Friday
Dec102010
I just sacked the painters
Fri, 10 Dec 2010
My 150 year old floor is ruined. There is paint spilled everywhere. The job is as dodgy as all get out and I have a massive weekend of cleaning ahead of me. And this is just one room I'm talking about. I have saved the rest of the house! Please forgive me if I post another stalking house. I find this one calming. So lovely. So restful. So beautifully painted ;) Wish me luck. I'm heading back upstairs with a bottle of wine and a paint scraper to rescue what is left of the once beautiful patina on my cedar floors. Link for this lovely house here while it lasts.
Reader Comments (28)
How devastating! So glad you sacked them and spared the rest of your beautiful home. I hope you can take solace in the fat that no further damage has been done.
Thanks for sharing the gorgeous pics of this bright and airy home above. Looks like a slice of heaven inside and out.
Sandy K
Oh no! You poor thing. At least you found out early in the piece...
Lovely house, I would prefer bigger bath tub. :)
Good luck with you floor!
good luck for your floor, I'm sure it will be superb with your work!
This house looks like it is made to walk around barefoot in...lovely. Good luck with your floor. Take a deep breath!
Mary Ann
Oh Jo - I just cursed out aloud in response to your post! At least you have some wine to help you through it. And it's Friday :)
Share the pain - maybe someone has a remedy (beyond revenge...)
Love that sun room on the outside of the house.
I can't believe that the painters did that. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm a total control freak or whether it's because we're now broke after buying our house, but I've been doing all the painting myself room by room. And when our (highly recommended because they are so quick) contractors don't finish doing what they were supposed to do in a week (it's a weekend home), I do it myself! Somehow it's easier to stomach a not so perfect job if you do it yourself. Good luck finding some new painters who will respect your floors.
Probably Australian floors are very different to German or Scandinavian ones, but maybe I could help you? I earned my money during my time at university with restauring old floors and furniture without turning them "new". Could you describe your problem? I would like to (tele-)help you - if I can.
Those f*ckers!
(Sorry, that's all I got.)
What a restful retreat.
Thank God you saw the mess in time to prevent further damage to your beautiful floors. With the added expense and stress of having to fix the water damage in your walls why not just lie low and have only one or two rooms painted for now? Naturally, you want to set everything right immediately but it's a lot to deal with and it's surprising how much ugliness you can live with for a while with the help of dim lighting and sunglasses. Sit back, crack open that bottle of wine and count your blessings that you're finally in your own home. It wall all come together in good time. :-)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
My heart goes out to you!
My third thought was the same as Raina's.
Just plow thru and get 'er done.
Oh NO!!!!!!! I am SO sorry... Those stinkin' painters. (!)
You may want to look into renting or purchasing a Silent Paint Remover to lift the paint that's on the floor without damaging the finish. If they're waxed, the patina probably can't be helped, but if they're "finished" the SPR may work. It uses infrared radiation & operates at a lower temp than a heat gun. Basically, it turns paint into the consistency of butter, so you can gently scrape it free. We've got one at our old bungalow & use it to lift paints/mastic/etc without damaging what is underneath. If you've got any questions, definitely feel free to shoot me an email; I'd be glad to take a peek & see if I can help from afar.
Jess,
Not sure where you're writing from. Is this product available in Canada?
that is tragic indeed! good luck trying to salvage them!
That is terrible! I hope it is somewhat salvageable, I can't even imagine, I would probably cry if that happened to me!
That sucks! My heart sank for you when I read that. I hope you are able to save the floor :(
oh no! the floor! I have a tip to help with the paint though.... the acetone in nail polish remover dissolves all sorts of paint. I worked at a paint factory for a bit and that was one of our clean up tools. Give it a shot- if it doesnt work completely it might help loosen the paint to scrape off a bit easier.
oh nos. But that house is amazingness. So jealous of whom ever lives there.
Oh no!! I'm so sorry to hear about your floors.
Savour the wine and know there are folks out there who support you -- and, hey, some commenters here might even have a solution to save those beauties!
I've got my fingers crossed for you.
Thanks everyone! I'm still cleaning and after the floors come the windows particularly the stained glass transom window they oversprayed. I have photos I'll put up later on my page. The problem with the floors is that they have been shellaced a long time ago and these morons started to clean off the spots with methylated spirits and scrapers and now I have lighter coloured big splotches everywhere. They spray painted my room without proper drop cloths or masking off so the floors were covered in paint spots everywhere and a fine mist of white paint which they tried to wipe off and that turned into a "whitewash" all over the floor. Then they used the metho and scraper and now f*cked floors which they said they would repair by varnishing. It was at that stage I screamed at them to get out :) I need to keep cleaning carefully then somehow match a shellac to put over the splotches maybe. Can I put a dark stain base in a shellac does anyone know? All their wiping and scraping has ruined that thick old waxy feel they had but I can maybe get that back over time.
Bless your heart! hope it just turns out ok in the end. I mostly just DIY my paintings with people I trust. Bon Chance!
Never heard of painters spraying walls?!? Why didn't they use rollers? I think you should leave the floors until you get all the painting done and then hire a wood floor sander and strip back all the floors and re-seal with high grade challac sealer...
You might discover some real character under all that old challac. Good luck. Wish I could help
I thought most painters had heard of 'drop sheets'. These guys must have been real dodgy brothers. I really hope you can resurrect.