Tons of projects- Fraternity House
#1
02-10-09, 10:23 PM
Tons of projects- Fraternity House
Few questions-
I am trying to get my fraternity house looking good again and want to undertake a few products. Please recommend what I can do and places to get the products. I would prefer not to buy most things at home depot, because they seem to be more expensive, especially for such large areas. The house is over 15,000 sq feet, with about 30 rooms.
First, we have a large, kind of family room. The walls are all wood paneling, but just look worn out. What can I use to restore them to looking good? They have spray paint all over them, so first, I would use paint thinner to remove the paint. In the past, the older kids say they have used pine-sol, and say it worked ok. My guess is that is not the best option, and a combination of cleaner and wood finisher would be much better.
Next, in that same room, we have a drop ceiling and fluorescent lights most people have in the basement. The room looks cold with this combination.
I plan on investing in wall sconces and placing them around the room. I figure about 8 would work. How much would a typical electrician charge to install this? It may be hard to give me an estimate, I know.
Additionally, we want to do something with the drop ceiling. What are our alternatives? About three inches above the ceiling is a concrete ceiling, so my guess is there is not much we can do. Is there some sort of different style tiles that we can replace the current tiles with that look nicer?
Next, we have a room that is primarily used as a dance floor. The floor is an old hardwood floor, and it looks like it has the potential to be very nice. I don’t expect perfection, but is there a simple product on the market that I can apply to the surface to make it look any better? This is not that important to us, so I don’t want to spend the money to resurface the floor. Again, people said pine sol worked okay. (The room is 800+ sq. feet, so whatever we purchase needs to be in bulk, so I do not believe a small 32 oz bottle of rejuvenator bought at home depot would work)
Finally, a big project I want to undertake is restoring the wood moldings around the house. The entire house has beautiful wood molding around the doors and beams. For some reason, they were painted over with an ugly blue. What is the best method to removing the paint and restoring the wood? We took some paint thinner and it seemed to work, but the wood does not look very good underneath, and it took a long time to do one door. I am sure we will need to stain the wood or something after we remove the paint.
Thanks for all your help!
I am trying to get my fraternity house looking good again and want to undertake a few products. Please recommend what I can do and places to get the products. I would prefer not to buy most things at home depot, because they seem to be more expensive, especially for such large areas. The house is over 15,000 sq feet, with about 30 rooms.
First, we have a large, kind of family room. The walls are all wood paneling, but just look worn out. What can I use to restore them to looking good? They have spray paint all over them, so first, I would use paint thinner to remove the paint. In the past, the older kids say they have used pine-sol, and say it worked ok. My guess is that is not the best option, and a combination of cleaner and wood finisher would be much better.
Next, in that same room, we have a drop ceiling and fluorescent lights most people have in the basement. The room looks cold with this combination.
I plan on investing in wall sconces and placing them around the room. I figure about 8 would work. How much would a typical electrician charge to install this? It may be hard to give me an estimate, I know.
Additionally, we want to do something with the drop ceiling. What are our alternatives? About three inches above the ceiling is a concrete ceiling, so my guess is there is not much we can do. Is there some sort of different style tiles that we can replace the current tiles with that look nicer?
Next, we have a room that is primarily used as a dance floor. The floor is an old hardwood floor, and it looks like it has the potential to be very nice. I don’t expect perfection, but is there a simple product on the market that I can apply to the surface to make it look any better? This is not that important to us, so I don’t want to spend the money to resurface the floor. Again, people said pine sol worked okay. (The room is 800+ sq. feet, so whatever we purchase needs to be in bulk, so I do not believe a small 32 oz bottle of rejuvenator bought at home depot would work)
Finally, a big project I want to undertake is restoring the wood moldings around the house. The entire house has beautiful wood molding around the doors and beams. For some reason, they were painted over with an ugly blue. What is the best method to removing the paint and restoring the wood? We took some paint thinner and it seemed to work, but the wood does not look very good underneath, and it took a long time to do one door. I am sure we will need to stain the wood or something after we remove the paint.
Thanks for all your help!
#2
02-11-09, 03:59 AM
Fraternity House
With a big project like this I would go to Sherwin Williams and see if they can set you up with an account with discount pricing. With as many rooms as this frat house has, you could rack up a pretty good paint bill quickly. Tell them what you are going to do and let them show you their suggested products. They also have a good paint stripper that I've used before that works really well but I can't remember the name. They may have a new and improved product by now. Good Luck
#3
02-11-09, 04:28 AM
Welcome to the forums!
I agree that you will get better coatings and advice at your local paint store versus a big box paint dept.
The wood work can be stripped and refinished but it is not an easy quick job. The spray paint on the paneling may or may not remove well. Both jobs will require a fair amount of elbow grease
There are all different types of ceiling tiles available. The fancier they are, the more they cost. I assume you have the 2'x4' tiles. The 2'x2' tiles have a bigger selection and some really look nice. I don't know how difficult it would be to change the grid for the smaller tiles.
You may be able to spruce up the hardwood flooring by cleaning and waxing.
I agree that you will get better coatings and advice at your local paint store versus a big box paint dept.
The wood work can be stripped and refinished but it is not an easy quick job. The spray paint on the paneling may or may not remove well. Both jobs will require a fair amount of elbow grease
There are all different types of ceiling tiles available. The fancier they are, the more they cost. I assume you have the 2'x4' tiles. The 2'x2' tiles have a bigger selection and some really look nice. I don't know how difficult it would be to change the grid for the smaller tiles.
You may be able to spruce up the hardwood flooring by cleaning and waxing.
