Thank ya'll for the help and info, I really appreciate it. You've clarified some things for me and also opened up some new questions for me... I really was hoping to stick with waterbased primer and paint...the small projects in the past with oil-based paints just seemed to end up messy with paintbrushes that I never could get clean. I'm sure I'm gonna need the knowledge of working with the oil-based stuff sooner or later anyhow. It looks like the materials procurement is going to be a chore in itself. I'm gonna have to do some long-distance shopping. Looking in my local yellow pages I come up with one paint dealer...a Pittsburgh Paints dealer. A problem that I run into is that I'm rural and have to drive roughly 65 miles to the nearest Lowe's. I'll probably have to venture up to Montgomery, AL to find a true paint store....that will probably be 130 miles roundtrip. It looks like several SW stores are up there but not many "mom and pop" stores...I'll see what I can find. Do the SW stores normally handle other brands of paint/primer??? PG, your view of caulking and the cost difference between good and mediocre brands makes sense to me...with your's and Faron's recommendations I'll be returning the Alex Plus and looking for something along the lines of Dynaflex 230. I went to Lowe's last night trying to see what sanding/scraping/etc. supplies they might have that will help me get the old paint off/sanded. I was going to pick up a respirator. They had two different ones in stock (can't remember the brands), one stated it was for sanding and insulation and teh other stated it was for painting and spraying chemicals. Reading the fine print both of them stated they weren't for use with lead. I didn't buy either one. I figure it was the basic "we warned you, don't blame us..." statement and that they probably would work fine...I'll keep a lookout for a 3M brand. Sanding equipment...I looked at different electric sanders and figured I'd get a *real* good dust bath with one of those...ended up simply getting some sandpaper and sanding block along with a couple of foam sanding blocks. I'll see how that goes...mostly will be used to feather edge the remaining paint. I'll be doing a lot of windows later on...if I do decide to pick up an electric sander would an random orbital or a 1/4 sheet finishing sander be better? As for the ceiling itself... In some places there are definite large gaps between the T&G pieces. I've already pulled some large strings of caulking from between some of the pieces. I agree that T&G should fit snuggly together. I don't know if the caulking was used when the house was constructed or if it was added later on...it's a silicone-type so I guess it would have to be of more recent year vintage. It appears that most of the caulking was used more toward the outside areas of the ceiling closest to the weather so it probably was used to fill weather-created gaps. ??? I'm curious as to whether it will be worth my while to order some caulking by the case...that big window in the pictures is one of sixteen that size or 2.5X that size. I may wait and see how much I use on the two windows under the porch and then order some accordingly...or hopefully find some locally (at least as local as possible). weed_cutter, you are right about the roof...flat and no ventilation to speak up between the metal top and the T&G. But, the reason for the bad condition of some of the T&G is pretty much due to several bad leaks that existed before the metal roof was installed. Thanks for the vote on the Duramax...it's supposed to be the one-coat/no-primer stuff but I still want to go down with a primer coating. In regards to windows...is DAP '33' good glazing material? I'm going to need to re-glaze panes in several of the windows. Well, I'm adjusting my shopping lists and will plan on a road trip to Montgomery. Thanks for the help! Ed

I love the idea that you are going to recycle/salvage an original part of this home. You will need to lay a PROPER plywood subfloor (in lieu of the original subfloor planks you are removing) that is two layers to a minimum thickness of 3/4" (check local "Best Practices" for wooden subfloors in your area...some areas recommend a total thickness of 1" or more). Finding a small(er) privately owned mill that will take your planks and mill them with tongue and groove will be the hardest part. The money you save on wood (don't have to purchase it) will be spent on the milling (should be about the same price per square foot in the end = no net loss; no net gain). The planked subfloor you are talking about is OFTEN a soft wood lumber like pine or fir....depending on where you are. These are beautiful when finished in a NATURAL finish. In other words, please do NOT try to stain them. Fir/pine HATE to take a stain. Hate it. So....don't fight nature. Embrace it. As someone who loves a water based finish, I'm going to step back from that position for these types of floors. I will advise looking into an OIL MODIFIED product. That is to say it is MOSTLY water based....but some oil (ie. solvents) are added to allow the floor to turn GOLD/ORANGE. And there is a REASON to let pine/fir turn a darker orange = it will appear AUTHENTIC to the time/era of the wood. And besides, I LOVE the look of oil finished fir. It is a stunning floor. Really handsome....but you have to be ready for orange/red/brown. Normally this isn't my "thing" but with soft woods I like to honour their legacy and let them strut their stuff in an oil based or oil modified finish.

*Note that for the blue bathroom, we plan to put washer/dryer where the bathtub is, a standing shower where the toilet is, and a new toilet/sink vanity where the current blue sink is.

Large knots sound normal in C grade lumber. Whether spot treating will be visible depends a lot on if/how you feather out the edges of the spot treating. Even then, it may show to some extent. You might try it on a few scrap boards first. Also, you might try a light sanding of the feathered edges before final coat(s).