Steve's workshop - Painting the outside walls

[Steve Maskery]

No I haven't, but it's a good idea.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Ray was late today and I had to go to Screwfix to pick up some stuff I ordered but were not in stock. What a surprise. So we didn't really get going until about 11.

Although we had made a start on the LH side we decided to get the back done. So Ray set up the scaffolding whilst I went shopping.

We are arranging the back, which is quite difficult to photograph, unfortunately, with a ground-level row of vertical boards with a top level row of 2.4 x 600mm boards laid horizontally. So there was some sheet-cutting to do.

We then carried on as before, fixing up roof laths and screwing up the boards. To avoid any sealed air pockets, we cut a few ventilation grooves. Actually I did them but here Ray is posing.

I've also had a go at caulking the joints on the RH wall, but it is as ugly as sin. Ray reckons that grouting will be more successful. So I've returned the remaining caulk and bought some grout. It's expensive and I would have been much better off going to Wickes. So I think there is some running about to do and making a nuisance of myself.

Ray is coming again tomorrow, as is my friend Akram, who is back in the UK for a few days. He's a snappy dresser (he's back in the UK from working in Saudi to renew some paperwork and buy a few suits. I hope he turns up in some scruffs so he can work, but I'm not betting on it, I am much more expectant of him turning up just in time for dinner).

Ray and I have renamed CemPanel as VariWeight Cempanel. It definitely gets heavier as the day progresses.

 

[monkeybiter]

Ray was late today

I really don't know why you bother with him :wink:

Must be nearly there now, any ideas for your first non-jig/construction project?

 

[Steve Maskery]

That is a VGQ.

I have a coffee table top that I started in the community workshop over a year ago. I want to get that made. Then it's a case of basic stuff like a bed, wardrobe, dining table chairs etc. All the stuff I made before and lost, but I get the chance to do it all again, only better! Now that's what I call an opportunity.

 

[monkeybiter]

but I get the chance to do it all again, only better! Now that's what I call an opportunity.

Quick, write down that wisdom to light the darker days, and never doubt it.

 

[wcndave]

For a camera I am considering the Canon legria 30. Seems to be a vast improvement on the 25

Sent from my GT-I9301I using Tapatalk

 

[Steve Maskery]

I was at the builder's merchants this morning just after 8 to get more laths. I can't believe how many we are getting through. It's mainly because we are having to double up at the joints, and all the existing ones are in slightly the wrong place. If they came off easily it would save us a lot of wood, but once those nails are in, they don't want to come out again.

Ah, yes, nails. Hmm. More about that in a bit.

So more cutting and screwing and the back is finished, as is the ground-level row on both sides now.

There was an odd piece to fit at the end of each wall, but somewhat miraculously one sheet filled both areas, perfectly. There was just enough to overhang by an inch or two so that we could trim it flush with the adjacent wall.

They are not all flush with each other, though, we had a very noticeable step a couple of times and couldn't understand why, as the edges were sitting on the same piece of wood. It turns out that 10mm Cempanels are not all 10.0mm thick. Anything from 9.4 to 10.8. Really. Heigh ho.

But nails. Harrummmmppphhhh.

I have loads of 90mm Paslode nails, but not enough 62mm ones. No problem, I have my angle-grinder on my Aldi stand, jut nip them down a bit and I don't have to go out and buy more.

So that's what I did, and it worked a treat. Then I saw that there were little black circles on the wall behind where I was working. That's pretty, I thought, and carried on. The grindings were obviously getting magnetised and sticking to the screws under the plaster.

Unfortunately my Festool battery charger was also behind where I was working, and when Ray went to plug in a dead battery, there was a flash and that was that. Well it blew the fuse of the charger, but when we replaced that it still didn't work. When we opened it up there was a thin layer of iron filings over the circuit board. They'd got in through the vents and stuck themselves to the metal on the board.

So I've saved a few bob on nails and knackered my Festool charger.. Fortunately I have a mate who is an electronics engineer and fixes PAs, TVs and the like, so I'm going to get him to have a look at it. I hope it's fixable

The other unfortunate episode toady concerns a neighbour. When we went out to the road this afternoon, there were a couple of police officers standing about in front of a house a couple of doors down. My NDB1 neighbour had called them, because someone had thrown bricks through both front windows. It turns out that his son has been a bit naughty with a young lady who was already betrothed...

I love this neighbourhood. Not. Just think if there had been a baby in a pram under the window. Some people are just unspeakable.

Ray is on hols next week, but I have lots I can be getting on with. All the joints have to be grouted, I can install the soffit at the back and then paint the back wall.

I was expecting Akram for dinner this evening. Just had a text to say he can't come. So I have dinner for two here. At least it made me hoover up and clean the bathroom.

 

[Steve Maskery]

All the cempanel joints have to be grouted. I did start to use an exterior caulk, but it was very difficult to get it looking nice. I'm using tile grout. Mixing it is a bit of a pain, as I'm using a cut-down milk bottle, which is rectangular in section. The handle makes it easy to hold, but the mixing is clunky. Plus, this stuff doesn't have a very long working time, so I'm having to mix little and often and it's difficult to mix new grout in a container that has grout that's going off already in it. Anybody got any good tips?

I soon got fed up of that and I wanted to do a bit of woodwork, so I turned my attention back to the shutters. This was probably a mistake, as I really ought to be making the most of the decent weather, but never mind.

I've already mentioned about leaving the lights on a couple of times and I did it again the other day, so I've decided to cut a hole in the shutters. It may not stop me leaving the lights on, but at least I'll be able to see when I look out of the landing window. There is a joint line down the centre. Had it been a centre board I would probably have just drilled a hole, but instead I decided to cut a diamond.

It would have been a lot easier to have cut these before I nailed the boards onto the frame, but I didn't, so I had to retro-fit them, as it were. I made a template out of OSB and fitted a bush to my router. MDF would have been better, this was a bit rough to move the router over.

I cleaned out the corners with a chisel

Once on I think I like them. They do look a bit Snow White's Cottage, a bit twee perhaps, but they do the job. I haven't decided what colour to paint that turnbutton yet. Black to match the hinges? White to match the trim? Blue to match the shutters, or grey to match the wall? I think I'll just paint it pink and orange and be done with it.

It doesn't look quite so good if I zoom out. I've not fitted the last one as something is miles out of plumb. I have a 10mm gap to sort out at the TL corner. The window frame is OK and the shutter is OK, but the trim on the left of the frame is not OK. I think I'm going to have to rip it off and replace it with a tapered piece to get the inside edge vertical.

But not today.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Very French Steve. I think they look marvellous, a real bit of style. To me the turnbutton should be black so all the door furniture matches.

 

[lurker]

Those diamonds really add something. As Bob says, black.

 

[John15]

Definitely black

John

 

[Steve Maskery]

Thanks guys. I think you may be right, black. The pink/orange idea was a joke, but now I've been thinking about it for a bit...

 

[Eric The Viking]

I'd go with white or blue, personally, because of the risk of making nasty marks when you rotate the thing.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I'd go with white or blue, personally, because of the risk of making nasty marks when you rotate the thing.

Ah, I've thought about that. There is a washer behind the turnbutton. I'm not as daft as I look, you know. Not quite.

 

[Eric The Viking]

But nobody could be that...

 

[Wizard9999]

Another vote for black Steve.

The shutters look great, with the diamonds looking like a pair of eyes and the turn button a mouth (maybe if you did go with pink it would make it clear the shutters are a woman's face).

One thing that crossed my mind, a bit off topic, but thout I'd ask anyway. Unlike most people's posts, even when you are on your own you go to the trouble of taking action shots of you working, rather than just showing a set up and end result. How much time does it add to what you are doing to do this? It may be that you have it down to a fine art and it doesn't take much time at all, if I tried to do that it would add hours as I'd probably have to do it three or four times to get it right.

Terry.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Taking the pictures does not take very long. My camera is permanently on a tripod and I usually use P or iA mode, so there is not much setting up to do. I've been doing it long enough to know what I want to show, so I don't agonise over that.

I do have problems with white balance though, hence the reasonn for making the shutters. Also I often have problems with the exposure, especially if the doorway is in the background. I frame the picture, the camera sees the bright opening and does its calcs. I press the button and stand in front, blocking the light. So it sometimes ends up too dark.

The longer time is spent at the computer. I have to create a new folder for the day, transfer the files, open them, discard any that are not what I want, crop each one, tweak the exposure, white balance or shadows and highlights, then reduce it to fit in a forum post. That definitely takes longer than taking the picture.

 

[williams1185]

hi steve your workshop looks amazing my tip for mixing grout is to mix it in a margarine tub and use a flat scraper to mix it its easy to clean out and use again . cheers ian

 

[Zeddedhed]

Steve, regarding the 'photos - not sure if you're on a Mac or PC, but if on a Mac there's a little App called Resize sense which can do batch resizing. Presets can be set up for both the size, naming and locations.

As for the white balance and exposure you can achieve similar results by creating actions in Photoshop.
According to a photographer I know it's possible to create an action for exposure control, white balance, contrast etc all based on RELATIVE settings so you don't need to worry about an individual photo being wildly different.

I'm sure that there's loads of info online - but then you may already know all of this.

 

[Steve Maskery]

hi steve your workshop looks amazing my tip for mixing grout is to mix it in a margarine tub and use a flat scraper to mix it its easy to clean out and use again . cheers ian

And a quick rummage in the recycling bin reveals... a margarine tub. Thanks very much, good idea, I'll give it a go.