look at the walls and see if you can see any type of fastners (staples,nails) that are holding it to the wall.
It should be stapled or nailed at the seams and in the middle of the wall at the studs. If so, this should be sufficient. sometimes walls 'pop' when a unit is being moved. They pick it up and it twists or moves the frame slightly enough to make them come slightly away from the wall but that can be fixed when it gets set up. The panels also should be stapled or nailed at the floor and ceiling too. I think the painting and priming will depend on what type of wallboard they used in your particular model home.
I read a lot of posts then experimented with a small inconspicuous wall and went from there. Good Luck!

TSP is very standard to prep any surface before painting. It cleans and very slightly 'dries' the surface to help paint stick a bit better, though is really nothing like a primer in that sense. However, I would ask if using it along with the paint/primer in one can might be enough for the walls, vs needing the Velspar too. I've also heard that the one-can stuff is not necessarily that great and might in fact just go with the Kilz and whatever paint you want and be all set!

Thanks for the replies!

brnincalif :

I see staples and nails. The strips broke a lot when I was pulling it off, as it was very brittle, so I think the staples that I see are leftover from the strips. I am guessing that the nails that I also see are what's holding up the walls. I won't take down any more strips until it is moved, just to be on the safe side.

Not sure what kind of wallboard it is, all I know is it is "printable wallpaper" or maybe the guy said "printable vinyl", shoot I can't remember now, printable something. It DOES have that vinyl feel to it. I am going to experiment in a closet and go from there.

larke :

Haven't tried the TSP yet, will probably be a couple days before the place is ready for "wet work". Still pulling up carpet and knocking out cabinets, need the dust to settle before I start washing walls, otherwise will just have to do it all over again.

I have already bought the Kilz and the regular Valspar, so I hope I made the right choice. Between the vinyl wallboard and the paneling, I figured I would do 2 coats of Kilz and then 2 coats of the Valspar. I really want a good finish. Is it possible to put too much Kilz/paint on? As long as it dries fully between each coat, it should be ok, right? We are getting really nice low-humidity weather right now, so that's a plus.

I have before and after pics of the last couple of days if anyone is interested in seeing them. I anticipate about 6 weeks before everything is done and I will try to post pics every couple of days. I've never done anything like this before, so I don't know if there is a better way to post the on-going work.

I'll post these pics (if I can figure out how) and y'all let me know if you want more.

FIRST KITCHEN PIC

ANOTHER VIEW OF THE KITCHEN, WITH FRIDGE

WHOOPS! LOST SOME cabinets...

WHOOPS, LOST SOME MORE CABINETS!
http://i834.photobucket.com/albums/zz264/peasantgirl_bucket/Renovations%202010%20to%20my%20first%20house/th_DSCN5433.jpg?t=1284159765

NO MORE UPPER CABINETS!

NOTICE THE LAUNDRY ROOM IN THE BACKGROUND IS CLEANED OUT TOO...

MY ROOM

MY ROOM, CARPET UP

MY ROOM, CARPET GONE

LIVING ROOM, FIRST PIC I TOOK

LIVING ROOM, BLINDS GONE, COUCH MOVED

OTHER HALF OF LIVING ROOM

And it only took an hour to figure out how to post these, LOL!

WOW, you've done so much already!! I love seeing progress pics and others who need a push will really appreciate seeing what can be done.

We are really looking forward to moving into our first DW next week in a 55+ park. Inside is great, but the yard needs some work, which will have to wait until next spring.

Keep up the good work :-)

Why DO you need the Valspar is you're using Kilz (never mind 2 coats of it)?

Wantoretire:

Thanks! We had a blast with the kitchen demolition. Didn't get anything done today cuz we had other committments, but looking forward to pulling out more carpet tomorrow and getting the rest of the kitchen and laundry room cabinets out.

Hopefully by Monday we will be able to start cleaning the walls and getting ready to paint.

Larke :

Kilz is the primer and Valspar is the paint. We didn't buy the Valspar Signature which has the primer in it, just the regular Valspar paint.

I have started a blog about the whole project if anyone is interested.

My advice...you are doing a great job. Save all the paperwork, if you sell ten years down the road, this will have a value to the intelligent buyer.
I can see why the cabinets are headed for a landfill! They were all too high..I like the idea of shallow cabinets, both base and wall. They should be sized to what they will contain..

I dunno about too high....hadn't thought about it that way.. All I knew was that they were grubby and sticky and covered in roach poop. Calling the exterminator tomorrow! No way am I introducing roaches onto my land!

Shallow cabinets? The uppers were 12" before and I guess that's ok. If you look in the first pic, the wall with the clock on it, you can see I have a couple of inches to play with on the base cabinets and I thought I might go a little bigger if I could get it. I haven't really looked at cabinets yet so I don't know what is standard or what is available.

When I am finished with that wall, all I will have will be the base cabinets under the sink and then the wall cabinets. I am losing 2 base cabinets to the dishwasher and one base cabinet to 4 drawers. So I will use the wall cabinets for dishes and the cabinets in the island for pots and pans.

I have some kind of cold or flu, I don't know what, so didn't do much today. My son went to a party last Sat. night and woke up Monday morning sick. By Thursday I said, well if I haven't caught it from him by now, I won't, so I drank out of his soda can while we were working at the house. I knew I shouldn't have but it was all there was left to drink. SIGH. I woke up Saturday morning sick. All I did today was pull about 30 nails out of the walls and a dozen or so screws, and I said, I'M DONE.

Oh, I did try the TSP today. Unfortunately, the package says to mix with WARM water, which I don't have, so I tried just a little bit mixed with cold. Guess what, they weren't kidding when they said warm. So we put one of the 5 gallon jugs on the porch for the sun to warm up. I'll try again in a couple days or whenever I get over this crud. If I have to boil a dang pot of water and carry it over there I'm gonna be a teeny bit cranky!

Oh lord, the fever's making me dizzy, LOL. I'm going to bed!

Well, here we are, winter over, tulips coming up! peasantgirlie, how can I reach your blog? Would love to see updated pics.

We finally moved into our DW mid-October. Ripped up beige carpeting in LR, DR and line in the kitchen and had walnut color, oak look 6" wide laminate installed. Love it :-) Having the 2 small decks spruced up, then I can plant some perennials. Really need to have the inside painted, but I'm just not up to it right now.

glad you're in your new place. I've been trying to get into mine for about 2 yrs now...

I forget to check on this forum! i'd love to see peasantgirlie's updated pics too!