Everyone’s got ’em (I think?), but some houses do a better job at hiding them than others. Our house does a TERRIBLE job in this department. Don’t get me wrong, I’m obsessed with our little ranch and wouldn’t trade it for the world, but if we’re being honest here, I am not a fan of these permanent eye sores on our home.  We have two meters and… – one is located in a place that can be seen by anyone walking past our house <– really?! – the second is located right smack dab on our patio. <– because nothing says Backyard BBQ like a fancy electrical meter.I have come to terms with these ugly spots and realize that they’re not going anywhere… ever. It’s taken some time to get to this point, but I have finally realized that these meters are part of the package. Part of real life. And part of this home’s history. So as much as they’re not Pinterest worthy, I have vowed to make the best of what we have and spruce them up with a fresh coat of paint

This is the meter that you can see from the street. Obviously this eye sore has seen better days and could use a little paint to make the ugly a tiny bit less ugly. Here’s the meter on the patio. How have I not painted this until now?! – Exterior Paint (mine is oil based)<— oil based paint does not come off of your skin easily, so I would definitely recommend wearing gloves … and really old clothes. To get started, tape off any of the brick that you think may come in contact with the paint brush. I would recommend taping MORE than you think you should since you’ll be working with oil based paint that may not come off the brick. Better to be safe than sorry, especially when dealing with wet paint. Next, sand all surfaces to remove any existing paint. I could not get all of the old paint off of the one meter, but I did the best that I could. This step will help the new paint adhere to the meter. Once you’re done sanding, wipe down all of the surface to remove ALL dust and debris.

Now onto the fun part– painting! Make sure the weather forecast is free of rain and let the painting begin. Like I said, oil based paint is tough to remove if it gets on your skin so I would recommend using gloves while painting. <– I made this mistake so you don’t have to. Turn on your tunes and paint, paint, paint away! I really enjoyed being outside and painting away under the sunshine. I painted on two coats (no primer) and was done with the entire project in one afternoon #cleanup&all <— my favorite kind of DIY projects. I still don’t love these meters (who does?!), but I really do think the paint made SUCH a difference. The new look seems a lot cleaner and less like they’ve been completely neglected for the last few decades. Plus… this whole project cost me about $12, which makes me appreciate this mini transformation even more! An afternoon of work + a $12 investment = totally worth it in my Playbook. Now that the meters are painted, I only have a few more items left on our summer to do list:

-Create outdoor wall art or a vertical garden or window flower boxes Flower Box details here -Add Flowers to back landscaping <– DONE! nothing over-the-top but we got a jump start. See below for details -DIY a new doormat/possibly a wreath Used this method to create the door mat belowcarrier ac units for trucks -Hide HVACC unit or garbage cans or both?window unit heater and ac -Hire an electrician to add electricity outside (we currently have NONE, which officially makes us look like the Grinch on the block come December)house ac unit calculator **Anyone in the Chicagoland area know a great electrician?! <– seriously, I need some suggestions! And like I said, the new plants we added to the back of our house are nothing “over the top” but they are definitely a great start and one we’re really excited about!

Hopefully each year the hydrangea bushes will grow larger and larger (free flowers!). The plan is to eventually add even more plants and possibly a brick border. For now though, I’m really happy with these updates. And heck, for being only ONE WEEK into summer vacation, I’m pretty pumped that our summer outdoor to-do list is about 75% done!Peeling paint is never a good thing, and in an old house one of the most typical places you’ll find peeling paint is on your windows. But if you knew what caused this incessant peeling you could stop it in its tracks. That’s what I’ll help you do today! The picture above is from a recent project my company is working on in Apalachicola, FL, but it’s an all too familiar scene with peeling paint along the glass of windows. The room where the picture was taken had a window AC unit on full bore. It kept this little room at about 60 degrees! It really felt like an ice box in there especially when it was around 95 degrees outside.

This huge difference in temperature and the excessive humidity caused the windows to constantly be sweating with condensation (in this case on the humid outside) and that’s the main culprit of peeling paint. Wood that is constantly getting wet doesn’t hold paint well. The water gets into the wood, spreads throughout the wood and tries to escape again. If the wood is bare the moisture can escape, but when it’s painted any moisture trying to escape the wood will start to push the paint up off the surface of the wood. That’s the most typical cause of peeling paint on wood, period. In the case of the fort it was cold dry air inside and warm humid air outside. The dew point was reached on the surface of that glass and voila, dew (otherwise known as condensation!) In most temperate climates the condensation occurs on the inside of the glass during the winter. Outside is cold dry air all winter and inside we keep it warm and toasty. And it’s always a little humid inside because of the activities we do like, say, breathing.

Seriously though, breathing is one of the causes of humidity indoors along with steamy showers, cooking, washing, etc. Any time you use water inside there is some evaporation. That condensation on the glass collects and rolls down onto the wood sash and profiles of the window where it seeps into any cracks in the paint and from there into the wood it goes. How to Stop Condensation So, if condensation is the main culprit that causes peeling paint how do we stop it? I’ve got some great solutions for you and most of them are very affordable. Bath Fan – A bath fan is the easiest way to get rid of that extra humidity in your house. Install a bath fan with some serious CFM (cubic feet per minute) power to suck out all the shower steam. A few important things to know: First, make sure you size it correctly for your bathroom. This will tell you what CFM rating you need for your fan. Calculate the number of cubic feet in the bathroom by multiplying the room’s height x width x length in feet.

Divide the number of cubic feet in your bathroom by the number of minutes in an hour (60). Make sure it is vented outside your house! Some people just vent it into the attic which causes high humidity in your attic and just moves the problem upstairs.If you don’t remember to turn the fan on it won’t do much good. Turn it on with each shower and let it run for 10-20 mins afterward. Dehumidifier – Whether you use a room size dehumidifier or a whole house option a dehumidifier is a great way to keep humidity at bay. Indow Inserts – These are panels that install easily on the interior of your windows and air seal old windows. I’m a dealer in my area for Indows, but that’s only because I have seen how well they work. They make a huge difference in the war against window condensation. In my experience, they have all but stopped any condensation on the windows where they are installed. Don’t believe me check out this post. What to Do If Your Paint Has Already Peeled

If you’re already the victim of peeling paint you need to fix your condensation issues likely, but how can you repair the peeling paint and help keep it smooth in the future. Here are some simple steps to repairing the peeling paint and keep things looking good. Scrape any loose paint off with a pull scraper. Sand the surface smooth with 120-grit sandpaper being careful not to scratch the glass. Be sure to follow lead safe work practices if your house was built before 1978. Clean off any sanding dust with a tack rag. Prime the surface with an oil-based primer. Brush on 2 coats of finish paint. You can use either oil-based or water based paint depending on what your existing paint is already. These tips should help you get your windows back into good shape and keep that problem causing condensation at bay. For more on repairing and restoring old windows you can visit my resource page How To: Repair Old Wood Windows Get the latest posts emailed to you!