painting the gate - and other adventures

I can't believe it has been so long since I've posted.  This is something I used to enjoy, so I want to get back to doing it.  Here's a summary of my interesting day Saturday, though the story starts Friday afternoon.

Last fall I realized the wooden gate that goes from my driveway to the alley between my home and my neighbor's needed to be repainted.  Unfortunately, by the time I bought the paint, it had gotten too cold to do the job.  So, as the weather is warming up, I knew it needed to be done.  With the weather warming and finally feeling a little better, I decided this Saturday would be a good day to get started on it. 

When I looked at the gate to see how much taping I would have to do (around the metal frame that holds it & hinges), I realized that one of the board braces on the back side that attaches to the frame and to which the wooden slats attach was rotten. 

Great!  One more thing to do. 

Okay, take it in stride.  :-)

I just needed to go get a 1"x1" board, cut it the correct length, paint it, and replace the rotten brace.  Seemed simple enough.  I decided to make a quick run to Lowe's late Friday to get the board so I wouldn't have to kill time doing that on Saturday. 

Okay, maybe not so simple.  It turns out, 1"x1" is not a standard size.  The closests Lowe's had was 1"x2" but (1) they wouldn't cut something that small and (2) it had rounded corners and (the show stopper) was not treated (was not for outdoor use).  <sigh> 

However, one of the young men there suggested I try Star Lumber. 

Saturday morning, I called Star Lumber.  They had a cedar board that was 1"x1.5" and were willing to cut it to 1" for me - and even cut the length I needed.  Thank You, God!  I went there and got the board and was ready to get back to the project.

When I got home, I removed the old, rotten board.  It had four screws holding it to the metal frame in addition to the screws into the gate boards.  Placing the screws back into the boards should not be a big deal.  But I needed to drill holes for the screws that go into the metal frame in the exact locations of the holes (to prevent the need for new holes in the metal frame since I don't have a bit to do that).  The board was so rotten that it came off in pieces, so I couldn't use the holes in it to mark the replacement board.  That became quite a "fun" experience, but I got them done & they lined up!  Again, thank You, Lord! 

I'll paint the board before I replace it, but I decided it would be easier to paint the metal frame first, since the board sits on one of the crossbars.  By this point, I don't really have time to paint the main part of the gate this afternoon anyway.  Doing the smaller task of repainting the metal frame was the logical next step.  I taped off the boards around the frame and went to put some old newspaper underneath the gate (it's over concrete).  That was no simple task, given that it was one of our typical windy Kansas days.  I finally managed to get it secured with enough "weights" (boards & concrete blocks) to stay in place and not blow up on the bottom of the frame.

FINALLY painting.  It only took a few minutes to paint the metal frame.  Now time for cleanup.  It required mineral spirits to clean the brush.  I got a plastic cup and started cleaning the brush.  Then the next fun saga began ...

Part 1:  When I started to the water facet to begin washing the mineral spirits out of the brush, I realized there was a leak around the control unit for the sprinkler system.  It was turned on Thursday afternoon.  The leak - actually, a constant drip - was coming from two small valves that I saw the technician adjust before I went back inside and left him to do his work.  I did not go back out to that area afterwards.  I assume it had been dripping for two days.  :-(

Part 2:  I sat the cup with the paint brush in it down to go turn the water off to the sprinkler system to stop that water flow.  The water shutoff valve is inside, in the utility/storage room.  When I returned to the alley to clean the brush, the wind had gusted and blown the plastic cup over - spraying the now black mineral spirits on the side of my house! 

Thanks to wind speed, the black spray spread up covering about 6 "slats" from the bottom and about a 10' area down the side of my house.  The worst of it was in about a 4'-5' area, but it covered at least 8'-10'.  My house has vinyl siding.  If I can't get it off, it isn't a paint job; it's a "replace the siding" job. 

I grabbed the bottle of mineral spirits and a rag to try to get it off quickly before it dried.  NO GO.  Even the pure mineral spirits didn't cut it AT ALL.  :-(  After trying as best I could to no avail, I walked away knowing I would need to call the guy who had replaced some other siding for me.  I have some extra siding and was hoping it would be enough.  Extra splices would not be so bad on the back (alley) side of the house.  Hopefully, I would just have to pay for the labor. 

The good news ...

I went in to wash the mineral spirits off my hands so I could go finish putting things up in the garage.  When I stopped to wash the sink out, I suddenly had an idea.  Would the "Barkeeper's Friend" abrasive cleanser I had bought for something else clean the vinyl?  It seemed like a long shot, but I decided to try.  I must have been a Holy Spirit idea - because it worked!!  It took a little "elbow grease" (aka "muscle"), but it worked.  Thank You, God!!!  BIG TIME!

Finally finished a 1-1.5 hour project 3.5 hours later.  And I still need to paint the gate, the new board, and get the new board on the gate.  That will wait for another day.  And since it's suppose to rain the next couple of days, it will be "a few" before I get back to it. 

Next adventure:  I came in around 5:00 to clean myself up and start laundry.  It got into the 80s here today and, even with windows open and the "breeze" blowing, the house had heated up to 80.  I decided to flip to the AC and cool down.  NO GO.  AC isn't working!!  The heat pump seems to be coming on, but the exterior unit is not.  I re-opened the windows as the temps cooled down outside.  When I went to bed, it was 68 degrees outside but still 78 degrees inside.  It cooled to 76 overnight. 

Once I was up this morning, I opened the sliding glass door as well - until the thunderstorm hit.  Afterwards, I reopened them.  Outside temperature dropped 20 degrees in about 20 minutes with the rain and front moving through, but it's still 74 inside.  I can't believe I'm saying this, but I am glad the temps are supposed to cool back down for a few days.  (Though, we really don't need them back down in the low 30s and upper 20s as predicted!) 

I'll call the AC folks on Monday.  (Yes, I checked the fuses.)


For the record, I was pretty bushed.  Wasn't planning on all the extra "adventure" when I started.  Just glad I'm having the energy to start doing things - though I am definitely still moving at a slower pace.