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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Do Not Try This! Part 1

Here I go…by writing this post, I am going to go through some sort of therapy.  Tackle my worst nightmare.  Relive two days of work, that I would prefer to forget.

We had a fabulous time in Chicago during the first part of spring break.  We left there and went to our cottage.  Every year we bring in a professional to winterize the place in the fall.  We had him return last week and turn everything on and make sure we had water and heat.

When we arrived at the cottage on Tuesday evening we found MOLD.  MOLD was growing on everything that was wood.  It grew on the kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, a headboard, our dining room table and chairs.  Any wood surface that was not painted.

YUCK!

I freaked!

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After my allotted 20 minutes in freak out mode, we came up with a plan.

  1. Spray everything with a water and bleach mix
  2. Scrub everything down
  3. Paint

Immediately, we got masks and gloves and sprayed everything.  Thankfully, we were able to sleep at friends.  We ended up staying there for 3 nights!

Hubby tackled the bedroom floors, which you can read here.

I got busy in the kitchen.

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Everything was removed from the lower cabinets and cleaned or tossed.

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I sprayed primer in the lower cabinets and removed all the cabinet doors.  Then I primed and painted all the cabinets.

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It was not livable at this point.  There was no where to put anything.  And the more I did, it seemed there was more to do.

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The wood doors were primed and painted.  Daughter #1 assisted and we used both a brush and a roller.

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I wish I had my sprayer!

It dawned on me at this point that I had to paint BOTH sides of the cabinets.

Ugh…

After my third trip to the country hardware store, I got smart.

As you know I am in love with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Of course in this situation I did not have any and did not have access to chalk paint.  So I made my own.

For the inside of the doors and for the island I made gray chalk paint.  I used a quart of paint and 18 tablespoons of non-sanded grout.  I added water as needed.

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So what is the result of 2-days of non-stop work?

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Taking the cabinets on/off was a bear!

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Why did this happen?

Because of the mild winter we experienced, the water did not freeze and there was no air circulation, so the mold spread.  In addition to our fix, we will keep the electric on over next winter and use a dehumidifier and an attic fan to keep the air moving.  We have never experienced this in the 5 winters we have had the cottage.

Left to do:

Since the cabinets were painted with latex paint it takes 30 days to fully cure.  I will place all the hardware back on.

But before that final step, I plan to antique glaze the cabinets on our next trip.

Tomorrow I will share the island, my tips for painting cabinets and what I have learned.

I’m tired!

XO-

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

All of you worked so hard, and you didn't even get to enjoy your time at the lake. The cabinets look so bright and I love the color on the island. Next time you come hopefully you can just RELAX! It was great to see everyone! -Bridget

Kitchen Cupboard Doors said...

Very nice looking renovation..

Polly said...

Oh dear! Sounds like quite a stressful situation. but it is looking good! love the painted cabinets.

Jamie said...

So much worth - but wow - what a great result

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