By Julie Kerby

Paint Your Way Out of the Winter Doldrums, Part 2

Last month we had gotten as far as choosing our paint, gathering the appropriate tools, and removing the furnishings. Now it’s time to paint, right? Wrong.

A good paint job is only as good as the prep work. Let’s create a good “canvas” so your painting is as beautiful as it can be. Keeping gravity in mind, throughout the project you should work from top to bottom so that you don’t undo the work you did below with drips from above.

Your general plan should be:

Day One, clean, protect, prep the ceiling, prep the walls, sand, vacuum, spot-prime;

Day Two, paint the ceiling, paint the trim;

Day Three, paint the walls, remove protection, refurnish, done!

Day One

Clean and Protect: First, vacuum up any dust, cobwebs, and dead stink-bugs. Clean any dirt and fly spots from the walls and trim using a mild solution of water, vinegar, and a few drops of dish soap—or a solution of TSP Substitute for stubborn stains. Rinse off any solution with water and dry with a clean rag. Remove all outlet covers and switch plates and place a piece of painter’s tape over the switch or outlet (tape the screws to the plates to keep them together and put them all in a bag until you’re finished.)

Protect your floors and any furnishings that will be staying in the room. If you’re only painting the walls, you can just use brown paper rolls or narrow drop cloths to protect the perimeter of floors. Be sure to tape the paper down to hard floors to avoid tripping hazards. Carpets should be covered with drop cloths. If you’ll be painting trim adjacent to carpet, it is a good idea to use painter’s tape to protect the edges of the carpet. If you’ll also be painting the ceiling, use painter’s plastic or cloth drops to cover the middle of the room as well.

If leaving any large items in the room, I like to use the big rolls of 10-foot-wide, thin plastic that dispenses from a box—not unlike that which your household plastic wrap comes in, only larger. Have your painting buddy pull this plastic up and over the items you need to cover while you hold the box, then add about a foot and cut it off with your snap blade. Then unfold the 10-foot width of it. I recommend you tape the edges in place since any slight breeze will flutter this very thin plastic. And don’t use this to walk on since it is just too thin and will tear easily.

Prep the Ceiling: Those hideous popcorn or stippled ceilings are a cheap drywaller’s trick. By spraying or brooming drywall compound (or mud, as it is commonly known) in a pattern on the ceiling, they don’t have to put the effort into the multiple layers of careful mud coats that would be needed to create a consistent, smooth surface. I hate them (the ceilings, not the drywallers).

Often this finish has not even been painted, so it looks dull and dirty and tends to collect dirty cob-webs that don’t wipe off. Also, dry mud slop around the edges usually makes it difficult to paint a clean, straight line where the wall color meets the ceiling. And often, the points are so sharp that they pop balloons as well (boo-hoo). While you can wet them and scrape them off entirely, you will then need to apply multiple mud layers and sand them to make them look good, which is a big, messy job requiring special skills (and which would take much longer than our three-day project). Instead, I usually knock the texture down to a more subtle texture and then paint it ceiling white. To do this, use a 6” or larger taping blade and scrape the entire dry surface just enough to smooth any pointy bits down to a softer edge. Then be sure to sand off any dried compound around the edges, leaving a smooth corner between ceiling and walls. (Keep in mind that, if your ceiling is textured, you’ll need a thicker nap on your roller.)

Prep the Walls: Construction materials can continue to dry, shrink or settle well after installation. As a result, walls can develop small cracks, “nail pops” (little bumps about 1” in diameter over the heads of drywall nails), and gaps in the caulk between walls and trim. Also, there will be holes where you have removed the hanging hardware from decorative items that you don’t intend to re-hang.

Use a strong light, shined at an angle on the wall, to identify these imperfections and circle them with a pencil.

For nail pops, take the hammer end on the handle of  your multi-tool, and bang on the popped area until it is slightly recessed. Nail holes frequently have little paper “burrs” that stick out from the wall surface, so use the corner of the same handle end to “grind” the nail holes in slightly. Now come back and fill these holes by spreading compound firmly into each hole, scraping off the excess. You can use the flat edge of your multi-tool or a 6” taping blade and a drywall mud tray. The tray is easy to hold and gives you a clean, straight edge to scrape off your blade—you want to keep any compound from drying on the blade while you work.

You can use any wall spackle or drywall mud to patch holes if you have a full day or more for the compound to dry before sanding. Instead, I prefer EZ Sand by Sheetrock, a powder you mix with water. It sets up chemically with a working time of 5, 20, 45 or 90 minutes. I recommend the 45—enough time to work a room if you marked all your holes before, but not too long before you can sand and/or recoat if needed.

Be sure to mix up only as much as you can use in the specified set time and scrape out your drywall tray before it sets—once it starts to set, it will be rock hard in a few minutes. Your patches will be set and ready to sand within a few hours. And as the name implies, the sanding will be easy. Another benefit to EZ Sand: since it is a powder, you can store what remains in the bag after the job without concern for it drying out or freezing in winter.

Next check the trim and scrape and sand smooth any loose paint. Never paint over loose paint. You’ll just be wasting time and paint, and it will look terrible in no time.

While you’re waiting for the patches to set, check the caulk. You’ll need your snap blade, a dripless caulk gun, a tube of paintable, white, latex caulk (I like DAP Alex Plus), and a wet folded paper towel.

Caulk should be smooth and should uniformly fill the gap where the baseboard, door- and window-trim meets other trim pieces or the wall. Anywhere you find lumps or caulk that has separated from the surfaces, use your snap blade to cut out the old caulk.

With your snap blade, trim off only the very tip of your tube of caulk, cutting at an angle and creating only an eighth-inch hole in the tip. Put the tube into the caulk gun and re-caulk the joints that need it, moving quickly and smoothly to put a fine, small bead of caulk along the joints (it is better to have too little caulk than too much; you can always add more if needed.) Immediately, wet your finger on the damp paper towel and quickly and firmly run your finger over the caulk along the joint. If you’ve done this correctly, you will have little or no caulk on your finger when you’re done. Wipe excess caulk from your finger between the layers of the paper towel. You can also use caulk to fill any nail holes in the trim.

When the wall patches are dry, you can sand them smooth (but don’t do this until the caulk has set or the sanding dust will ruin your caulk job.) Use a fine sanding sponge for uniform pressure. Vacuum up all sanding dust (and any debris from scraping) and get ready to paint.

Before you finish for the day, you may want to do some spot priming. If you have any water or wood knot stains on ceilings, walls or trim, use a stain blocking primer to spot prime these areas as well as any drywall compound patches.

Day Two: Finally, it’s time to paint!

As a rule of thumb, you want to put the paint on evenly, without drips or lumps, keeping a “wet edge” as you move around the room. Tip: Have the paint store shake all the paints you buy whether they are being tinted or not. This will reduce the amount of stirring you’ll need to do if you use them within a few days of purchase.

Paint the Ceiling: To avoid splatters on your work, work from the top to the bottom. This means painting the ceiling first. To avoid getting paint on light fixtures, you can loosen the screws that hold it to the ceiling, or you can use painter’s tape to protect the fixture.

Pour well-stirred paint from the can into the roller tray and into the Handy Pail to about 3”, cleaning up the can edge with your brush. Replace the can lid and put it where it cannot be knocked over (cleaning up a large paint spill is no fun!)

Work the paint into the bottom half of the bristles of your brush. Tip: whenever you need to set the brush down for a bit, you want to have plenty of paint on the bristles instead of very little. This will keep paint from drying onto the bristles and gumming it up. So dip the bristles into the paint then stick it to the magnet on the bucket.

Start by “cutting in,” painting a six-inch margin around the edges and around fixtures. Since you will be painting the walls later, it is okay to “lap” the ceiling paint down onto the walls a little bit, but don’t let it drip. Then, using a the roller on an extension pole, roll the paint onto the ceiling. Start in a corner by making a big three-foot “W,” then roll over the square area spreading the paint evenly. Repeat until the ceiling is done. Since brushes don’t lay the paint on as thickly as the roller, you may want to cut in a second time if it looks thin.

Paint the trim: This is where I break my top-down rule. Because I find it easier to cut in the wall color next to the trim rather than cutting the trim color into the wall color, I choose to paint the trim first. Glossier paint will show brush marks in the paint surface more easily, so if you want, add a latex paint extender to the paint and stir it in well. This will slow the dry time so the paint will have a better chance of leveling out to a smooth finish. Using the semi-gloss, the Handy Pail and the brush, paint the trim, lapping over the caulk line onto the wall just a bit. Work quickly, laying the paint on as thickly as you can without drips, and finish each section by dragging the brush lightly over the paint to smooth out brush marks before moving on to the next section.

When you’re finished, let the ceiling and trim dry overnight.

Day Three: Wall Color

The day you thought would be first is last, but it’s finally here. It’s time to put some color on those walls. Keep in mind that even good quality paint will require two or more coats if you are painting a deep color or are painting over a deep color.

Use two-inch painter’s tape to protect your freshly painted trim, especially any upward facing surfaces of the trim. Dust off the trim and then lay the tape on in a smooth, straight line (since you will be using this as a guide), using the edge of the multi-tool to tear the ends cleanly. Swipe a clean finger over the edge to seal it firmly to the trim, but don’t wrap the tape onto the face of the trim. Instead leave it sticking out to protect the trim from roller spatters and to avoid pulling the paint from the trim when you remove the tape.

Work around the room cutting in the ceiling line, the corners, and around switches and outlets, but don’t cut in right next to the trim/tape yet. When cutting in next to taped trim, leave a half-inch from the taped trim but don’t wash your brush since we’ll be visiting this area later after rolling. Cutting-in Tip: after loading halfway up the brush bristles with paint, swipe most of the paint quickly onto the wall about a half-inch from the corner where the wall meets with the ceiling or trim, and then come back for a second swipe when the bristles are less laden with paint and carefully paint a clean line.

If the cutting-in looks thin, you can cut in a second time before or after rolling. Anywhere that you have used compound to patch will need two coats of paint or it will “flash,” or catch light differently from the rest of the wall. To avoid “flashing,” use the brush to swipe a coat of paint onto patches as you move around the room cutting in (unless you chose to prime them earlier).

Next roll the paint onto the walls using the same technique as you did on the ceiling and keeping a wet edge. If you have a painting buddy, one person can cut in while the other rolls, but the rolling goes very quickly, so let the “cutter” get a head start. When you’re done, examine the walls to see if they need a second coat, and recoat if needed after the recommended dry time.

Once you’re satisfied that they look good, it’s time to cut in that last bit next to the trim. Why did we wait? When using painter’s tape to get a good clean line, the longer you leave the paint on the tape, the more likely the paint will bleed under the tape, or the tape will pull the paint off if it dries onto the tape. So I like to cut in next to tape last, using a lightly loaded brush angled away from the tape edge to avoid bleeding, and then carefully pulling the tape off immediately while the paint is still wet. Once you pull the tape, let the paint dry and then touch up any places where needed.

Clean up: While the paint is drying, clean your tools. Use the semi-circular cut-out on the side of the multi-tool to scrape most of the paint out of the roller into the paint tray. If the paint is not full of debris or dried out, you can put it back into the can. If the can is less than two-thirds full, consider pouring it into a smaller container for storing it. Be sure to label any stored paint with the date and the room you used it for so you are sure to grab the right can if you need to touch up later.

A quality brush will last for years if well cared for. Clean your brush and roller cover using liquid fabric softener and rinsing well until the water runs clear. Use a wire brush while cleaning the brush to get all the paint off the bristles. Shake out the excess water, wrap the bristles back in their paper cover or another piece of paper taped around the bristles, and stand them bristle-side-up to dry. You can wash the liners to the Handi-pail and roller tray, or you can throw them out, but be sure to let the paint dry before you toss them.

If you have empty paint cans, leave the tops off and let the paint dry completely so they can be thrown out in the regular municipal trash as well. Consider donating cans that are at least two-thirds full to Habitat Restore if you don’t want to store them.

Now replace the switch and outlet covers, remove the protective drop covers, re-hang your décor, and put your furniture back. You’ll have a beautiful, quality paint job you can be proud of, one that will last for many years.

And now that spring has finally sprung, you can get outside and work on your garden instead of being trapped inside painting.

One of the all-time great coming of age films has got to be Summercamp!, a 2006 documentary about 90 kids thrust together in a northern Wisconsin nature camp. Managing nearly a hundred adolescents and pre-teens in a confined space—yes, at camp even a hundred acres of the great outdoors can be a confined space—is a challenge that most adults would run from.

At their best, kids, with their doubts and boredom and self-centeredness and insecurities, can be hard to handle. Worse, they can be like adults, with their doubts and boredom and . . . .

That’s what is so cool about the film. You see how kids bring every aspect of their lives to a place where they don’t know everyone else. And you watch them learn to deal with one another and understand themselves.

We see the antics of one disruptive kid who can’t seem to fit in. Later we learn this particular kid is grieving the pending loss of a parent. And you get an uncomfortable feeling watching an especially awkward kid fail time and again—then find yourself cheering when she achieves something tough.

There’s something about being on “the island” with other kids that helps kids grow a little. Everyone brings their baggage, of course, but they are out of the foxhole of school and the internet for several hours or days, away from the externalities that sometimes get in the way of personal growth.

At those time, just making a new friend on one’s own, without having to endure the vetting process of a peer group, seems to make a difference for some kids. For creative kids, arts-related camps can be the first time they feel like there are other people out there like themselves. For some science and math kids, it’s cool to find it’s alright to be a geek.

So, here’s a quick shout out to the counselors, organizers, teachers, and volunteers who help make summertime an opportunity to learn, grow, and have great fun.

There some terrific summer camps in and around Clarke County, geared to an array of interests and budgets. We offer a listing of some of the area camps in this edition, beginning on page 14.

Overreliance on Natural Gas: Risky for the Climate and the Economy

By Steve Clemmer

In his State of the Union address, President Obama said: “The debate is settled. Climate change is a fact.”  The president noted that local communities are already experiencing  increasingly common drought, wildfires, heat waves, and coastal flooding—the damaging and costly consequences of climate change.

President Obama also celebrated the boom in U.S. natural gas production, calling it a “bridge fuel that can power our economy with less of the carbon pollution that causes climate change.” Burning natural gas to generate electricity does produce about half the carbon dioxide as coal.  But if the growth in electricity from natural gas continues, it will still be a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions. Even more troubling, natural gas releases methane—an emission at least 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide—when it’s extracted and distributed.

A recent UCS analysis shows that transitioning to a natural gas-dominated electricity future would not be sufficient to meet U.S. climate goals as power plant carbon emissions would barely change between today and 2050. This is because, in addition to replacing coal, natural gas generation would grow to replace aging nuclear plants and help meet the projected growth in electricity demand.

To limit the worst consequences of climate change, a 2010 National Research Council report recommended an economy-wide carbon budget that would cut U.S. power sector carbon emissions 90 percent from current levels by 2050. A natural gas energy economy won’t get us to these goals, but a pathway relying on renewable energy and energy efficiency can, and at a lower cost.

Our research found that using renewable energy to provide 80 percent of U.S. electricity by 2050 and boosting energy efficiency at a rate of 1 percent per year was the cleanest and cheapest path forward. By contrast, pathways assuming large-scale deployment of coal and natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS) and new nuclear plants were much more expensive and would take much longer to implement.

Renewable energy and energy efficiency are proven and mature technologies that are ready today to play a bigger role in powering our future.  The renewables and efficiency pathway would also shield the country from the economic risk of overreliance on natural gas, especially in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, where recent high demand and competition for natural gas for both electricity and home heating drove natural gas and electricity prices to record high levels.

This demand has compounded supply constraints due to limited pipeline capacity, forcing some plants to shut down. The good news is that renewable energy — specifically wind power — helped reduce the impact of these outages and price spikes. As more aging coal and nuclear plants are retired in the coming years, a diversified electricity mix with renewables will be a more important buffer against rising and volatile natural gas prices.

Natural gas is a stepping stone, but increasing renewable energy sources and energy efficiency is a critical and more affordable, long-term solution to climate change, a solution that can create jobs and boost the nation’s economy. We should begin investing in our nation’s clean energy future today.

Steve Clemmer is the director of energy research at the Union of Concerned Scientists. 

By Julie Kerby

Trapped in the house by the bitter cold and snow, we all can develop a terrible case of cabin fever. We can’t wait for spring when we can fling open the doors and windows and jump on the litany of spring cleaning and projects to brighten our homes. But why wait? Many household projects can be accomplished during the dreary winter months, giving us more time outdoors when warmer weather arrives.

One such project, easily accomplished in a long weekend, is putting a fresh coat of paint on a room. Almost everyone thinks they can paint a room, but often I’ve cringed when friends proudly show off their recent (sloppy) paint job. It’s true, anyone CAN paint a room—poorly. But painting a room well is not that much more difficult, if you have a good plan, know a few tricks, and use quality materials and the correct tools for the job.

Getting Ready: Doing some research and legwork prior to painting day will make the project run more smoothly and less stressfully.

First, choose your paint. Don’t think you’re saving money by buying the cheapest, builder-quality paints. Cheap paint will likely take two coats when a better paint will cover in one, so figure on twice the paint and twice the time painting! And the finish and durability will be disappointing, so you’ll need to repaint sooner. But don’t assume that paint from a “paint store” will be better quality than paint from the big-box stores.

Consumer Reports rates paints annually on performance, value, scrub-ability, durability, etc., and the ultra-premium grades of big-box brands regularly rate higher than the paint store brands and are almost always still cheaper at around $30–35 per gallon. Most are now low- or zero-VOC, and include primer that helps them cover in a single coat or two. Check the ratings, and buy the best-rated paint you can afford, and you’ll reap the benefits in a better paint job that takes less time and lasts longer.

Next, choose the paint finish. From flat to high-gloss, finishes have different merits that make them more or less appropriate for different uses. In a nutshell, the glossier the paint the easier it will be to clean. However, the more it will shine and show imperfections in the wall surface.

Use eggshell or satin for the walls of damp or “dirty” rooms like bath, kitchen, laundry, and playrooms where you need scrub-ability. Use flat or matte for other living spaces. Ceiling paint is typically flat white; however, it also comes in “color-changing” types where it paints on purple but dries white to help you be sure you have not missed any spots while painting. I often use ceiling white for the interiors of closets as well because it gives a truer color to the light when choosing your outfits, and you won’t have to empty the closet if you repaint the rest of the room later.

I recommend semi-gloss white for trim. Using white for ceiling, closets, and trim is convenient because you’ll have one less color to choose, it matches everything, and you won’t have to repaint everything if you decide to change wall colors later.

Finally, you need to choose a wall color. Choosing colors can be challenging. Fortunately you don’t have to rely entirely on the old-school method of randomly pulling heaps of paint chips off the rack and taping them to your wall. Go 21st century and download one of any number of color-choosing apps for your smart phone or tablet.

The colors in an inspirational photo or the fabrics that you are using in the room can be a great starting point. Or, if you want professional help, there are now color “collections” available in the paint department for which a designer has done the difficult part by choosing colors that work well together.

Once you have narrowed your choices to a few, it’s time to test the colors in your space. Thank goodness the paint industry has gotten smart and decided we should be able to try out a color without committing to a whole gallon—or even a quart. Tint-able paints are now available in sample sizes for a few dollars each, so you can paint large swatches of each color on every wall of the room and observe the color in the space with the furnishings.

Keep in mind that if you are painting over another color, the contrast between the new and old colors can skew the appearance of the new color. A trick to reduce this is painting the space around the swatches white, or taping pieces of white paper around the borders of the swatches to isolate it from the old color visually. Remember colors dry darker than they appear when wet and can look very different in the different light throughout the day, so live with the color swatches for a few days before making your final decision.

While deciding, you can gather the other supplies and tools you’ll need. For the painting, you’ll need a roller frame (or handle), roller covers, and a tray for rolling out the bulk of the walls. You will want an extension pole for the roller if you intend to paint the ceiling or can’t reach the tops of your walls without a step ladder. You’ll also need a quality paint brush and a small bucket for “cutting in” (i.e., painting the margins of the room where the roller can’t reach or would be imprecise). Don’t get a cheap brush or one of those silly pads for cutting in, as they will only make it more difficult to achieve a clean, precise paint line.

While you don’t have to buy a separate bucket, you don’t want to paint directly from the can since it is heavy and awkward, gives you nowhere to rest the brush, can introduce contaminants, and dries out the paint in the can. Instead, pour paint into an easy-to-hold pail to the depth of 3/4 of the brush bristles. While I have used a quart food container (such as the one my hot and sour soup comes in) I prefer the HANDy-paint-pail because it has a comfortable and secure ergonomic side handle you slip your hand into as you grip the pail, has a dripless-edge to wipe the brush on, and has a magnet on the inner side of the pail to hold the brush rather than letting it flop around and get too much paint on it. Well worth the $10 price.

If you want to reduce clean up time and save water, both the pail and roller trays can be lined with an inexpensive disposable plastic liner. I typically do wash and reuse them more than once before tossing, but it still uses less water and effort than trying to thoroughly wash partly dry paint off the pail or tray.

One tool that is quite useful throughout the painting process is a painter’s multi-tool, so called because it is a single tool that performs multiple functions. The simplest version of this tool is a 5-in-1, but they range up to over-complicated 14-in-1 versions that have so many functions they try to do too much. As with most things, the middle range is best. Be sure it has a “hammer end” on the handle, but avoid ones with screw-driver bits that fit into a hole to drive screws as these loose bits get quickly lost and often make the handle less comfortable to hold anyway.

This inexpensive tool is in my back pocket on every job. I use the blade end to scrape loose paint and high spots, spread spackle into small holes, for prying trim from walls without damage, and as a straight edge for neatly tearing painter’s tape. The edge can be used as a screwdriver to remove flathead screws from outlet and switch covers. One side of the blade can cut through packaging while the other is used to pry open paint cans. The large curved area on the side of the blade is designed to scrape wet paint out of the roller cover before washing. Invert the tool and the metal “hammer end” of the handle can be used to secure the lid back onto a paint can or to hammer in “popping” drywall nails prior to spackling.

Some versions also have a small tear-drop hole in the middle of the blade used to pull nails and one or more hex holes for use on nuts and bolts, but these are not that useful. I do, however, find the bottle opener on the side of the blade of some handy for popping a cold beverage at the end of the day.

In addition, you will need the following tools and supplies:

A sturdy stepladder large enough to reach the ceiling easily, but not so large and clumsy that it cannot be moved easily with one hand.

Drop cloths, painters plastic and/or a roll of brown paper depending on the type of flooring you have and whether you will be leaving any furniture in the room.

Patching compound and possibly a 6” taping blade and a mud tray.

Paintable, white caulk, a dripless caulk gun, and an 18mm snap off utility knife.

1-1/2” or 2” Blue or Green painter’s tape

Now that you’ve chosen quality paint in a color that makes you happy and gathered your supplies, it’s time to prepare your space for painting. A good paint job is only as good as the prep work.

First, remove the furnishings. Start with breakable items and wall hangings. If you intend to rehang wall hangings in the same locations afterward, take a picture of the arrangement before dismantling. Remove the hangers, but place a bit of tape on holes that you will not need to fill. It is best if you can remove all the furniture from the room, but this can be challenging, especially if you have large items that it is difficult to find room for elsewhere in the house.

You can gather furnishings into the middle of the room and cover them with a large sheet of painter’s plastic. But be sure you can still reach all parts of the ceiling with the roller on a pole. Paint rollers tend to spatter a fine mist of paint droplets that will cover every upward facing surface, so cover all exposed floors. If you have carpets, use drop cloths. If you have a hard surface floor, drop cloths can present a slipping hazard, so consider covering the floor using a roll of brown paper, cut to fit and taped down to stay put.

Prep, prep, prep: remove stuff, clean, protect floors, knock down ceiling, patch, sand, vacuum, re-caulk

Painting plan: ceiling, trim, tape off trim, cut-in all but above trim, roll walls, avoid dripping, re-cut? Cut above trim then pull tape

Next month: Tips and Tricks!