Chemists... help?

When I was younger, I wanted to be a biochemist. Somewhere along the way, I changed my mind, but the building blocks of this world have always intrigued me.

Which is part of the reason why I was stunned to find this in my trunk:

Originally, this was an ordinary bucket hook (which I believe is made from stainless steel); however, at some point a couple of days earlier, bleach spilled in one of the plastic containers in the trunk—making contact with a baking soda air freshener that I keep back there to curb the smell of gasoline, paint thinner, and other undesirables for a vehicle. This unknown compound is what resulted. It almost seems like rust, but of a different, spikier structure. I am highly curious as to what exactly it is.

And so, to the more hard-science minded than I,
Any ideas?

Be wary, all ye olde homes.

I'm sure all of you are wondering why a dashing, fashion-conscious man like myself would voluntarily suit up in this ever-so-attractive coverall. The answer to your very appropriate concerns? EPA Training.

Two hours of online videos and another three of painters' tape, caution signs, and heavy-duty plastic, and yours truly is hereby certified and qualified to deal with lead dust—an inevitable side effect of prepping certain old homes to be painted.

So, in essence, think of it like a superhero costume, and me as the scourge of lead—devoted protector of the elderly, pregnant women, and children under six.

Oh yeah.

It's a tough job (especially since I defend a very un-dateable demographic), but rest assured oh Fayetteville, that the threat of lead-based paint, which has been haunting you since the EPA began to distribute those scare pamphlets in April—or perhaps only since you started reading this blog post—shall be vanquished by my containment-establishing, trash-double-bagging awesomeness.

Roof Powerwashing: the only real extreme sport

Well, today wasn't a good day for sunny after pictures, so instead I will appease you with another Student Painters exclusive: the roof powerwash. This was a special request from a client who gave us a tricky repaint job: Mrs. Bzdafka.

Yeah, good luck pronouncing it.

The following is a picture of me doing the easy part of the most daring thing I've-done in my life.

What followed after this snapshot was an entire day of rappelling down this very same roof. Mind you, I could have merely stood on this roof without anchoring myself to a tree in the backyard, had it not been for the 50 degree gradient. That being the case, I was also forced to do most of the washing without shoes, as I own none that would give me the grip to stay on said cliff-roof. During this challenging and arduous task, I concluded that shingles and ovens are not as different as they seem, discovered the most ridiculous thing in the world: a sun-burnt flip-flop tan, and came to understand exactly what it feels like to belt-sand the soles of your feet away.

On a side note, I noticed that for some reason, hanging 30 feet in the air above a concrete driveway, tethered by a single one-handed bowline, hardly fazed me—whereas a roller coaster would put me into cardiac arrest. Fear is a curious beast.

In any case, I am quite happy with the results, and will do it again if someone asks... but at a much higher price!

P.S. Look closely, and you'll see my harness in this photo.

The Bane of the Business

It has never been more evident to me how terribly inaccurate weather forecasts are, nor how strange Fayetteville weather can be. When did this drought-ridden pine desert become a wetland? I swear, I’ve never seen so much summer rain here.

 

Of course, never have I had such a vested interest in the weather, either. A single rain day will set us back 40 to 50 man-hours depending on the number of painters on the crew. The crew is expected to produce $1000 per day, and if we don’t catch up before payroll on the days we’ve missed, it could be a month before the painters see their pay from a particular job.

 

Enter the Fleming residence. It will have taken us 2 full weeks to paint this home, which should have been done in 1. As soon as weather permits us to finish (tomorrow I hope… *crosses fingers*) I’ll post the before and after pictures. It’s a pretty amazing transformation, and I’m glad to say that's all thanks to us! Until then, I thought I’d entertain you all with some pictures of the crazy weather I have to face each day.

 

The eastern sky, Monday, 5:16 pm

The western sky, Monday, 5:16 pm