RenovateKC

Scraping paint sucks. It always sucks, regardless of the method employed. It even sucks when paying someone else to do the scraping, because to have a quality job done, you're spending a lot of money. I knew this when we bought the house, because my family scraped our entire three bedroom ranch with nothing but hand scrapers and sweat one summer. Being impatient and in control of my own pocket book, I knew that hand scraping our entire bungalow was not an option, especially since fall weather is so unpredictable in Kansas City.

What were we to do to get the house scraped and painted by winter's onset? After reading lots of renovation blogs (it's research, really!), I came across a gadget called the Silent Paint Remover. $395 seemed a little steep, until I thought back to that summer of hand scraping. I watched the video, showed it to Kate, and ordered one that was delivered just in time for labor day weekend.

I was impressed right away, because the tool comes in a carry case that is a big brother to the carry case that my old Construx toys came in. I was impressed in more utilitarian ways after using the tool for about 6 hours last Saturday. I scraped the back corner of the house clean from the ground to about 5 or 6 feet up, all by myself. Two options would have made my day more productive: a partner, or a hands free device. Kate was at work, and I was too cheap for the hands free device. Don't be cheap. If you've already paid almost $400 for a paint remover, spend the money on the hands free device and get done in half the time.

With about 30 hours we were able to scrape all the way around the house. It wasn't quick work compared to caulking or priming, but it was so much faster than manually scraping, and so much cheaper than hiring a crew to do the work. Remember, scraping always sucks, but great tools make it suck less. One thing to remember, this tool works by heating the paint, making it bubble and steam. Although the normal operating temperature is a tame 500 degrees compared to heat guns that belch out up to 1000 degrees, we're still playing with potential fire. Kate had a funny look on her face as two shingles started to smolder. I wasn't worried, the manual said smoke is normal, and it was. (For the record, I really did read the manual.) She kept looking worried, and eventually I caught on. We had two smoldering shingles, and I still have a burn on my arm to prove that I ripped the offending corners off the shingles.

The reaction to the tool seems to come in two forms. People who have scraped and painted a house see it as a bargain after watching it work. People who hire out that type of work seem appalled at the idea of spending $400 on a tool with no motor, no lasers, and which is no larger than a loaf of bread. Spend the money on great tools if your time or Mother Nature's time is in any way a factor!

I've been a computer programmer for over seven years. I have always known that the job is pretty easy in terms of the physical demands. We worked on the house all weekend, and now I know what it feels like to actually work for a living.

For years I'd watch my dad get home, clean up, eat dinner, and immediately fall asleep sitting up in his chair. After three days of scraping paint, I can verify that his routine is pretty attractive after a full day of real labor. I'm actually looking forward to going into the office today, as it will be a nice little break from physical work.

Tonight was my first night working on the house. It was an easy night, with my only task being to replace the front and back locks. The house was a foreclosure, and who knows what the situation was when all that happened, so who knows how many copies of the old keys are lying around. Paranoid? Perhaps a little. I wasn't this way until a friend told me that the first thing he did was change the locks on his place for that very reason. Additionally, we didn't even have a key to the back door, and we'll use that quite a bit once we start parking in the garage.

I walked away with a lesson tonight. When going to work on the house, I need to remember the following things, always:

• Tape measure
• Utility knife
• Camera
• ipod
• Water, at least until the city turns on the house supply again

Kate and I signed papers on a new house yesterday morning. Except that it isn't new, it was built in 1928. And we aren't moving, at least not yet. The house went into foreclosure a while back, and we were fortunate enough to stumble upon it. With the help of a great listing agent and a great bank that paired us up with another great bank, we were able to close the deal on the 28th. Now the real work begins!

I hand delivered the "Change of Address" card to my parents last night. My dad was excited about the idea, and my mom... well, if you know my mom, you can imagine the angst and worry in her voice when she said "you did what?!" Sorry mom, it'll turn out OK.

So what is this blog all about? I thought it would be cool to keep track of our progress, and this was the best way that I could think of. What can you, dear reader, expect from this blog? At least one update per week. If I have nothing to update within a week, then you can assume that we're falling behind schedule. We will post new pictures alongside most updates. Let's get started with that right away.

Our Full Flickr Set for the House

It's going to be a crazy adventure, so wish us luck!