The old saw is that after forty it’s… Patch.  Patch.  Patch.  After fifty it’s patch, patch, patch.  And after sixty it’s patchpatchpatch.  At least that’s the way it is with people.  With buildings it’s constant patching and… Paint.  Paint.  Paint.

The Oysterville Church is 120 years old and the people analogy doesn’t quite fit anymore, but it seems like just yesterday that we were giving the Grand Old Lady of the Village another coat of paint.  In reality, it was five years ago.  Even so, painting the church every five years is an expensive proposition. The Oysterville Restoration Board struggles with the problem every time it comes up.

I was on the Board in 2002 which was the time before last that we painted the church.  I remember that we were very thorough.  We researched methods of preparation, types of undercoats, brands of paint.  We talked to the historic preservation folks and interviewed painting contractors.  We not only looked at their resumés but we talked to their previous clients and inspected their work.

We finally chose a contractor who seemed to fit every qualification we had decided upon.  “Fifteen years,” he said.  “It should last fifteen years.”  It was spendy.  The price was ten times what it had cost to build the church in 1892!  But, we had done the due diligence thing and we felt it was the way to go.

Three years went by and the painting contractor moved to New Orleans to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  By the end of the fifth year, the church was sadly in need of painting again but… our very previous, highly qualified and highly recommended contractor had never made it back from New Orleans.  In fact, he had died.  No recourse there.  Back to the drawing board.

So, we adjusted our philosophy and went with the lowest bid no-matter-what.  And sure enough, it’s been five years and here we are again.  This time, we have decided to put a greater emphasis on preparation than we have in the past.  We’ve collected a lot of opinions and data that seem to indicate that the more bare wood we can get down to, the longer the job will last.

We have two enthusiastic painters working on it.  They have even guaranteed their work for ten years and will patch anything that needs it in the meantime.  We are ever hopeful…