We’ve been back at Les Terraces for 2 weeks now and have managed to accomplish almost all of the projects that were on the last post’s list, which is great. Perhaps now I can get down to exploring the immediate area on my bike, especially as the weather is glorious.
I have to thank my parents for their enormous help over the last couple of weeks: my father carefully did all of the “cutting in” on the 2nd floor terrace when we repainted it (pictures of the new terrace will be posted soon). Robin, my stepfather, was a star too – his jaw-dropping contribution was to work out how best to install the extraction fan I’d bought for the 2nd floor kitchen and do it for us. I know that without their help we’d not be where we are today on many things.
My father and I took just one day to repaint the top terrace and it looked great. However, the following morning the damp-course for the terrace started showing through the paint, so we re-painted that area. Sure enough, the next morning the line was again clearly visible. When my mother & Robin arrived I asked Robin what he’d recommend to resolve the “bleed through”. Robin’s answer, as it has been for so many of the renovation challenges we’ve addressed, was wood glue. “Just paint it on, let it dry thoroughly and then paint over it.” I did a spot test yesterday. Here’s the result 24 hours later:
So, here I am writing this post while the temperature creeps above 10°C – I refuse to sit on cold tiles until it’s a smidge warmer – so that I can complete the job and take new pictures of the terrace ….. it looks so much better, I can’t tell you.
Oh, in case you’re wondering how else we’ve used wood glue as an aid in our renovation projects, here’s a couple of the uses I can remember:
sealing concrete uprights to stop dampness coming through in order that paint will adhere
providing a coating for a chip-board kitchen counter prior to tiling
It seems to me that we’ve used it in other ways too, but I just can’t remember.
Now, enough procrastination…. back to work, woman!