Flapper's Folly

So why is the room not finished? Let me start by saying that home improvement television is a LIE! You know, where a couple of people paint, sew, and build, not to mention create art, totally transforming a room, in only two days. There is no way. Think of the phrase "Watching paint dry," because caulk, primer, and sizing all have to dry and it takes time. This is not even taking into account the snafus.

The crown molding had to be cleaned and recaulked in places. Twenty-four hours to dry. The repair to cracks and such on walls and ceiling require another twenty-four. Then sizing and primer are several more hours. In between steps time is required for tears and ibuprophen. Sunday what really ground us to a halt was the ceiling paper. It's a heavy textured paper, looking like tin tiles, that was prepasted. I've hung lots of paper on walls, but never on a ceiling, and after this, never again. We're all set to go, cuts all lined up, me on the scaffold and John on a ladder, water dripping, and we rolled and we brushed and we pushed, and the damned stuff would not stick!!! It just fell down on our heads.

So while I sat and cried like a baby, John went back to the store, and after a call to the manufacturer, he returned with an adhesive that will hopefully do the job. By then it was too late to start again, but we did a test piece on foam core and it looks like it will work. It's a two person job and too much to do at night, so we are stuck until the weekend. After which, it must cure for 36 hours before painting and glazing. Only then, will I be able to paint the walls. I'm tempted, but if I get the paint up now, I know it will be ruined by work on the ceiling.

The deadline on this job is Easter. Last night, as I recounted our difficulties on the phone, my daughter told me not to sweat it, it doesn't have to be done by then. But it does, and who knows how many other things will go wrong. So it's one step at a time, even when each step is a day. Hopefully I will soon have a pic of the finished, or at least semi-finished room to post.