Painting my 101 Year Old House

Restoring the cedar siding and exterior pine wood trim on a 101 year old house. Full restoration of original wood siding with scraping, sanding, priming, and painting. Replaced rotten sections of trim and tightened everything back up. Very labor intensive, but worth it in the end.
Camera: DJI Osmo Pocket
Music: Bensound.com

[@wealthystella]

Great Video, This explanation of house painting is exact. The steps you have taken are exactly what I did 20 years ago and still is holding up. I was younger then and now turning 73 I will be refreshing some sections this summer. Lots of work, but worth it.. Thanks for the refresher course. Old lady in MA

[@olsenkated]

That’s wonderful! And I’m so happy to hear that your hard work paid off! Fingers crossed that mine will last for 20 years. Happy painting!

[@wyndiefeatherstone948]

Oh this is funny, I am 72 and started my house today. I painted it 18 years ago with my mother, after my father passed away. This time it is just me!

[@danajoseph6705]

I bow to the love you put into this beautiful home. I am a historic restorationist, and my heart glows watching this.

[@olsenkated]

@@danajoseph6705 thank you! I bet you get to see some amazing things being a historic restorationist!

[@davidlee2945]

That looks amazing! Every time I’m grumbling about a little paint project, I’m going to think about you guys for inspiration. You really put your heart and soul into that project and it shows!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the kind words and great perspective! We all get 24 hours in a day - I find needing to remind myself how important it is to spend it wisely

[@skyhawaii5446]

You just brought a house back to life. Great job to you and your other did Lot's of hard work to say the least. Your house will last for another 100years plus because of the amount of prep you did. Every professional painter will agree with me.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! I sure hope it lasts another 100 years. It was way more work than what I first thought it would be. But I’m glad I did it.

[@heidifehr4140]

Great job! It's so refreshing to watch the work of those who want to do it right and appreciate the beauty of older homes. My house was built in 1911 and I'm stripping paint now, came in to take a break and look for some inspiration and advice.

[@olsenkated]

It’s a lot of work but worth it in the end! I would get lost in my podcasts while working outside on the house, but a good break was always so rewarding! Enjoy the process and best wishes to you!

[@ItsFixable]

I really appreciate seeing the dedicated effort and consistancy to do the complete job right! Kudos to you for such an approach.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the nice compliment!

[@52Drew]

Wow awesome job Katie. I have done a repair and paint on an 110 year old house and I can really appreciated the time and hard work it takes to do a job to a high standard. And don't those old homes look so smart when freshly painted. Also I discovered that keeping up the cleaning maintenance was a great help keeping the house looking cared for. I don't think I would ever recommended using power washers on the old homes unless super low pressure. Great job.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks Andy! I couldn’t agree more. It a never ending job properly caring for and maintaining a home, but keeping up on the cleaning makes a world of difference. I will be washing the house here in a few weeks as the Wisconsin weather starts to warm up.

[@fredsolomon3rd6969]

Wow, good work, it came out looking beautiful.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much!

[@Sc-ld7os]

Props to you guys for choosing beauty over convenience. Vinyl/aluminum makes things look like a trailer mobile home

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! Haha, in the the end it was worth it. But there were a few times during the process that I asked myself why on earth did I choose to go this route.

[@1834RestorationHouse]

Kudos for restoring, not replacing!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! I’m so happy with how it turned out.

[@1834RestorationHouse]

@@olsenkated We need to do that to our victorian one of these days too. We found a great tool called a Speadheater Cobra. It heats with infrared energy which breaks the pain bond away from the wood so it scrapes off easily. It might be good for future projects! We have some videos on our channel that show this.

[@waltbe]

Surprisingly good video after what I thought was a slow start. Good commentary and information, excellent video cutouts to make a point. Great video. Thanks!

[@olsenkated]

Thanks! I’m new to video editing and love playing around with it. Learning where to find royalty free music and pair it with the video clips is such a challenge for me.

[@catherineskis]

Oh my gosh Ma'am! What an amazing job. Thank you for the video.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks Catherine!

[@DonDrury]

You did a wonderful job, most people would take the easy way out

[@melissarader6533]

Looks wonderful! I getting ready to restore my wood siding on my garage and appreciate you sharing the video.

[@olsenkated]

You’re very welcome. Hope it goes well for you!

[@haditwithwork]

ACE job! Nuttin like doin it right! Thnx to ur helper. Not only for the muscle, but for the lift in spirits.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! Agreed - it was great having Cole come down and keep me company on some of those LONG summer days.

[@laurelarmstrong4535]

You did a great job. It has inspired me to work on my house. I just have trim, but at 73 that is enough. Thanks for the tutorial.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks! It definitely feels good to have it done. And it’s amazing how different the house looks. But I’m not so sure if I want to tackle any projects this big again either 😂

[@cosmo6447]

Wow!!! I'm so impressed by your hard work and perseverance. O.O

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!

[@Magesticalizm]

You did a really great job on the prep. Beautiful finish.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the kind words. I’m super happy with how it turned out.

[@CAAnon-o8f]

Amazing job , taking everything down to wood like that is a ton of work for sure 👍

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! And thank goodness I’m finally done with it 😆

[@factualfallout1469]

I am inspired now. I just got a house that is from the 50s and looks like yours did.

[@olsenkated]

Congratulations on the new house! Best of luck on all your projects.

[@longsnapper5381]

Well done, Katie. You should be proud.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much. That’s so very sweet of you to say.

[@Nagendergarcha]

Old is gold 👌

[@thechosen6609]

Great job guys

[@brianfletcher7993]

Looks fantastic. Great job restoring your house!

[@olsenkated]

Thanks, Brian!

[@Hello-1814]

Great job! I have to repaint a very small section of the wood siding in my house so this gives me a pretty good how to guide so I appreciate it and you did great work. Thanks for everything here.

[@olsenkated]

You’re welcome. I hope your project is going well.

[@AlexReacts_]

Awesomely done. Looks very professional

[@olsenkated]

@@AlexReacts_ thank you! 😊 after all that work I’m not sure if I would ever want to do it professionally 😆

[@IamDoogy]

I like your ambition and energy. Great job.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!! 😊

[@escapetherace1943]

in the future you can use an oscillating tool with a scraper attachment to make ultra short work of the scraping 👍

[@xbrizzcakez]

Saw your video and I was very impressed, I was in the painting trade for 40 years on the West coast. For the first 20 paint removal by propane torch and tools were allowed, not any more though. Your prep reminded me how paint can be removed, an amazing effort for those involved.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the kind compliment! This was my first time ever doing a paint removal project like this, and I’m not sure if I ever want to do it again. 😂 that sounds like a very hard but rewarding career!

[@ronedelenbos272]

Great work, Be proud of yourselves, that was worth all the effort.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! I'm just glad it's not something I will have to do again anytime soon.

[@gretchenburton7184]

Lovely home. Beautiful work. Huge job.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!

[@gretchenburton7184]

@@olsenkated You're most welcome!!! Appreciate your work and care. Such a wonderful home and family!

[@Dragonpetal]

Wow that makes a big difference. Looks really good and what a wonderful color!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! It looks like a different house!

[@brioquery]

Fantastic job! I live in northern California and will be scraping then painting my home over the long Thanksgiving weekend.

[@olsenkated]

Hope it goes well! We have snow here now. So no outdoor projects for me anytime soon.

[@davefreeman1499]

That is a big job you did it great.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks Dave! I’m very happy to have it done.

[@gregcoughlin4615]

Labor of love, looks really great!

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much!

[@becauseiscentsso8168]

Your home looks beautiful.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! It is so nice to come home to a house that I’m proud of!

[@kennylignon7908]

Big job! Looks beautiful!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the kind words

[@itisquintessential]

Wow….just WOW! I’m working on my early 1900’s schoolhouse home, and you’re making me wonder if I should be a little more dedicated to doing it right the first time. Well……. This is actually the second time around! :)

[@olsenkated]

Thanks! I’m hoping that this paint will last with the proper prep work. I guess only time will tell.

[@shannonc.4257]

Very nice work & a daunting task. You did an awesome job!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! That is so very kind of you to say.

[@chadlanoway7320]

This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!!!

[@olsenkated]

You’re welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@marioalbertorivera3346]

Awesome 👌 👏

[@fritzlausier7053]

Looks Great! Well done.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you

[@mattthompson9480]

Wow Katie great job on the house. Time is not even important how long it took to do it the fact that you took the effort and the patience and you endured. You did a great job. A lot of hard work. I’m sure the video does not show all the people who helped you blood sweat tears effort, exhausting days, sore muscles thinking and wondering if you’ll ever get it done. My wife and I are attempting right now in August 2024 to begin one side at a time. We have a small 109 year old house cedar siding same thing everything is flaking off so we are going to try and get it done before the fall hits in Idaho and it begins to get cold. Basically the same product. I know people say you should brush it, but I think we’re gonna try and spray it with a follow roll so as we spray, we roll it in. As a second step, I will spray my wife will follow me with a roller. Will Try to share some footage as well. One side at a time is our goal instead of attacking the whole house at once. We have to add new siding as well and anywhere we add siding we are putting down Tyvek .More concern obviously with these old houses, they are not insulated. my thought was it’s possible to go around the house with a small 4 inch hole saw make holes strategically and blow in insulation into each cell between the timbers otherwise you have to peel off the siding and put on Corning foam sheets to get any kind of an R factor barrier. we are going to blow in a barrier insulation into the attic. And of course, what you spoke of replacing windows and anyone who’s doing the same type of work get used to mice outsmart them and give me them no place to hide. We had to tear out, our interior kitchen walls and vacuum out all the dead mice. Lots of steel wool and silicone to block up any opportunities for mice. Best wishes from Idaho.

[@olsenkated]

@@mattthompson9480 oh gosh it sounds like you and your wife are doing a ton of great work to your old house. Cole and I were just discussing today the quality of lumber used in homes from that era compared to anything being built today. Time will tell if homes being built today will last as long as these old ones that we are spending time to repair. (Personally I’m betting on the old slow growth timber) spoiler alert, we sold that old house and are now working on the next home - from the 1970’s. Which sat empty for a summer - which means mice. I hope your mice smell better than ours did. I found bleach in a bleach spray bottle to be very helpful for cleaning things out before priming with the animal smell primer. Best of luck to you on the painting project. Hope the sprayer works out for you - I also recently invested in one to paint some exterior doors. I liked it - the doors turned out well. Don’t forget to pickup paint thinner to clean it out when you’re done using it.

[@hypnosiscenternyc]

my house is 103 years old ... thanks ... especially for the electric sander tip.

[@olsenkated]

You’re welcome! Hope it goes well for you!

[@elainekaegi814]

😊 fantastic job! Looks bright and fresh... well done. I'm about to do an old wooden house myself, in much the same condition as yours was, so I watched and paid attention to your great work. Learned alot! Thank you. Hope you have many happy years in Yr new home. ❤

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much! Best of luck on your painting project - hope it goes smoothly for you.

[@troyhonda71]

You live next to a Quick Trip? Sheesh, I'd be going there every day. Great job on the painting project!

[@olsenkated]

Ha yeah, We go far too often! Thank you.

[@Blondeunicorn333]

Love learning from a woman!!! You did a great job! Scraping paint off of my deck now🤦🏼‍♀️

[@olsenkated]

I hope your deck project goes well! I have faith in you - you’ve so got this!

[@fredrickvoncold]

wow thats alot of work paying off,looks good

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much!

[@rae0521]

Terrific job. Now... go have a good rest. Why? Because... you get to DO IT ALL AGAIN in 10 years! Enjoy!

[@r1johnny]

Well done!!! Very nice. Congratulations.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks John!

[@becky-kq2hb]

Would love to see an update. Such hard work that most people would not tackle themselves.

[@olsenkated]

thank you - and thank you for the suggestion. I filmed an update this week and hope to have it edited and posted soon!

[@Maria-jp6eo]

Thanks for sharing this video. So inspiring, as I’m preparing to paint my house (on my own) during the summer.

[@Maria-jp6eo]

What a beautiful home 🏠!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you so much! That is so very sweet of you. Best of luck on your painting. Remember to drink lots of water!

[@diadepesca4510]

I m impressed! It looks awesome!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!

[@cdb989]

You must have strong hands that’s a lot of scraping and hand painting, it turned out very nice whole different look well done

[@olsenkated]

Well, my hands definitely aren’t your typical dainty lady hands hahaha! Thanks! I’m super happy with the results of the paint and how it has been holding up to the elements.

[@sherrybriggs4050]

Great job! You did it right!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!

[@Ben727-vy3sz]

One of the best video I highly recommend to anyone

[@eduardomendoza-nu3jl]

Wow that's very professional, well done. It is very difficult to find a good painter nowadays, the way you doit it will last at least 10 year. 💯🖌️👍

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the kind words! This was my first project like this. I learned a ton and enjoyed the process.

[@stevescabin5441]

Wow! Katie Lou! Great job! You and your boyfriend busted your butts on this house! I think it came out great!

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much!! It was definitely a long processes. But I think it was worth it. Not that I ever want to do it again 😂

[@toddfr1967]

This makes me think there is hope for my house that has older lapboards as siding.

[@olsenkated]

There’s always hope! Hopefully the wood is still in good shape.

[@toddfr1967]

@@olsenkated The majority of it is. Thank you. Just gonna be a lot of scaping.

[@davidmacgregor3471]

Well Done, the differance is amazing, bet you were glad that the Covid break allowed you to work on the project - (Dave Mac for United Kingdom)

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! I don’t know how I would have gotten time for all this without it.

[@dougB4454]

Nicely done. Looks great. I usually paint top to bottom to cover up drips, but I am sure you had your own process.

[@olsenkated]

My grandpa suggested that too. There were a lot of days that rain was in the forecast, so I wanted to get that raw wood covered and cured as quickly as possible. But both you and my grandpa are probably right. I should have started top and worked my way to the bottom.

[@sbabcock71]

Katie, what a fantastic job you did on this! I grew up in Oshkosh so as soon as I saw the Kwik Trip I knew this had to be Wisco :) I am doing the same thing starting this fall and continuing through next year. We have a 1950's built home that was originally sided with cedar siding 12" reveal. That was covered in the 1960s with aluminum siding... and I've been pulling that off and finding the siding still in very good to decent shape. I plan on doing exactly what you have done. Sadly there are no Menards in Upstate NY, where I live now. I'll be using Sherwin WIlliams paint and an oil-based primer too. Go Packers and Go Brewers!

[@olsenkated]

Hi Steve, Hello from your home state of Wisconsin! That’s awesome, I hope your project goes well. I was somewhat lucky that some of the old paint cleaned off easily due to so much sun exposure and how neglected it was. Wonder how yours will be since it has been protected for so long. Best of luck to you! I bet it’s going to turn out amazingly!

[@addiespain1727]

Wonderful job 😊😊

[@olsenkated]

Thank you

[@pqworks9019]

You got it sooo easy!!!! My house is 90 years old with the thickest old lead paint ever!! I had to experiment with so many different tools and I’m 2 years into this project. I had to work off of free time from work and school! I’m just happy I’m almost done!

[@olsenkated]

Oh wow! Hope the rest of your project goes well.

[@pqworks9019]

@@olsenkated yeah thank you!!

[@stephanievulcheva8125]

It turned out amazing! I really admire your dedication and pouring your soul into your home! That is what makes it a home and not just a house.❤ Just I have always been wondering way in us most of the houses are painted, when it's such a pain in the a$$ every couple of years? We in Europe, if we have wood out or inside most of the times it is just impregnated.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! This house is definitely starting to feel more like home. A lot of people don’t maintain their wood siding in the US and it goes neglected. That would be so cool to see the difference between the US and Europe styles of siding!

[@jdelaney9325]

I hope you tested the old paint for lead. Keep up the good work.

[@larryhaug71]

The fact they took back to bare wood, YES there was lead!!

[@daviddublin2545]

Never get lead tested. Harder to sell a house after.

[@larkinkelly3754]

You should always prime the back of the wood that you won’t see, water can soak through the back side of the wood

[@kimbennett2677]

Beautiful job.

[@olsenkated]

Thanks so much!

[@thedone1342]

Getting ready to re paint my grandmas house for her

[@olsenkated]

@@thedone1342 that’s so sweet of you. I hope it goes well and that you get to spend some quality time with Granny!

[@michaelweekes8455]

nice , good job, "if you want it done right...."

[@nobonesaboutit7639]

Beautiful job! I've been doing the same thing on my house( circa 1927)

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! It’s a lot of work - I hope your project is going well.

[@nobonesaboutit7639]

@@olsenkated alot of work would be an understatement. Its a quest, but yes , so far so good 👍

[@lanceroot520]

Good job!

[@olsenkated]

Thanks :-)

[@JF-bc2lw]

Looks good!

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!

[@UnkleAL1962]

that was an amazing transformation and I know how much work it is I painted my 1930's house about 10 years ago. My garage is old too with many coats of rough paint and needs to be done again. What was the scraper again that your Dad recommended?? thanks!

[@olsenkated]

Thanks! How is your paint holding up from 10 years ago? I’m hoping that this process helps make it last longer and proves to be worth it all. It was a purdy premium 2 1/2” carbide scraper.

[@vibou8866]

Nice job

[@olsenkated]

Thanks!

[@paulcaine1547]

Nice work, 😊🤝

[@olsenkated]

Thank you!!

[@mheberling5939]

Nice job! So don't use a pressure washer? Glad I saw your vid because I am currently scraping my home right now. I will go the sander once i am done scraping. I'm just a bit worried about the possibility of lead in the paint and sanding it down. That would create dust with lead in it.

[@olsenkated]

@@mheberling5939 in my case the pressure washer was too abrasive. Lots of work ahead of you, hope it goes well. Yes, you definitely want to have your paint tested for lead. I don’t talk about it because I’m not well versed on the topic and it’s important to do your homework (from a reputable source - which isn’t me)

[@xgxhypxgx]

My house is around the same age. I just tested it for lead and it came back positive.

[@olsenkated]

Most paint that is that age will have lead. My advice would be to do your research for your local regulations and safety concerns.

[@wandadelacruz2486]

I’m in the process of doing the same thing. I’ve encountered wood rots in a few areas. What kind of wood did you use to replace yours?

[@olsenkated]

I always try to use cedar whenever possible as it’s naturally rot resistant. Best of luck on your project!

[@chrisheffernan6600]

Wow, basically stripped it to the bare wood. Lots of hard work and dedication. Nice work

[@olsenkated]

Thank you, Chris!

[@heatsourcemusic2539]

wow great job!! Amazing results. Very inspiring. Im planning on painting with a sprayer myself. Muuuuuch faster.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! Hope your project goes well. A sprayer would be so much faster.

[@donowen9848]

lovely

[@olsenkated]

Thank you

[@danwhite7767]

Hi great job Have you checked your lead level.

[@johntoth9523]

Great job with one note: you shared the type of primer (oil-based) but not the type of paint. Also oil-based?

[@olsenkated]

@@johntoth9523 great point. It was water based paint meant for exterior.

[@BryceJohnson88]

What's the paint color?

[@olsenkated]

Dover Gray

[@Starry_Night_Sky7455]

The timelapse speed up doesn't really show how labor intensive the prepwork had to be. With the new paint, anyone driving by might be searching Zillow for this house. It looks so good! All that painstaking tedious labor! Well done!

[@olsenkated]

That’s so much! It was a ton of work but so very worth it. I’m glad that we restored this home back to its original charm.

[@nicknorr6417]

How did you handle the edges on the paint left on, after scraping?

[@olsenkated]

Everything was sanded down after scraping, leaving the surface fresh and ready for the oil based primer.

[@stephenwhite5444]

You guys did a wonderful job! I'd love to know exactly what scraper that was you ended up liking that you dad got you.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! It was the Purdy premium 2 1/2” carbide scraper.

[@juliocesarm.c352]

Hicistes una prueba de lead antes de empezar el proyecto?

[@kelisarnold4792]

If you don’t mind me asking how much did you spend on paint?

[@olsenkated]

@@kelisarnold4792 it ended up costing somewhere around $500 for the paint itself, including the 5 gal oil based primer, 5 gal exterior gray, 5 gal exterior white, one gal porch floor paint, and one gal exterior black. But I was able to find some of it in a scratch and dent area in the store and waiting for sales.

[@janetpaed6647]

We just moved into a 150 yo house and kind of worried to do the scraping ourselves because it's possible the siding has lead paint. Did you do a lead test before working on it?

[@olsenkated]

We did not get it tested. We did research on our local regulations and followed those.

[@leearrington]

Hi I have 1912 house in SE michigan. My paint trim is old and cracked. It seems like you removed the lose paint then sanded to smooth everything out and then primed and painted . Is that right?

[@saifullahmahfuz859]

Which primer and paint have you used?

[@olsenkated]

It’s an oil based primer from Menards and Pittsburg exterior paint in Dover gray. To find out more I talk about them and show the can in the video at time stamps 6:15 and 8:22

[@bobcougar77]

2:26 I think you meant to say a "Carbide" scraper blade. I'm pretty sure a carbon fiber blade wouldn't be very effective.

[@doraponce8288]

what great state is this from

[@olsenkated]

Wisconsin

[@JeanneGable]

Beautiful job, very impressive. I bought a 1945 house that I just pulled the siding off of, but now I'm reading all the concerning information about lead based paint removal. Did you have any concerns or take any special precautions before you started sanding and scraping? I'm not in the marketing for a professional lead abatement, and could use some helpful feedback.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you! I’m super happy with how it turned out. I’m not an expert on the topic of but I did do research before starting.

[@nicknorr6417]

👍👍

[@acmatos]

Wow looks awesome! Any concerns with old lead paint at all? I have a 101 year old house as well and need to do exactly what you did.

[@olsenkated]

Thank you for the kind words. And yes, get it tested and do your research. I’m not an expert on it, so I don’t feel comfortable giving any advice on the topic. Hope your project goes well!!

[@mattgal12]

We just bought a house in almost the exact same condition as yours and I'm going to start on it in the next month or two. Is there anything you wish you'd have done different or have any pro painters made valuable suggestions you could pass on?

[@olsenkated]

Oh gosh, that’s a great question. More people helping me 😂 it was a long process with 1 1/2 people working on it. (I count Cole as a half person on this project because he was working full time and I had the summer “off”) Scaffolding would have maybe helped vs using the ladders. A lot of the pros have asked why I didn’t use a sprayer. A sprayer would have been faster, but with more prep work and material because of the over spray. I don’t have any experience using a sprayer and didn’t have the money to rent one. Plus I liked the idea of brushing the paint on to keep it “traditional” to the time the home was originally built.

[@fitz7777]

How long did it take you?