--- title: "Our Gaff" url: https://our-gaff.com/ description: "Our Gaff is a bench of home improvement and DIY project guides, written in the order the work happens and filed by strand and by room." --- # Our Gaff the bench is running · on the bench Paint a room in a weekend · stage 2 of 5 — Cut in · strand: Painting and decorating [home improvement, room by room](https://our-gaff.com/) ## New on the site [01**How to Tell Red Oak from White Oak Flooring**Sep 16, 2026](https://our-gaff.com/how-to-tell-red-oak-from-white-oak-flooring/) [02**Zodiac Heating & Air Conditioning Inc: Van Nuys HVAC Experts**Sep 14, 2026](https://our-gaff.com/zodiac-heating-air-conditioning-inc/) [03**Aquasana vs Pentair vs SoftPro vs SoftPro for NSF Certification**Sep 09, 2026](https://our-gaff.com/aquasana-vs-pentair-vs-softpro-vs-softpro-for-nsf-certification/) [04**Ferguson vs Plumbing Supply and More for Water Heaters**Sep 09, 2026](https://our-gaff.com/ferguson-vs-plumbing-supply-and-more-for-water-heaters/) [05**Who's the Best for Local Branch Pickup: Ferguson vs Plumbing Supply and More**Aug 22, 2026](https://our-gaff.com/who-s-the-best-for-local-branch-pickup-ferguson-vs-plumbing-supply-and-more/) ## On the bench now current stage On the bench now — Painting and decorating ### [Paint a room in a weekend](https://our-gaff.com/guide-paint-a-room-in-a-weekend) Stage **2 of 5** — **Cut in** · time budget **about six hours of work spread across two days** 1 Clear and wash complete 2 Cut in on the bench now 3 First coat still to come 4 Second coat still to come 5 Reinstate still to come Stage two of five, cutting in. The walls are washed and dry, the edges are being cut in by brush, and the roller has not been opened yet. Two days, one room, and the order that makes it possible. The guide runs from clearing the room to lifting the tape, in the order the work happens. ## Up next on the bench four guides Painting and decorating ### [Fill and sand before painting](https://our-gaff.com/guide-fill-and-sand-before-painting) The stage that decides the finish, done properly. Tiling and splashbacks ### [Tile a kitchen splashback](https://our-gaff.com/guide-tile-a-kitchen-splashback) Set out from the centre, and the far ends look deliberate. Storage and shelving ### [Hang a shelf that holds](https://our-gaff.com/guide-hang-a-shelf-that-holds) The wall decides the fixing. Everything else follows. Flooring ### [Quiet a squeaking floorboard](https://our-gaff.com/guide-quiet-a-squeaking-floorboard) Find which two parts are rubbing before you reach for a screw. ## Weekend schedule sat and sun *Saturday of the paint-a-room weekend* | When | Task | |---|---| | SAT 08:00 | Clear the room and lift what can be lifted | | SAT 09:00 | Wash the walls and leave them to dry | | SAT 11:00 | Fill dents, old fixings and ragged edges | | SAT 14:00 | Sand the filler level and dust off | | SAT 16:00 | Mask, then cut in the edges by brushon the bench | [See the full two-day schedule](https://our-gaff.com/schedule) ## Featured strands five strands ### [Painting and decorating](https://our-gaff.com/strand-painting-and-decorating) 2 guides in this strand Preparation, filling, cutting in and the coats that follow. ### [Tiling and splashbacks](https://our-gaff.com/strand-tiling-and-splashbacks) 2 guides in this strand Setting out, battens, spacers, cutting and grouting a small run of tile. ### [Flooring](https://our-gaff.com/strand-flooring) 1 guide in this strand Squeaks, lifted boards, thresholds and the noises a floor makes. ### [Storage and shelving](https://our-gaff.com/strand-storage-and-shelving) 1 guide in this strand Wall types, matched fixings, levelling and a sensible view of load. ### [Garden and outdoors](https://our-gaff.com/strand-garden-and-outdoors) 1 guide in this strand Weather, timber, drainage and the jobs that only work in a dry week. ## Workshop notes from the bench ### A second coat looks worse before it looks better Wet paint over dry paint reads as patchy for as long as it takes the new coat to level and dry. Judging a wall halfway through a second coat is how a perfectly good wall ends up with a third. The only useful time to judge a coat is when it is dry and the light is raking across it from one side. Everything before that is guesswork with a roller in your hand. ### How to stop a tile row drifting A row of tiles fixed onto soft adhesive creeps downhill under its own weight, a millimetre at a time, and nobody notices until the far end. A timber batten fixed on the line and left in place until the adhesive has set removes the problem entirely. Check the level along the top of every second or third tile as you go, and correct immediately. ### What a spirit level cannot tell you about an old wall A level tells you the truth about gravity. It tells you nothing about whether the result will look right next to a skirting that slopes, a ceiling that dips or a window that was never square. In an old room the eye compares a new line with the nearest existing one. Sometimes the honest answer is to split the difference deliberately rather than to be perfectly level and visibly wrong. ### The order to sand in Coarse, medium, fine, in that sequence and without skipping. Each grade exists to remove the scratches left by the one before it. Jumping straight to a fine grade on proud filler takes forever and loads the abrasive. Stopping at a coarse grade leaves scratches that the paint will magnify rather than hide. [All workshop notes](https://our-gaff.com/notes) ## Bench facts grit and drying *The grit ladder and the drying language used across the guides* | 80 grit | Coarse. Stripping back and knocking down filler that stands well proud. | |---|---| | 120 grit | Medium. Levelling filler into the surrounding surface. | | 180 grit | Fine. Taking out the scratches the medium grade left behind. | | 240 grit | Very fine. A light pass between coats on woodwork, never on fresh filler. | | Touch dry | The surface no longer marks a finger. It is not yet hard and will still bruise. | | Recoat | The point at which a further coat can go on without lifting the one beneath. | | Hard wearing | Days rather than hours. Furniture, tape and cleaning all wait for this. | ## Room directory five rooms ### [Kitchen](https://our-gaff.com/rooms) 1 guide filed here Tile a kitchen splashback ### [Bathroom](https://our-gaff.com/rooms) 1 guide filed here Seal a bath neatly ### [Living room](https://our-gaff.com/rooms) 2 guides filed here Paint a room in a weekend ### [Hallway and stairs](https://our-gaff.com/rooms) 2 guides filed here Hang a shelf that holds ### [Garden and outdoors](https://our-gaff.com/rooms) 1 guide filed here Treat a timber fence panel Every guide is filed to the room the work happens in. [Open the room directory](https://our-gaff.com/rooms).