At long last

The moment I've dreamt of all of the years has finally come to pass. The plaster on the first floor of the house is finished. I never thought I'd see this day come. Form this day forward my life will be perfect. Already the air smells fresher. Food tastes better. I feel healthier and more in control of my life. Yes, everything is going to be ok from here on out.

Some where out in space a meteor changes course.

Megan and I powered through the last four walls in the front parlor today. Megan spent most of her time on the big bay with the three big windows, which was just fine by me. I'm more of a big wall kind of guy. I like the large expanses of a big wall where you can get a lot plaster on in a short amount of time. When I get to the corners I can get frustrated with trying to get a straight line. Megan seems to be more suited to that, so it works out well. 

The bay has a lot of slim slivers of wall where the wall on either side of the windows hits an adjoining wall. At some points the wall is only 2.5-inches wide. I ground down a scraper to fit the space, but even with the special tool it is still tedious work. 

I feel ok about the medallion. I think it will come out good once we finish it, but it was difficult work getting it up. This is the forth one I've put up and it is close to being the biggest. It rivals the size of the one that went up in the stair hall, but that one was already assembled because it was salvage. Both of them come in five pieces and then you assemble them as they are installed. In the case of the one in the stair hall it was removed from a ceiling in one piece and then I reinstalled it in one piece. It weighed freakin' ton, but installation was easier, in some respects.

The one we put in today had to be installed one piece at a time and the pieces don't always match up. The worst part is the plaster sets up almost out as soon as it is applied to the medallion. I'm not exaggerating in the least. Megan mixed up a very soupy mix of plaster and within 3 or 4 seconds after it hits the medallion the plaster is like clay. And this is after I squirted water on the pieces for a minute or so while she mixed the plaster.

The plaster is not the only thing holding it up. As with the one we did last week, the main body of the medallion is secured to the gas line in the ceiling. We also counter sink some screws and drill them in to the lath for the four outer pieces which ring the main body of the medallion. Hopefully we hit lath, anyway. I know for sure one did not hit anything. Tomorrow I will drive some more screws in and then on Tuesday we will fill in gaps where the sections meet. Like I said, I think it will be fine, but it is at that point where I am anxious about the outcome.

I think it will be fine in the end. Like my neighbor Gary would say, "That's what paint and putty is for"