Put it on, Sand it down

I've been busy working on the house walls. The weather - until today's rain - was sunny and warm and very summer like and now was the time to work on the house even though the ideal thing would have been to goof off and enjoy the days and gorgeous weather.

I spent a few days putting joint compound (mud) onto a number of walls in the living room, dining room and the hallway to downstairs. The texture on the walls necessitated a thicker application of mud. I went through well over two fifty pound boxes of mud. No wonder my arms were tired the next mornings.

Because of the thicker application of mud, and my lack of experience putting it on, I spent most of Saturday sanding the mudded walls smooth. Dust everywhere!! I wonder if I sanded over half the mud off? My brother and I had all the doors and windows open to provide ventilation. It was very windy outside and while the house had air, dust went all over. I sanded until almost dark and the screens were coated by the end of the day. I am happy the temperature stayed warm after dark as I did some vacuuming and cleaning.

I did not get all the walls sanded so today I decided to try something new. Since I had half a box of mud left I decided to apply a new thin coat over the unsanded wall. That appears to have worked out great as it looks to have made the wall smoother and the future sanding of them to be far less. I continued to place a very thin coat of mud on the sanded walls that seemed uneven or have some imperfections even after sanding.

The walls look better now. I am happy to get rid of the orangeish pink color and all the nail holes. (The walls were formerly covered by dark wood paneling as the look was 1970s prior to my mother buying the house.)

Also today I spent some time washing the dust from the kitchen and counters. More cleaning and vacuuming will be done tomorrow. I also was able to put up most of the curtains on the windows. It was a little odd to not have curtains for a few nights.

My brother was having a fit about my work. He wanted the work done but the scraping sound when putting the mud on, then the scratching sound of my sanding made him very irritable. He also was unhappy with the dust everywhere.

Before and after. (I know, not that exciting of a look.)

One of the issues once I get to painting is what about the closet door? It worked with the dark paneling, but now it is a bit much. I don't have any ideas on what to do about it. I haven't decided on the paint color other than something light: an off white or light 'something'. Maybe I can leave the door as is for now.

Your can kind of see the wall's texture prior to the mud.