The long haul... or hall

We moved into this house about 7 years ago and in our immediate enthusiasm began ripping out the awful wallpaper and carpets and starting to fix things up, then there were a few hiccups along the way ...I had a baby, and then we built a log cabin in the garden for my parents to sleep in when they visited among other things... and many of the jobs that were started have been waiting a long, long time to be finished. In some rooms we have had no carpet for a number of years, and we have just kind of gotten used to it. Now we are planning, Lord willing, to put the house on the market and move to something easier to maintain, therefore, I have to get those decorating jobs done now. My list is long, but I am slowly plodding through it. My current task is to get the hall ceiling fixed up.

It is a long, long hallway. The ceiling had some swirly patterned artex on it - (not one of my favourite things I have to say.) It also had some patched up holes where we removed a tiny shower room at one end. I wasn't going to try to fix up the swirls to match it in. It would have been simpler to call in a plasterer (more expensive, but simpler) but as there is a small amount of bounce in the floor on which the walls are resting, this means that there is also a small amount of movement in the ceiling so it necessitates a finish with a certain amount of flex to it...unlike plaster...am I boring you? ...sorry!

Anyhoo, this is as much for my own record as it is for boring you with... this is the before...

...then there is the mid stage... I apply a grey gloop to cover over the swirls, but this does not leave a perfectly smooth finish like plaster. Also it is a very slow process as I apply it with a credit card, because the applicator that you are supposed to use ends up with me being covered in more grey gloop than the ceiling. I have used this stuff before for my kitchen ceiling about 5 years ago, and forgot just how much I hated the job. It's the kind of job that brings me to tears! OK, so it actually did make me cry - pathetic I know!

Then this is the almost finished stage, I have now applied a sort of gritty textured finish to cover over the grey gloop. I need to give it a coat of white emulsion paint now to hide the grey properly.

So I have three separate stages going on right now, and I am just over halfway with the grey gloop. I only have a couple of hours in the mornings to do my decorating while my little girl is at nursery, so that is why progress is slow. Thankyou if you have read this far! I shall keep you posted on the progress of my long haul with the hall. Have a wonderful day!