Will it Never End?

The painting of the house continues. We're hoping they will finish today. It's been sort of a nightmare! I already reported on the "flooding" we've endured and the mess that came with it.

I've already mentioned that our painter retired. Well, little did we know that the whole process and method to painting has changed. After the cleaning and the mess that caused, came this:

 They covered every window with masking tape and paper.

On some, they just taped and sprayed some sort of cloudy liquid. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason.

Anyway, the whole house seemed so dark. Moles living underground came to mind. It was weird to feel so closed in. I like bright. This was depressing.

 Butch and I couldn't get over how long it took to just do the prep work!

It looks like a construction site. The front looks like this too. They removed every window. They numbered each one, so they know where they go back. We're on the third week and finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. There have been between 6-8 guys (a couple were women) here every day. They interfered with our parking---there were cars and trucks everywhere!

Once the painting started, they had to leave the doors and windows open. OMGosh! We had hundreds of lady bugs! Butch was going crazy. He got out the vacuum. It's gong to be awhile before we get rid of them all. For the past couple of nights, they have been flying towards my little book light while I've been reading in bed!

At first, it looked like they were doing a lousy job. We were already freaking out. And then---they painted part of our NEW columns and rails that we spent a fortune on. We picked materials that would never have to be painted again. And they PAINTED them! OMGosh! Butch was beside himself. He was on the phone with the owner of the company---several times---complaining about many things. Again, he did the homework and hired what we thought to be a reputable company. The owner couldn't have been nicer---reassuring us that we would not pay until we were satisfied. He's even agreed to paint the columns and rails for as long as we live here---whenever they need it. Yes, I know, that sounds too good to be true, but so far, the guy has been really fair with us.

Now that the job is nearing completion---we've both agreed---they have done an excellent job! Also, we agreed that maybe we jumped the gun with the complaints and didn't give them the opportunity to "make it right." Everything looks great! It was just a hassle and a lot of work to get it to this point. It still seems to us that it would have been faster to just paint the old fashioned way.

Oh, and as an added bonus? They cleaned our windows--and we have a ton! It's been 5 years since I last had them washed. It was $1500 then. I figure it's got to be close to $2000 now. That's one expense I'm happy to avoid! Especially since next up is the kitchen!