With all the furniture out, and the floors down, hubby and I started talking color for the livingroom and diningroom. Unfortunately, since the water damage in that area wasn’t limited to the floor, we knew that it would mean serious prep work. There were plenty of places where the dampness had cracked the paint, and I’m going to have to sand the walls down anyway because the paint has a texture. It’s a good thing we started scraping, though, because all this paint would have come off on the rollers of new color if we hadn’t:
Now, the house is less than 40 years old, so the walls don’t talk a heck of a lot, but what they’re saying to me here is “Who needs an exterminator when you have texture paint?!?”
Sorry it’s so huge, but hubby believes these are inoccuous bubbles in the joint compound. They look way too much like bug tunnels to me, especially with all the little brown specks inside ‘em. What do you all think?
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Wow … just reading this all makes me exhausted! You are definatly a powerhouse. I look forward to seeing it all finished!
It’s going to look great. You are motivating me to redo some stuff here…
Neil says it looks a lot like the termite damage from his first house. He also says, don’t let anybody tell you they don’t eat the paper off of sheet rock, because they do. Also, even if you don’t see any sign of them they can still be active in the house. Termites did a number on our first house. I hope that you don’t actually have them.
Oh, I hope it’s not termite damage. That would suck.
Oh, believe me, there were termites. We live at the shore, with sandy soil everywhere. Any insect that eats woods and can survive winter is around here munching on houses. However, the previous owners signed up for a couple of different pest services, who apply poisoned underground baits, do perimeter control, all around spraying, and twice yearly inspections. We’re in good shape, the damage has stopped. Now that the house has non-wood exterior everywhere, we’re less attractive to the bugs, also. The next thing we want is to put down a cement or other paved apron around the house. I can plant in front of it if I want, or leave it as is, and it makes another barrier.
Believe it or not, these bugs will eat pressure-treated lumber, as well. I guess arsenic isn’t toxic to them. As I’ve been changing the landscaping, I’ve found tons of buried railroad ties, all serving as an all-you-can-eat buffet for termites and cinnabar ants. If I do it at the right time, the catbirds appear from out of nowhere for their own buffet. The cheeky little bastiges will yell at me if I’m not exposing the tasty bugs fast enough for them. They’ll actually stand a foot or so away from me and look right at me and complain.
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