Honestly, tapping walls is practically an art form at this point—half the time I just ditch the stud finder altogether. About those eco paints, I've found that labels like "odorless" or "low VOC" can mean pretty different things depending on brands. Had one tenant who was super sensitive to smells, and even the supposedly eco-friendly paint triggered headaches. Learned to test samples and let rooms air out at least a day or two longer than recommended. And yeah, fans and open windows are your best friends during renos, especially bathrooms with limited ventilation. Glad you got through it okay—I swear every reno has its own little surprises no matter how experienced you are. Keeps life interesting, I guess...
"Had one tenant who was super sensitive to smells, and even the supposedly eco-friendly paint triggered headaches."
Yeah, I've been there too. We tried a "zero VOC" paint once, thinking we'd nailed it...but nope, still had that weird lingering smell for days. Learned the hard way to always test a small patch first and give the room plenty of time to air out—better safe than sorry. Glad you managed to navigate all those little reno surprises without too much hassle. It's always something, isn't it? Keeps us on our toes at least...
I had a similar issue when we redid our guest room last year. Tried the whole zero-VOC thing too, but my sister still complained about headaches whenever she stayed over. Eventually, someone suggested clay-based paints—honestly hadn't even heard of them before—but we gave it a shot. Surprisingly, no smell at all and no complaints since. Might be worth looking into if you're dealing with sensitive noses...
We ran into something similar when we redid our basement bathroom. My wife is super sensitive to smells, and even though we went with a supposedly "odorless" paint, she still noticed it for weeks afterward. I thought she was exaggerating at first, but honestly, after spending some time in there myself, I could see what she meant. It wasn't strong exactly, just... noticeable enough to bug you.
Anyway, we ended up repainting with milk paint—another one of those natural options I hadn't really considered before. It was a bit weird to work with at first (mixing powder and all that), but once it dried, zero smell. Like, nothing at all. Plus, it gave the walls a nice matte finish that actually looked pretty cool. Might be another option worth checking out if you're still having trouble with sensitive noses around the house.
Milk paint's a solid choice, especially for sensitive noses. Another thing to watch out for is caulking—some brands claim low odor but still linger. Silicone-based ones tend to be better in my experience, dries quick and minimal smell.
