random thoughts – Day 1,878 – (Thursday) – paint math

There have been two purchases of paint for the porch. The first was for the upper half of the walls that are all windows. Ten windows, surrounded by various widths of framing and a wonderfully wide sill below. One quart took care of that, plus some door frames and other random bits.

The second purchase, paint for the bead board on the half walls under the windows, the one tall wall, plus the floor got confusing. I asked for a quart of wall paint and a quart of floor paint, having read that floor paints are more durable to handle the wear and tear. The clerk confessed they only knew how to push the buttons to mix the colors, then had to leave the counter and try to reach the boss to relay my question. Upon returning, they said that the boss said that floor and wall paint are the same. Which was then amended to a confession they don’t have floor paint and maybe I could check Sherwin Williams. And then in a conspiratorial whisper, “or maybe our competitor has it.” I didn’t have time to be checking other retailers. 

I really miss the Ace Hardware that used to be around the corner. You could enter with a question or a situation and get actual answers and solutions. It's now a barber shop and an appliance store, just a block from another barber shop and appliance store. The upstairs kitchen showroom is now apartments.

After an hour's work in the morning.

I rolled the dice and asked for whatever they have. It seemed two quarts would handle the job based on measurements, and that’s where the paint math got weird. A gallon cost $44, but two quarts would be $42 ($21 each). So, yeah, I bought the gallon. I will be a painting fiend, covering everything in sight in “Time’s Current” blue. Foundation? Bulkhead? Sure, why not? Will it be the right formula paint for the job? Probably not. Might it happen anyway? Probably. Maybe.

An hour before work today was spent painting the short walls and a lot was accomplished. It was with this confidence that I boldly stepped into the after-work paint session. There was some initial debate over mowing the suddenly shaggy lawn while it wasn’t raining or getting straight to the painting, but bouyed by the morning paint success, it was straight to painting.  

Dark evening sky and gloom
meant twice as long to paint.

It was cloudy and dark, and by 6:30, I had to put the light on. Located approximately in the center of the ceiling, it increased the level of difficulty due to shadows. It was hard to see how the coverage was and I felt like I needed a miner’s hat. Things really slowed down. It took two hours to accomplish what took one hour in the morning when there was decent light. Work will be required in the light of day to touch up tonight’s efforts. The floor will be done tomorrow by an actual professional with a clue, which was key to tonight's timing.  

I’m already deep in the “I should have done this ages ago” arena of thinking. And also thinking how nice the ceiling would look in the Southern haint blue I've imagined for eight years.