Having painted the cupboard doors with a white undercoat and sanded them back to a smooth finish last week, I gave them two further coats of grey undercoat this week. Between coats they were sanded back again to reveal and remove any minor blemishes.
Of course, being oil based paint with a 16 hour drying time, only one coat could be applied to one side per day so it's been slow progress. The final undercoat was very lightly sanded using a well worn piece of 150 grit sandpaper - this was just abrasive enough to key the surface ready for topcoat.
The topcoat is a Battleship Grey... erm... sorry I mean "Dove" Grey (although I'm sure I've seen the same stuff on HMS Belfast!!). Actually, it's a really nice paint... it goes on easily with a foam roller and covers really well. It's a Leyland Trade Eggshell, mixed and supplied by Johnstone's Decorating Centre in Kettering.
I've also now sealed the edges of the worktops with silicone sealant. Most of the edges will get covered over by the wall tiles, but I wanted to make sure the gaps were well sealed beforehand just in case any water were to get behind the tiles.
No, they're not mushrooms!! Jacqui has continued to prepare the cupboard door knobs, sanding them back and treating them with Tung oil.
Today we went and bought the floor tiles which will run seamlessly from the kitchen through the lobby and into the bathroom. Not sure how much each box weighs, but 13 of these in the boot of the car was enough to cause a bit of understeer!!
Jacqui has started work on the pantry, stripping off the flaking gloss paint on the lower walls and prepping the window frame for painting.
Moving briefly away from the kitchen... during the heavy and persistent rain last week and earlier this week, we noticed a wet patch forming on the new ceiling above the lounge bay window. We already knew the lead roof was in need of replacement, but it hadn't noticeably leaked until now. I temporarily protected the roof with polythene sheeting. When the weather improved, I cleaned off the damaged areas with a wire brush and then wiped them over with methylated spirit before applying some pieces of self adhesive flashing tape. They seem to have stuck down really well, but only time will tell.
The roof had been held in place with a number of galvanised clout nails on the horizontal surface and, due to years of expansion and contraction, these had torn slots about 1/2" long into the lead sheet. There was also a 6" tear leading away from the front edge of the roof - I suspect this was the main source of the leak. I plan to replace the whole roof within the next few weeks if the weather is kind. This will require a 3m x 900mm sheet of code 4 lead - it will weigh a mere 55kg so I will need to stock up on Weetabix!!
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