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Roatan and Bay Islands Discussion List Archive
| Posted On: | 01-Jun-2005 |
| From: | "Lisa Grams - Brent Grams" [bgrams.....rr.com] |
| Subject: | Re: [roatan] The story of Behr and the black house |
Hi Guys....please accept our apologies for not responding sooner!! We were in the last leg of preparing our house for the market here at home and then were down for several days while a new system was installed!! Your input was SO VERY helpful. Because we are so familiar with your depth of knowledge on just about every Roatan topic...your feedback is especially valuable to us. We love the idea of keeping the wood natural...that is how Brent had it to begin with but the clear coat finish he originally had been using just wore out to fast....then gradually the tint just got darker and darker, much to his chagrin. Your input on the generator topic makes alot of sense and has given us many things to consider. We are also considering the hefty investment of solar power anticipating it will pay for itself over several years. Our RECO bills are about $350-$400 average I would say. Any thoughts on that? We had Mitch out for a majority of the webcam installation process (we have sent down all of the equipment including a marine type housing for the camera) and he got us about 90% of the way and it totally stalled out. Afte MONTHS of hounding, Juergen and Mitch now claim that they should be able to complete the job, but naturally I have my doubts. This has been ongoing since LAST SEPTEMBER. Well - once again...we are very appreciative that you were willing to take the time to send us your thoughts. They will be put to good use!! Lisa and Brent Grams ----- Original Message ----- From: To: Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2005 7:44 AM Subject: [roatan] The story of Behr and the black house > > In a message dated 5/19/05 3:15:08 A.M. Central Standard Time, > roatan.....com writes: > > 3. For years, we have used a Behr's clear coat with a stain tint...we are > now looking to change colors. Any suggestions on how to best cover the > current > dark red color to prepare for re-painting? (some type of primer ofcourse) > What paint line have you found to have the best results and longevity for > our > climate? > > > > This is so odd! We're doing this right now! > > We have put Behr on our house a coat or so a year for the past seven. > Now > it's black with mildew and layered with the gunk so bad it's flaking in > the > sun--gummy on the shaded decks. In short a HUGE mess! And, no, you > can't just > keep re-painting over it! > > What to do to clean up the mess? > Bleach worked for a while, but never completely--then we tried Behr's > cleaner stuff--still it didn't ever come back to the wood and the build up > just got > worse and worse. There is a stronger stripper/mildew remover applied with > a > sprayer--then pressure washed off. In our case it's on it's third > stripping, > but THE WOOD IS BACK!. Who knew it was so beautiful underneath all that > gunk? The honey color of the original wood is awesome! And, if you could > stop > the mildew from coming back, why color it? But if you want red wood, > there's > an answer for that too! > > What to re-coat with? > There is a product called Tropitech. It's an acrylic coating process in > three stages--WITH some colors too if you want. Applied to wet wood > (stage one > is cleaning it) with a sprayer, a base coat stops mildew (when applied to > CLEAN wood) then top coats of acrylic seal the wood with something like a > plastic wrap that can be applied and reapplied over the base coat as > needed. It > goes on fast with a sprayer. Lasts 5 times longer than Behr--without the > mildew > and buildup. And, unlike varnish, can be reapplied on top without > sanding > just like water seal. Find info at _dockbuilders.com/spandeck.htm_ > (http://dockbuilders.com/spandeck.htm) (put an http in front). This > stuff was designed > for the tropics--sun and salt. > > The guys here on the island that do this are doing my house now and have > my > next door neighbor's to do after and another friend's after that. If you > want on their list, e-mail me and I'll send you contact info. In case > you're > wondering, no, I don't work for them. > > Oh, almost forgot--the BIG thing. COST! The cost of having this > done--stripping--materials--and application of the three step process that > will last > TONS longer is only a few hundred more that what we used to pay for > buying the > Behr, having it shipped and applying it ourselves. Top coat cost is > identical > to Behr for re-applications later if you scratch some off or damage > it--but > plan for wa-aay fewer of them!. > > On the generator? > They make noise--it's awful! Try to find a muffler and plan for a > well-ventilated house for the growling monster with louvered windows and > an insulated > hole for the exhaust to come out of. > > Also if it's diesel or gas get spare fuel filters as fuels you can > purchase > here aren't close to top grade--get spare air filters--tons for the salt > and > dist--brushes (unless it's brushless which is a good idea) and any other > part > you can think of. Get a push-button start or auto start--a pull start will > kill you! Put in a kill switch for you power to be SURE that the power > doesn't come back on unexpectedly (does it happen any other way?) and fry > all your > electrical. > > How much does the power REALLY fail? > Also put some thought into how much you'll use it to decide how much to > spend as they do tend to get gunky if not run at least once a month. > > For example--diesel gas costs (roughly) 1/2 the price of regular--but the > cost of the machine is 4 times more! Here's an accounting question--how > many > hours would you have to run the machine to save enough on fuel to offset > the > original higher price? How much higher are parts and maintenance? How > long > will each machine last in hours of run time--will you run it that much? > Live > that long? Resale value? Maybe is an issue--or would it be sold with > the > house? Sometimes what looks like a better idea isn't--but sometimes it > is. Do > the math, and save some $$ maybe? Ask people with these machines how well > they > operate here--and how easy they are to get fixed--AND how well they sit > up > for months between power outages. Also plan for a bit bleaker power > future as > Mike IS probably right about some troubles with future power demands vs. > supply. Though in our seven years here we have seen about the same power > supply > and outages (not great but not worse either). Maybe even we're seeing > shorter > and fewer outages here than we once did--so far. Rates ARE higher though. > And still the power quality stinks--and you WILL have outages. > > As to webcams? Howard Fluker tried to install one here--didn't--but he > tried. You can write him for his experiences at _howard.....com_ > (mailto:howard.....com) . Also the new owners of CoCo > View--contact them thru > their website link on Roatanet or jes' Google them. > > As always, we hope this helps! > > > Waylon and Sandy Sims > _Coral Beach Inn and Vacation Rentals_ > (http://members.aol.com/athundersm/photos.htm) > _http://coralbeachinn.com_ (http://coralbeachinn.com/) > Growing old is mandatory--Growing up is optional! > Note: Please never assume we have received your message. We answer ALL > E-mail daily. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://www.roatanet.com To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/roatan/ roatan- : | |
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