Cut Sand Paint Repeat

Cut Sand Paint Repeat

111 times, that is:






I got all the Hardipanel tiles finished up for the shed yesterday. Painted them a handful of different colors, and they should be a lot of fun to look at.

The Hardipanel comes with a note that basically says "try not to machine cut this stuff - itll kill you." Scoring is recommended method (it is VERY easy to score, even easier than drywall). The problem with scoring (and thats how I cut the pieces for the retaining wall, which I still need to blog) is that the edges arent nearly as clean as machined cuts. They have that raggedy, fuzzy appearance to them, and sanding Hardipanel is apparently even worse for you than machining it. Suffice it to say that I used a circular saw with a cement blade to cut these 16x16 squares - it was pretty dusty. I stayed upwind, I wore a respirator, I held my breath. But its hard to keep those cuts straight - the saws fence isnt long enough, and though I made my own 2x4 fence the saw was still jumpy (I was cutting a few sheets at a time).

It took the paint REALLY well. Im just using a flat exterior paint (Valspar, the Lowes store brand), and two quick coats (only about 15 minutes apart) did the trick - rich and deep color. It rained and I wasnt able to hang them...next time.


Cut Sand Paint Repeat

The Paint Crew Has Arrived

The Paint Crew Has Arrived

The Wagner Paint Crew 770, that is. Not in a million years would it have occurred to me to buy a paint sprayer, but Sarah - with a not-atypical focus on "how can we get this done faster" - suggested it and I have to say boy was that a good idea. I put 5 gallons of primer on the walls in a little over an hour, including the entire ceiling. Try that with a roller. I was a little scared of it at first, but got the hang of it pretty quick. $200 at Lowes. And even if we never use it again after this project it will have more than paid for itself.




There are some tricks to using it (I recommend starting off in a place no one will ever see) and it apparently needs to be cleaned pretty well to ensure that itll keep working, but I cant recommend it more highly for what I gather is a pretty entry-level paint sprayer.


The Paint Crew Has Arrived

So weve been thinking about having the boys paint some pics for us for WV

So weve been thinking about having the boys paint some pics for us for WV

Heres their first crack at it (it was a team effort by Michael and Joshua - they call it "Painting"):


Assisted by JacksonPollock.org (h/t AustinModHouse) - anyone with kids who want to use the computer all the time should check it out...


So weve been thinking about having the boys paint some pics for us for WV