Kittyhawk
Established Member
This post is more or less a follow-on from my 'Feeling old' post.
Firstly, very happy to say that I'm comfortable with solid 8 hour work days now with only a little more weariness at the end of the day than was the case when in my early 70's, assisting in building a couple of big yachts so it is possible to kick one's ancient hide back into some semblance of working order, thank goodness.
The reno involves demolishing and rebuilding internal walls to a different layout together with associated plumbing and electrical work to get better space utilization. Just now all the big work is done and it's onto finishing, one room at a time. Have just completed the en-suite which turned out well and wife is very happy with it but sadly I'm not allowed to use it. Herself claims she can track the progress of my middle of the night visits by the sighs, grunts and muttered comments and she really doesn't want to therefore I am restricted to the use of the more distant toilet off the hallway.
So this is the first big renovation in nearly 20 years, and haven't things changed!
In the hardware store I asked for galvanised gib board clouts only to be told by the callow youth serving me that 'they went out with the Ark.' Nowadays it seems we fix gib board with pozidrive wallboard screws and construction adhesive. Putting up gib with glue and a drill/driver is great - a definite improvement.
And I'm having a serious love affair with this new fangled formed plaster cornice molding. So much better looking and easier to put up than the wooden stuff I'm used to.
But, I really dislike this new method of hanging wallpaper by pasting the wall instead of the paper which is a requirement for the paper type wife chose. I'm only pasting the wall for one drop at a time but the glue dries too quickly. The walls are prepped with one coat of wallboard sealer paint followed by a generous coat of size so I don't expect absorption is the problem. The paste is Beeline brand made in the UK so if anyone has any advice...
And the other thing I'm pleased about is that I am starting to master the black art of plastering which in the past didn't go well at all. Prior, I'd only done small plastering jobs but this is a big one and I needed to get it right. Until now I figured that the success or otherwise of plastering begin with a board of mixed plaster in one hand and a float in the other but not so. It begins with the consistency of the mix. (IMHO, subject to correction) The instructions are to 'mix to a creamy consistency ' which is wide open to interpretation. Why can't they specify grams of plaster to mils of water and take away the guesswork? It's the same with changing the oil filter on the car. 'Hand tighten and give an extra quarter turn with a filter wrench'. So what does that mean? I imagine Arnold Swartzenegger's hand tighten is a lot more than my hand tighten so why can't they quantify it in foot pounds?
Sorry, I digress. I think that in the past I was mixing my plaster too thick - now I stop adding plaster to the water at the point where I think it's still too sloppy and I should chuck in just a tad more... and that mix gives me a nice finish that may only need a slight scrape when dry with the edge of the float.
Good fun learning stuff.
Firstly, very happy to say that I'm comfortable with solid 8 hour work days now with only a little more weariness at the end of the day than was the case when in my early 70's, assisting in building a couple of big yachts so it is possible to kick one's ancient hide back into some semblance of working order, thank goodness.
The reno involves demolishing and rebuilding internal walls to a different layout together with associated plumbing and electrical work to get better space utilization. Just now all the big work is done and it's onto finishing, one room at a time. Have just completed the en-suite which turned out well and wife is very happy with it but sadly I'm not allowed to use it. Herself claims she can track the progress of my middle of the night visits by the sighs, grunts and muttered comments and she really doesn't want to therefore I am restricted to the use of the more distant toilet off the hallway.
So this is the first big renovation in nearly 20 years, and haven't things changed!
In the hardware store I asked for galvanised gib board clouts only to be told by the callow youth serving me that 'they went out with the Ark.' Nowadays it seems we fix gib board with pozidrive wallboard screws and construction adhesive. Putting up gib with glue and a drill/driver is great - a definite improvement.
And I'm having a serious love affair with this new fangled formed plaster cornice molding. So much better looking and easier to put up than the wooden stuff I'm used to.
But, I really dislike this new method of hanging wallpaper by pasting the wall instead of the paper which is a requirement for the paper type wife chose. I'm only pasting the wall for one drop at a time but the glue dries too quickly. The walls are prepped with one coat of wallboard sealer paint followed by a generous coat of size so I don't expect absorption is the problem. The paste is Beeline brand made in the UK so if anyone has any advice...
And the other thing I'm pleased about is that I am starting to master the black art of plastering which in the past didn't go well at all. Prior, I'd only done small plastering jobs but this is a big one and I needed to get it right. Until now I figured that the success or otherwise of plastering begin with a board of mixed plaster in one hand and a float in the other but not so. It begins with the consistency of the mix. (IMHO, subject to correction) The instructions are to 'mix to a creamy consistency ' which is wide open to interpretation. Why can't they specify grams of plaster to mils of water and take away the guesswork? It's the same with changing the oil filter on the car. 'Hand tighten and give an extra quarter turn with a filter wrench'. So what does that mean? I imagine Arnold Swartzenegger's hand tighten is a lot more than my hand tighten so why can't they quantify it in foot pounds?
Sorry, I digress. I think that in the past I was mixing my plaster too thick - now I stop adding plaster to the water at the point where I think it's still too sloppy and I should chuck in just a tad more... and that mix gives me a nice finish that may only need a slight scrape when dry with the edge of the float.
Good fun learning stuff.
, when i'am forced into doing plastering which i try to avoid if at all possible i work on 12 to 12 and half litres of water to a full bag of skim and that gives me a mix that gives me a nice creamy mix,not to sloppy and not to stiff.
