John_g gave interesting facts on frame construction. Here's another way-out connection on truck frame hole-through. Before I retired and when A. O. Smith was yet making frames for Ford trucks (in Milwaukee), they encounter an environmental problem. It was seagulls from nearby Lake Michigan! (I worked about 1.5 blocks from this location.) The truck frames were welded together and the first primer applied by dipping, and then temporarily stored in large stacks outside. There would be at times thousands of frames, principally for the Ranger, stacked in the outside lot. The gulls liked to congregate in the air above these frames and crapped a lot. The topmost frames received the most poop bombs, but frames deeper in the stack were affected also depending on the wind. There were no little elves on the final production line to clean inspect and clean these frames. These frames, poop and all, continued through the finishing process which were dip and spray tanks including painting. The frames tended to hole out where the poop bombs had been. Those destructive bombs are acidic and could affect frames with the final paint as well. One solution that was tried was carbide cannons to scare away the birds.. As I drove past this lot going in to work, there would be load bangs at random locations in A. O. Smith's lot. Of course, this noise did not set well with a residential neighborhood that surrounded the plant. A. O. Smith did try to be a good neighbor and limit the time of the barage, but of course, the barage had to being soon after daylight, and there were 2nd and 3rd shift workers in the neighborhood who were trying to sleep. It was contentious solution. It was found that the gulls avoided perigine falcons and other birds of prey. (The piegon problem in downtown Milwaukee was eliminated by using falcons.) The final solution was A. O. Smith exiting the truck frame buiness. This business was sold to Tower Automotive and not long after that, frame making at this plant was consolidated with other facilites out of state and the Milwaukee plant shuttered. You might say that frame manufacture at this plant was "for the birds".

Oh Dearest Buehl ! You did it again and I am soooo grateful! Using your advise on one of the posts about missing posts, I used the "site:ths.gardenweb.com" along with the word "Overwhelmed" and my post popped up first on Google's page! I promise! I promise that one day, maybe not in the near future, but one day..... I am going to be able to come here and offer advise, opinion or just an atta boy to someone else who is overwhelmed in the middle of a kitchen redo, just like I've been helped with such wonderful words from all of you! Shelayne, Bless your heart...Thank you, sincerely....Thank You! LasCaTx, Thank you! I'm so glad you said that.....that you don't think it's as dark as you were picturing it. Me either! And bruuuther, is that a load off my mind, at least for right now. :) To read what happened to you, I got shivers...like it was happening to me all over again! Wonder if that's considered "Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome"? Not making light of PTSS in ANY way but when I read here of others having similar problems I actually feel myself tighten up, like I did when I read your story too. You said "Only an insurance company would consider ripping out walls and slab foundations to find leaking pipes you couldn't know were there to be regular maintenance" OMG, We've said something similar so many times since this happened! Regular maintenance means you can access it rather easily or at least with not too much labor/expense, to check on it, maybe once a year, once every two years. Were we supposed to jack-hammer into our foundation on a regular basis to make sure our pipes were still pristine and not rusting out? LOL Or, as my hubby is now very fond of saying when he gets on his soapbox about our insurance company : "That F*&%^* company will step over a dollar to pick up a dime!" The insurance company could have reimbursed us for the plumber and the work from the beginning and saved almost three more weeks of the water continuing to leak, causing more damage. It was during that almost three weeks that the mold and mildew started to form. It's the mold/mildew remediation company the HO insurance HAD to end up paying for.....The remediation of all the mold, mildew, asbestos, air quality testing, fans, humidifiers, special disinfecting agents, saws and other woodworking tools to remove studs in the walls that were too far damaged and specialized dumping of mold/mildew/asbestos containment bags........ to perform all that work for almost a month.....I saw the bill: Almost $9000. As grandkidlet would say "duh!" Oh, our HO insurance also paid for the cameras, the sensors, the specialized laser/computer gadgets to find the leak......for three different companies to come out and find said leak. Leak could not be located. They could say positively there was water under the foundation but they couldn't locate the area it was coming from. Not that I'm happy, IN NO WAY am I happy to hear your story or the previous stories of it happening to others. But reading them lets me know there ARE people out there that will understand when I have these little mini-meltdowns. They've been there, the frustration of living like this, the frustration of dealing with all these different companies.....wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy. Oh KitchenAddict, You are sooo right! It DID Calm me and I was able to get so much done this weekend and I can actually see a light at the end of the tunnel because everyone here, by posting, pitched in and helped me change my perspective, my priorities....and that's what I needed most. I walked through the kitchen a hundred times since Friday night (ok, maybe not 100 times but it felt like it as that is the main back door to get to the tools) and by Saturday late afternoon I didn't even give the color a second thought...it's as if it had been there the whole time. Not nearly as shocking as the blotches of testing we did on the wall that had me looking like a very confused parakeet. *blink blink* And to add a plus to a plus, we had almost 2 full gallons left of my favorite paint of all time...my go-to paint when it comes to ceilings, trim, porch furniture, etc..... Pony Tail in a semi. So what the heck, we tried it on the ceiling of the kitchen and I'm in love! Most folks think the chip of the Pony Tail paint makes it look really dark but when we used it on our bedroom/bathroom trim, everyone thought we had used an off-white/Navajo white. The Pony Tail on the ceiling of the kitchen actually 'calmed' the whole room down if you can understand what I'm trying to say. So we are going ahead with it and using it on the underside of the bulkhead over the pass-through, on the lowered ceiling of the eat-in area of the kitchen and of course, the ceiling. You know, you are so right...now that I think about it. You said the color is versatile. I was sitting here thinking of some of my decor from the damaged kitchen and I'm thinking that almost everything I had in there...decorative platters, little framed art, etc. can go in this kitchen with this color. This color could almost be considered a neutral...if one likes bold neutrals, that is. lol Neighbors? Ooohhhh noooooo, not even close....I've seen your magnificent kitchen. I'm what they call 'on the other side of the tracks'. lol I'm in the neighborhood of the 1065 sq. ft. 56 year old tract homes, every fourth house has the same 3 bedroom/ 1 bathroom floor plan ('cept ours cuz 35 years ago the previous home owners added on a large back bedroom/bathroom/small family room), making ours a whopping 1450 sq. ft. There are two types of folk in my neighborhood....those that hit the floor when they hear a loud bang or those that run outside to see what's going on cuz they're nosy. *smile* So even if I won the lottery, in this neighborhood there is no way I would bother adding beautiful granite or soapstone, or marble, or a high-ticket range, or...well, you get the picture. It's the old "can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear" situation. But reading your posts for the last year or so, I sure would find it a wonderful day to sit across from you having a cuppa....but we'd do it at your house, k? *smile* Oh Julie, Words work miracles....thank you so much for yours. And for the hug! As I'm copying these latest responses I'm going to highlight in bold, so that I can see it right away when I glance over......"I am AMAZING and have done an INCREDIBLE job!".....My new mantra! *smile* BoxerPups, Always had a special place in my heart for Boxers. My first pup ever was a boxer...named him SkuttleButt. Cyber Magic....Love that! LOL But can you imagine? I was at one of my lowest points in, well, I can't remember when I felt so low. That was just last week. And here it is, Sunday night, paint is on the walls, the ceiling, all I have to get done tomorrow is all the little cutting in of the over-spray from the spray gun. Any other touch-up of the paint, like others have said on this topic, can get done after we have a somewhat working kitchen. If time allows I'll continue scrubbing the slate tiles tomorrow. That stuff is really dirty coming out of the box! I've got 110 down, 70 to go. My arms feel like lead weights tonight but it's such a good feeling to have accomplished so much! A tip: Never place drying slate tiles, 20 high, stacked on an old wood outdoor Adirondack chair. (wasn't purdy. don't ask. lol) Did some looking tonight on the computer for a decent price for a combo Slate Enhancer/Sealer. Talk about sticker-shock...ouchie! From the reviews I've read of several enhancer/sealers, I think I'm going to go with the Aqua Mix Enrich N Seal....unless of course someone has rave reviews of another brand? OMG, look what I've gone and done....I've created a mini-novel here! My apologies. But wanted to make sure the latest responses got acknowledged and to let you all know what a great, productive weekend we had, all thanks to you! Ceiling paint: Left under bulkhead: Dove White. Right: Pony Tail Washed Slate Tile:

I never trust how colors look on a monitor, but that pink color really brings out the pink in the granite. I am no color expert! but I tend to go more with the spirit of the look. The light fixtures you said would be a hard sell don't seem to go with the knob you selected, but I can definately see them with the cabinets, which have an "earthy" feel to me if that makes any sense, and I actually like the granite with the selection of the cabinets, same type of feel, but pink doesn't seem so earthy although I think that and the granite really compliment each other colorwise. If I think of the cabinets as red, and the pink as a "descendant" of red it makes sense. The fact that the pink is grayed, and almost a mauve helps to relate it in spirit though to the more earthy look. And then the silver gray frames I think will look very nice. I know you probably are not looking for comments on the color selection, but I think that is a very fine selection for bridging the gap between what is existing and what is complimentary to that. Would love to see the end results.

Here is what I would likely try (assuming I understand correctly -- that there are only a few that are this bad; that under all that built up paint and mildew there is metal, not wood; and that you want to have the finished pain surface look even and neat and stay looking nice. I would not worry about tape/adhesive marks and would put away the WD40. I would make the time and space to have everyone out of my way and to have a good exhaust ventilation and tarps/drop clothes and shop vac set up along with proper eye, ear, possibly respirator (definitely some airway protection and disposable as well as heavy duty neoprene gloves. i would spend the time and effort to remove all of the built up crud -- so removing tape marks is a non issue. If I understand your gunk problem, you'll be removing the years of old paint and sludge underlying the tape adhesive marks. I'd first try to chip, chisel, dremel, grind and sand off anything that I could without damaging the steel underneath. Vacuum that all up, wire brush and try to remove more. Vacuum again. Then, following the manufacturer's direction and with proper ventilation and tools and protection as discussed above, I would begin applying the "best" (most effective, lowest VOH paint stripper remover I could get. What you use would depend upon a few factors and the types of paints in that cracked sludgy stack. You'll want to protect yourself floors and adjacent areas. You can use layer of rosen paper atop a tarp and and the paper gets messy, swap out. Have some chip brushes, steel scrapers and gougy tools and some disposable paint pail liners to toss the scraped off partially disolved old paint into. (Dispos of properly as it will be flammable. Just keep working on dissolving the old paint, scraping it free, repeat...until you get almost all if not all of it off. It's work and messy. Then, after what you cannot get off has dried and 'cured' a bit, you can try to sand and scrape the rest free. You may be able to do some of this outdoors. You may want to hire someone to do this part for you. I have removed old alkyd paint this way, then, in the case of a large, pick wick bead board back bookcase, washed it with TSP (Tri-sodium phosphate --- there may be restrictions on its use or availability from state to state). Let that remain a while, then rinse off with clear water. Allow to dry thoroughly. If only working indoors, you can use terry rags, pails and poly plastic drop clothes with "towel / rag dams" to protect your flooring. Allow the project to dry well. Shop AC dry, towel dry, dry nooks with hair dryer. You don't want to create rust and you will want to treat / remove any existing rust. I would do all of this way before even considering priming and painting or addressing the opportunity for condensation. A faster and less messy way to address all the gunk might be to pay someone with a sand abrasion set up. It may be costly. Perhaps you can barter. Ask around at some auto body shops or vocational schools. Best of luck. It will look so much better when you get it cleaned up. One trick to help with condensation is to consider a dehumidifier or a small fan. Always went cooking kettles and dishwashers with a kitchen exhaust fan. Always run your bath and shower exhaust fans for 15 or 20 minutes after shower use. In the winter or fall, we sometimes crack a window and let some of the very dry winter air (New England) come in and exchange with moist air. If in the fall or early winter and you have a lot of moisture in your house from a humid fall or late summer, be careful about keeping your rooms too cool until a lot of that moisture wicks out of porous walls and floors. We've got a tight house, so have to mind the level of condensation growing on cold Windows (we don't have the best windows). If you have a house full of large dogs, you're apt to get a lot of condensation.