That Williams Street Hallway

I can't wait to upload pictures--the before and after is quite a contrast! We're waiting for the Alpha Flooring guys to refinish the floors, before we go back for a final coat on the baseboards and trim, and paint the stair risers.

Regarding my post about my new Presidential aura since incorporating Handy Gal, I checked in with Dylan to see why he hasn't called me Your Eminence, and he said that it is in fact because he is in awe of my new superpowers. Awwww! I promise, Dylan, I only use my power for good. Mostly.

My Eminence

A little thought to share--we incorporated on August 17, 2010, and have been Handy Gal, Incorporated, now for a little over 4 months. I laughed when I discovered that I own 100 shares of the company, and that my legal title within the company is President. I have tried not to let it go to my head, but a few people have called me "Your Eminence," when asked. My quietly trusty employee Dylan will not call me "Your Eminence," however, even when asked nicely. He is only able to look at me sideways. I believe he in speechless awe of my superpowers. Right Dylan? Dylan?! See what I mean?

plaster repairs

Working on a rather dreary stairwell and hallway in a two-decker in Portland. These are the before pictures. The owners put some drywall on the ceiling and patched the plaster walls with some drywall pieces. Our job is to finish the repairs, stabilize the plaster a bit further, and put new paint on walls, ceiling and trim. The trim appears to be the old fashioned Carolina Pine that was used in a lot of houses around here in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It's covered with brown shellac. It would look very nice if we could scrub off the old shellac and put on some new--the grain

would show well, but sanding out every bit of the old stain would be extremely time-intensive, so we are sanding and painting it. The floors will be refinished by a local flooring contractor. All in all, I am looking forward to seeing the fresh new look for this tired old stairwell!

An Introduction

Hello friends and other interested parties,

Welcome to Handy Gal Painting Service. My name is Holly Kidder, the owner and grand poobah of Handy Gal, Inc. We are a business of three employees, and we also team up with other paint businesses for large projects, all of whom have their lead training certificates (including myself). We find cooperation to be more advantageous than competition. At Handy Gal, we do interior and exterior painting, faux painting and murals, plaster and drywall repair, and wood stripping and refinishing.

I first began house painting in the summer of 1986, and have been painting and doing minor carpentry and home repairs on and off ever since. I started Handy Gal in 2002, and decided to focus on painting in 2007. Now we have expanded again to include carpentry and renovation services with Hap, a union trained, ship-building-school-trained carpenter and general contractor. He has over 25 years of experience running job sites and working with older homes, and is knowledgeable about solar energy, green roofs, and green building materials.

I plan to use this blog to post ongoing projects, such as the plaster and paint project we are currently working on. Photos and commentary to follow. Thanks for your interest in Handy Gal!