Steve's workshop - Painting the outside walls

[Eric The Viking]

"That there door is gonna have to go..."

 

[mindthatwhatouch]

Wish I was closer, like the idea of getting fed up with turkey and popping round for man play.
Oh no wait that doesn't sound right... especially after the Right Said Fred reference....

Anyway I have enough to be getting on with...

 

[Steve Maskery]

Short day today, but quite productive.

We finished painting the ceiling even though the temperature was a degree or so lower than recommended. There are a few places where we didn't sand the filler as much as we should have, and it most certainly would not do for a dining room or lounge, but this is a workshop and it is absolutely fine for that. we have got too much paint on the Unistrut, but the painting itself is not patchy. It's fine.

It was colder and brighter today and the wind got up. My nicely-fitting man-door started to blow about quite severely, so I've screwed a piece of wood over it and wedged it shut. Sorry, I didn't tke a photo and it is dark now.

Talking of the man-door, I had another go at that top brace, and if I got a bit more forceful with it, I found that it did start to budge It was just stapled in place, but levering it out pulled the staples right through the cladding slats. Still, at least it is actually doing something now, and by the time I have finished it will be invisible anyway. Sorry, no picture of that either. I'll try to do better tomorrow.

Actually I'm inclined to replace them both. They are ex-1", which is thinner than the depth from inside of frame to the cladding. I want to fill the door with insulation and apply an internal skin. Not sure what yet. But that would be a lot easier if the frame and the bracing were all in the same plane.

Now I know that I've not said much about the outside, because I've had to put right a lousy decision I made at the outset. I've fallen foul of fire regs, and whilst I do have a fix, it needs to be done when the temp is consistently above 10 degrees C, so realistically that means the spring. So the shiplap has to come off the sides and back, but the membrane and laths can stay, so we have finished off the membrane so that the OSB is better protected for the winter.

Hey, I have a picture!

We've not put up any more laths, because they are on 2ft centres over the studs, and the cladding we shall use is 2.4m rather than 8ft (that old chestnut again), so we may have to jiggle the laths. No point in putting them up only to have to move them again.

So Ray is off for Christmas now, but I'm hoping that my mate Akram is coming some time this weekend. Saturday is cold but Sunday is forecast to be mild again, so we should get at least some of the walls done.

I also want to set my P/T up again. I've bought some wood for the window frames and I've been given a nice piece of mahogany to use as the cill for the double doors. I can make it match the cill on the man-door. The P/T is filthy, and the exposed steel parts are a bit rusty, but I've already cleaned up the cutter block, and the knives themselves just wiped clean and seem quite sharp still. I'm pleasantly surprised. I just wish I'd cleaned them in situ rather than taking them out. I've got to set them up again!

The man-door fitted beautifully a couple of days ago, but now it is swollen and rather tight. Not tight enough to stop it flying about in the wind, obviously, but it is not the same as it was. I plan to fit the hardware tomorrow so that it can't blow about.

As we finished early today, I went to the paint shop for some paint for the doors. They did not have the base for the colour I wanted. It turns out that the reason for this is that the code for the product is wrong in the database, so that any store that tries to order it gets told it is out of stock. It is only because the store attendant searched for alternatives that he found that someone had transposed two letters of the code in his entry on the computer!

A bit more tomorrow, all being well.

 

[marcros]

What is the fire reg fix, Steve?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Glassroc and Snowcem, in a word.
Or three.
I'll tell you more when we do it.
S

 

[Flynnwood]

SNIP...

I went to the paint shop for some paint for the doors. They did not have the base for the colour I wanted. It turns out that the reason for this is that the code for the product is wrong in the database, so that any store that tries to order it gets told it is out of stock. It is only because the store attendant searched for alternatives that he found that someone had transposed two letters of the code in his entry on the computer!

I can help on that and the codes. What colour is it you want ... and in what finish?

Also oil or water based ...

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thank you, Flynn, that is most kind of you.

The embarrassing bit of this is that I Can't Remember. I didn't write it down and I got to the store expecting to look at the catalogue and recognise it. That didn't happen.

But I have Dove Grey for the cladding and I'm looking at something like Horizon 18C35 or Delph 20C37 for the doors. The trouble is that neither of those names rings a bell with what I thought I had decided upon!

My brain just doesn't work like it used to.



S

PS I forgot to mention that this is from Johnstone's Quick Dry Opaque Wood Finish range.

 

[Brentingby]

Looking great, Steve.

 

[Flynnwood]

The pre mixed colours can be found on page 28 and 29 here:

http://tinyurl.com/ogo4lsh

According to my contact, 18 C 35 would be a L base, and 20 C 37 would be a Z base.

Of course, that doesn't mean much if you can't remember which tint you had decided on :lol:

Anyways, the workshop looks great - well done.

=D>

 

[Steve Maskery]

Flynnwood
Thank you very much - that is very helpful, though not quite in the way you intended!
When I went in yesterday I coudn't understand why I didn't recognise the colour I had decided upon. I spent some time looking at the colour book and ended up "deciding" all over again, but I knew it wasn't the same as before.

The brochure you link to is the one I used originally and the one they had in the store was different.

The one I originally chose was Stormy Blue (p29)

WHat do you reckon?

 

[Steve Maskery]

Brentingby
Yes, those are they, as best as I can tell on a screen. But on the screen I definitely prefer the Larkspur to the Corvette.

Too much choice!

S

 

[Wizard9999]

Looks like things are coming on in leaps and bounds Steve. If you are choisng colours you must be getting close to the finishing line!

Terry.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Well I was hoping to get some painting done today, as the forecast was for it to be a bit milder, but by 1pm it ws still only 9 deg and it felt colder than that. My fingers are still numb. The magic number is 10 deg so I've decided to call it a day.

However, all that does not mean there has been no progress.

You will remember that I had hung the man-door. I'd had to bar it closed to stop it banging about in the wind, so I needed to fit the catch and locks to finish the job.

I actually started yesterday. I'd chopped the door for the locks some time ago, but I'd not got the catch then, so that was the first thing to fit.

The locks were not quite deep enough, so I had to lever them out and chop a bit more, knackering up my nice clean, sharp recess edges in the process. Not a happy bunny about that.

Then I could fit the furniture. I'd found some really nice escutcheons from a place called MoreHandles so I bought them and some nice handles and a coat hook. I'd measured very carefully to make sure that the locks would be equidistant from the handle. But of course, I'd forgotten to allow for the fact that the spindle is not central in the handle plate. So the lower one looks closer to the handle than it should be, That is really going to bug me, but it's too late now. I do this job so rarely that it's like being a total beginner again. Use it or lose it, eh?

I also cocked up a bit fitting the escutcheons. I marked the holes for the screws very carefully, dead on a vertical line. I even popped them to get them right. Piloted them properly. Then put in the screws. So why does it look wonky? The screw hole in the escutcheon plate itself is not central. Plus I had to get my grinder out to shorten the screws a tad as they were bottoming out on the body of the lock before seating properly in the escutcheon. The screw thread is very fine and I suspect that I have stripped the thread in the wood. Bummer. The best-laid plans of mice and men, and all that, eh?

Today I have chopped the corresponding mortices in the door frame and installed the hardware for the locks. It all fits very nicely. I do have to push the bottom in with my knee to do the lower lock, but that is because of the wind in the door. With any luck it will gradually pull itself back in.

I'm not sure why but the bottom corner doesn't catch at all now. I haven't trimmed it.

So now it looks like this

 

[sammo]

Steve, been following this from the beginning - and have to say this is a wonderful build story - not just the physical build but how the tone of your posts have become so much more optimistic - set backs (which are almost inevitable) don't seem to get you down as much as they did. To use a over used phrase from reality TV - what a journey you have been on.

WELL DONE...........

Sammo

 

[Graham Orm]

Looks good Steve. You really do need to get something on that door asap. (Sorry don't mean to tell you how to suck eggs).

 

[Steve Maskery]

Yes, I know Graham. You are right.
I do have some wood preserver treatment stuff and would have done that today if I'd not got so cold. I plan to get my paint tomorrow, so it's not going to stay like that for very long.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I forgot to mention.

The door frame is grooved to take a draught-proof strip. It is like a tadpole in cross-section, a tadpole with a barbed tail.

I installed this strip, but it totally prevented me closing the door, even by forcing it. So I've had to pull it out.

I've come to the conclusion that it is simply too big. The round part is 8 or 10mm (I've not measured it) but it looks very large. I think that 5 or 6mm would be better. But this strip was supplied with the door frame, so I would expect it to be right. I'll see how I go on without it, but I might have to find a smaller replacement.

S

 

[geordie]

Doors with draft strip tend to be a bit more gappy than yours Steve you could try putting a bigger leading edge on the door.
Your doing a awsome job of the workshop I am more than a bit jealous

Regards Geordie

 

[Graham Orm]

I forgot to mention.

The door frame is grooved to take a draught-proof strip. It is like a tadpole in cross-section, a tadpole with a barbed tail.

I installed this strip, but it totally prevented me closing the door, even by forcing it. So I've had to pull it out.

I've come to the conclusion that it is simply too big. The round part is 8 or 10mm (I've not measured it) but it looks very large. I think that 5 or 6mm would be better. But this strip was supplied with the door frame, so I would expect it to be right. I'll see how I go on without it, but I might have to find a smaller replacement.

S

That's frustrating Steve. I recently fitted a nice oak inner door to our porch and deliberately left it 'gappy' so that it would take draft excluder. It works perfectly with a snug fit and no drafts.
How about taking the door off and running the router round the face just 1/2" in from the edge to take off 1 or 2 mm to accommodate the excluder that is designed for the job?

 

[Steve Maskery]

That's a good idea Graham, I shall consider that.

I did go out today and looked for some smaller stuff. The bloke in the place where I bought the door said, "The seals that come with them are pretty rubbish. Not all of them have any at all, you must have got a lucky one. We recommend people fit this." He showed me some that was a completely different profile, more like a Z. It seemed expensive to me, but looking online it seems to be about the norm. I can get much cheaper foam stuff, but IIRC, the foam stuff is not as good. I'll have a think.

Anyway, today started badly. I woke up feeling lousy, at about 6am. Instead of getting up and getting on with it all, I went back to sleep. Next thing I knew it was 11.15! My sleep patterns have improved somewhat over the last few weeks so I was a bit surprised, TBH. Half the day gone.

So then I went back to the paint shop and explained about the colour business. "Ah!", says he, "you mean this colour card!". But he hadn't got the base for that either, so it's going to be Jan 6th before it arrives.

So back home in a positively balmy 11.8 degrees, I set to on the walls. I've done the back wall and both gables as far as the bandsaw, so a bit more than half the wall area, given that the front wall has so many apertures in it. I managed to do it all from the floor, using the roller on a pole. I still need to get up on something to do the corners, but the more I can do standing on the ground the happier I am.

That will probably be it now until the weekend at least. I'm not really into Christmas, it's alright I guess if you've got kids and families and all that stuff, but if you haven't it's just an inconvenience when you can't buy paint. But I have a friend who is Jordanian but is living in the UK at the moment. His family is back in Jordan so he is on his own. So he is coming on Christmas Eve for a couple of nights and I need to make the house look a bit less like a builder's yard and a bit more like a domestic residence. So that is tomorrow's task.