Update on DIY projects

I haven't posted for a while, and several projects have continued. I have been painting the side of the house. Two of the window frames had sections with putty that had not been over painted by the previous owners, and hence there was rust starting on the frames. I cleaned out the old putty (not too hard in this case,as the putty was still fairly soft), sanded back the frames, painted with metal primer, and then with two coats of solargard. Finally, I applied fresh putty. This was about a week and a half ago. The instructions on the putty say to wait two weeks for the putty to skin before over painting, so I can finish painting the window frames next weekend.

I had a couple of cubic meters of pine bark mulch delivered, and I have mulched the new garden bed. I also weeded the back garden bed (along the back fence line) and dug up the sleepers edging it. I have moved the sleepers out by about half a meter, to widen the garden bed. Previously, the edge was hard up against the trees and shrubs, which made mowing difficult, and didn't look too good. I am gradually mulching the bed, as time and energy levels permit :)

While cleaning up the back garden bed, I decided to severely cut back a plant that was looking pretty ratty. When I got to the roots, a cluster of rhizomes, I discovered that the plant is a form of ginger ( the rhizomes smell gingery when I cut into them). I left some of the fresh shoots alone, and gave the plant a good watering with seasol, so now I will wait to see if it comes back strongly or not.

The plants I initially planted into the new garden bed have all survived, except for one of the platylobium seedlings. It was pulled out either by a cat or a bird. I went back to the native nursery to get more tube stock, and planted some more shrubs and ground covers. I am not sure what the new plants are, as the labels at the nursery were all worn off, so I went by section (ground cover, small shrub). If they survive and start flowering then I will be able to tell what they are then :).

Over the last few days, I have been finishing the tiling preparation in the bathroom. I finally spent the time with a cold chisel and hammer, to remove the last of the old tiling cement. I then washed down the wall with sugar soap, rinsed thoroughly, and let the wall dry. This morning I put a line of silicone sealant down where the wall meets the top of the bath. Once this has cured, I will have a go at putting fresh tile cement on, and re-tiling the first section.

Now, back to cleaning the house ... :)