What project(s) have you started and found to be bigger than you expected?
The wife decided it was time to paint the hallway. This required emptying the hallway. Which was a task she expected.
She then needed to remove the popcorn covering on the walls, which was much larger than she expected. Even though I bought a power wall sander for her.
The result was no more popcorn/textured walls. But there were dings, scrapes, and other damage on the walls. We could have just painted over and it would have been ok.
I decided we needed to apply a skim coat. Which meant I had to learn that what I wanted to do was a skim coat. Then I had to learn how to do it. Then try and fail. Then try again and fail differently. Something about having just the right amount of water in the plaster.
I have 3/4s of one wall completely ready for the primer. The the rest of that wall and 2.5 other walls are ready to be sanded, and I still need to apply the skim coat on about 60 sq ft of wall.
Damn that is a skill I do not have.
Any project involving paint, water, or electricity will take longer than expected and be more involved.
For projects with combinations of these factors, the effects are multiplicative, not additive.
ahh home projects… aaahhhhh!
built a screen porch under my deck this year. poured slab July 4. all pressure treated lumber. finished end of september.
resealing the eves up in the loft to cure cold drafts and keep flying squirrels out. major pain as Im not as limber as I was when I built it.
got 2 antique cookstove nickel plating jobs and a Winchester rifle to nickel in the shop.. along with insulation to finish in shop which will take all winter probably..
long time ago a clerck in a harware store told me every home repair takes 3 trips to the hardware store. I was on my second trip… when I found I needed a third trip, I went to a different store..
“every home repair takes 3 trips to the hardware store”
I’m going to remember this. It’ll help me avoid lots of frustration if I expect it from the beginning.
If you’re talking about the popcorn texture I know about, spray it with water and it’ll scrape off. Use a spray bottle and get it wet and let it soak for a few to several minutes (depending on how many coats of paint and what type of paint) and it should scrape off with a drywall knife or putty knife. You’ll generate a lot less dust that way and your skin coat will be easier.
That’s how we clean popcorn texture off ceilings.