More is not always better

Post date: Oct 30, 2015 4:32:04 AM

I’m a little upset.

We installed picture molding below the ceiling. The lower edge of the molding formed a very sharp line between the light color of the wall and the darker color of the molding. The crew insisted on caulking this joint — even though there was no crack to fill with caulk.

This meant that the white caulk line had to be painted over with both the darker color of the molding above (which needed a second coat to cover the speckled nail holes anyway) and the lighter color of the wall below the joint between molding and wall. Painting edges is a very skilled operation and takes time and care.

However, the wall paint in the living room was not mixed exactly the same color, so there is a barely visible dark band below the picture molding. Not only did I pay for caulking where it was not needed, but I also paid for painting carefully along the line between the molding and the wall, not just twice, but now three times because it will have to be repainted with the correct color.

I am all in favor of caulking joints to fill cracks. Some of the door casing did not fit completely tightly against the wall. But it did fit tightly against the door frame. So caulking the crack is entirely appropriate.

Jesus and I pulled the fence posts and rolled up the orange plastic fence that lined the property between my lot and my neighbors. We left only the fence along the road to (symbolically) protect some tools and minor supplies that are left outside. The orange fence clearly shouted ‘construction’, so now that it is gone there is more a sense of nearing completion.

I cut slots in the kitchen cabinet pedestals close to the sink to allow air to reach the return ducts under the sink. This required boring holes at the ends of each slot and sawing out the space between the holes. I used my inline jigsaw, a Bosch model that is no longer produced. It has a bearing that wears rapidly, but for some tasks such as this it cannot be beat. These slots are somewhat crude, but they will be covered by a kick plate that is continuous across several cabinets, and the slots can be made beautiful in this kick plate before it is installed.