Painting Preparation
Post date: Sep 11, 2015 12:32:44 PM
I painted six test panels for color comparison, each about 2’ on a side. Hopefully we’ll settle on colors, because the walls are plastered to a mirror finish and will get primer today. I also painted the outside wall sconces (gray) and the electrician mounted these Thursday, as well as installing a number of outdoor electric outlets and the doorbell button.
I bought shoe molding to go around the pocket door opening. The carpenters said, ‘Get 10 pieces 8’ long.’ But the store was out of 8’ pieces. So I got six pieces 14’ long. Four of these are straight, the other two quite curly. Before I could prime them I cut the curved pieces in half.
I hope to climb into the mechanical room and finish sanding the walls so that we can prime up there and paint the area today. (That will give the subcontractor no excuse to delay installing the equipment and the rest of the ductwork.) I finally got a magnetic door stop to keep that door from blowing closed. It is completely exposed up on the roof — unlike the other doors which are protected by trees and building projections.
An astute observer would have noticed that the bookcases above the interior doors were offset from the doorframe on one side. That was because we made the rough opening for the door (and bookcase) wide enough to allow for some installation slop. When we ‘packed out’ the opening for the door, we forgot to do the same for the bookcase. It took Lalo nearly a day to correct that for the bookcases.
The ‘bullnose’ drywall corner bead requires a fairly thick application of drywall mud. Drywall mud shrinks when it dries and leaves cracks in thick applications. Thus it takes at least three days to finish the areas around the doors and windows. An alternative that some builders use is to mix plaster of Paris, which expands when it sets. They use this for the first, deep layer, then use normal drywall mud for finishing.