South Tacoma Network for Youth

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Front Door Spruce-Up

At 20 plus years, my front door was really looking shabby. As a realtor, I've heard time & time again how important first impressions are, and not wanting to go to the trouble and expense of replacing the door, I decided to try and paint it myself. What could I lose?

On a nice day, I removed the door from its hinges and put it on saw horses in the garage and removed the hinges, doorknob and deabolt hardware. I then took some steel wool and fine sandpaper and sanded down any areas that were rusty. If necessary, you might have to spray some primer on more severly rusted areas before you paint it. Mine was not that bad, so I just cleaned the door really well to remove any sanding grit.

I used a glossy appliance paint (make sure it is made for metal), but I think flat paint would look good too. I sprayed 2 even coats on each side of the door, allowing the time to dry in between coats as directed on the can. If you don't have enough time to do the whole door in one day, finish one side and do the other another day.

I'm really pleased with the results and it felt good to have a door that looks almost like new and only cost a few bucks for a couple cans of paint!

P.S. Make sure you wear a mask when spraying and cover anything in your garage that you don't want to get a haze of paint on it, the mist does spread quite a bit. I sprayed with the door open (and made sure my car and my neighbors cars were not in harms way) and closed it while it was drying so as not to have anything float in and land on the wet paint.

By Lanette Masseth

Fixing Holes in Popcorn Ceilings

When I moved into my place there were several hooks in the ceiling in my living room that I didn't necessarily want or need. When I removed them, there was a big hole left in the ceiling that wasn't any more attractive than the hooks were. Since the ceiling is rough, spackle was not the solution and I didn't want my repairs to be noticeable. I decided to try sticking a piece of real popcorn in the hole and painting over it. Works like a charm and you can't even tell!

By Lanette Masseth

Painting front doors

One major reason I wanted to attend the annual meeting was due to my previous inquiry into the process for approval for painting my front door. I had been told I could only paint it white but there would be discussion at the annual meeting on changing that to allow colors. At the meeting I was told there wasn't time, but one of the committees would be addressing it with the membership. I still have not heard anything, and am requesting we begin this discussion so a decision can be made. Thank you!