Quote:
Originally Posted by Curly
Ricky -- are you still painting?! We have high ceilings as well and they are no fun to paint (unless you like hanging onto perilously high ladders). What are you 'cat proofing'?
Verencat -- congrats on the new apartment! Moving is hard work and very stressful isn't it?. Glad to hear you have a willing helper!  Why are you still doing homework?! When do your summer holidays begin? Soon I hope. |
Umm .... yes .... still painting. Keep in mind that I am painting (or refinishing) all of the furniture and all of the walls in a 3,500 sq foot house with some ceilings that peak out at 20 feet or so.
I am sort of cat proofing everything. Example: I have a beautiful Chinese porcelain vase that I keep (now) on the long table in the entry hall. The entry hall table is topped with a very thick piece of mesquite wood -- sort of butcher block style. The cats just LOVE to pee/mark up against the vase, and then it tends to puddle up on the wood. Not good. So, I put six coats of tung oil on the wood, and then took a quilted place mat I got at Pottery Barn, and sewed a layer of Pooch Pad underneath it. Both the place mat and the Pooch Pad are machine washable. Now, when the cats pee on the entry table, it just soaks into the Pooch Pad, and each morning (or evening ... whenever I clean out the cat boxes ... which also have Pooch Pads under them), I can just pop them into the washer and put nice clean pads underneath.
All metal items, such as lamps or candle holders, are getting two or more coats of clear Rustoleum enamel paint. It keeps the cat pee from rusting or corroding them. All regular wood furniture is being restained and then getting several coats of Tung oil. The painted pieces are probably going to get glass tops after they are repainted. The faucets are getting a coat of brushed nickel paint and a coat of clear.
All electrical outlets are getting microfiber covers (velcroed on ... so I can pull them off and wash them). This is to keep them from peeing (or spraying) directly into the outlet).
Anything upholstered is getting a layer of Pooch Pad put on it and then is being slip covered in washable suede (and yes, I know how to sew slip covers and do upholstery). That way, again, it the cats pee on it, it's no big deal to pull it off and wash it. It doesn't soak into the cushions.
Any items that I want to display are either weighted down (like the vase, in which I put several pounds worth of florist's glass), or hung up on the walls where the cats can't get to them, or put into glass display cases. Or, like my old model airplanes, they are getting several coats of clear enamel.
The floors are getting yet another coat or two of sealant .... and that is what I consider "cat proofing."