior, and in the end will save you money because you use less paint, and save time and effort.

What do you think? Do you agree with the pros and cons? What brand would you recommend?

When I (Kim) left my job to stay home with our boys, I was excited to have a few months before the adoption finalized to whip our newly-purchased fixer house into better shape.  Most of our rooms still had their construction-grade paint from 1985, and they were gross.

Summoning my just-enough-to-be-dangerous interior design experience, I picked a neutral-toned color palate, grabbed my brushes and rollers, and I was off!  Armed with flat paint, despite the known touch-up risks. 

You see, I grew up in a home that was all-semi-gloss, and it always looked tacky to me.  My mom swore by it’s “wipeability,”  but I decided to strike off in the opposite direction.  My house would be classy looking from the get-go.  I thought I would rather have to repaint a wall here or there from time to time than succumb to the dreaded “sheen.”

Enter our sons (yes twins), aged 2 1/2 at the time.  Adorable little guys.  So much fun.  Not at all easy on walls.  In the 16 months since we brought them home, they’ve returned our walls to their former look of having been neglected for years.  From the “handrail? what handrail?” line of sticky prints going all the way up the stairs to the tell-tale flung-food spots all around their mini table in the kitchen, it seems systematic, the way they’ve done it. 

I was once especially proud of my gray-purple powder room.  Potty training “aim issues” proved to be my undoing there.  After a couple of months of their “missing” and my cleaning up, the white wallboard was showing through:

Upstairs, I knew the boys would love the bright cheerfulness of their light-orange bedroom.  They do.  But I forgot to mention the “Never use your matchbox cars to write on the walls” rule.  Thought I was covered by keeping all their crayons and markers downstairs.  I wasn’t: 

As I knew all along, there’s a limit to cleaning flat-painted walls.  We simply have passed that limit on an accelerated time-table.  And all over the house.  So this summer, one by one, I will be going back and repainting all the rooms in eggshell.  I’ve already started with my powder room.  There will be ONE space in our home that looks like a girl lives here!  Even if it does need to be (shudder) slightly shiny for practicality’s sake.

Fortunately, I DID have the good sense to paint the boys’ bathroom in eggshell (and dark blue) the first time, so that room can stay as it is.  For the rest, I’ll just have to wait about 20 years to try again with my beloved flat paint.

What do you think?  Have you ever thought you were done with a project only to find yourself back at the beginning? How much do kids, pets or ____ (fill in the destructive life force) play into your decorating decisions?