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Sunday, May 23, 2010

Goovin’ on a Sunday afternoon

I would say I was able to get about 80% of the dovetail grooves cleaned out. It was when I absentmindedly Rotozipped my arm that I decided it was time to quit for the day. Fortunately the shirt sleeve took the brunt of the hit, but it did leave a mark on the skin. What remains requires a ladder and I no longer felt as though I should be up on a ladder with an exposed, spinning bit.

Even though there was no real grunting involved, this definitely falls in to the Grunt Work category. It is just very unpleasant work. I must cover myself head to toe with respirator, hat, gloves, ear protection, log sleeve shirt and goggles. I feel like I’m suiting up for sensory deprivation or something.

The worst part of it is the shop vac hose. At first it is not too bad, but after a few hours you feel like you are wrestling an anaconda. In fact, I was readjusting the hose when I Rotozipped my arm. To get above 5-feet I need to add an extension made of dryer exhaust hose. That is even more unpleasant to work with.

All clear


Clear on the bottom, but not on the top




I was able to get all of the stairwell done and everything in the foyer below 5-feet. There is really just a few small areas around the door and two medium sized sections on two other walls. I should finish that next Saturday, no problem. After that I need to go around and pull a few more nails and clean up the areas right against the trim.

If I can do a little work mid-week in the evenings I can start to put on the scratch coat Saturday afternoon. With any luck I can finish the scratch coat on Sunday. I think this is very doable. The scratch coat is the easiest and quickest of the 3 coats.

7 comments:

Todd - Home Construction Improvement said...

Great job...looks like a major pain in the $%&$. I really admire you folks that restore these beautiful old homes. Can't wait to see it finished.

Greg said...

Yes, it is a pain in the $%&$, but the end results are worth it.

St. Blogwen said...

Did some exploring in your previous posts and found the one where you explain your grooved interior sheathing. Wow. I was wondering how your "lath" managed to look so straight and neat.

Incidentally, do you think that T&G construction could contribute to making the house more earthquake-worthy? I imagine conventional lath would shake apart in no time.

Kate H.
www.sowsearhouse.blogspot.com

Greg said...

It definitely adds more structural support. The boards are longer, thicker, and the nails are bigger than would be used with traditional lath

Karen Anne said...

More than once I have wished for some all enclosing suit I could just zip myself into. It would probably have to come with a built in air conditioner :-)

Karen Anne said...

In a little defense of traditional lathe and plaster, my California bungalow went through a number of earthquakes, including Loma Prieta without damage to the plaster.

Someone explained ot me that plaster continues to cure for a very long time, and when it's 80 years old or so, like mine was, it's like concrete. Maybe that is just true of some particular type of plaster.

Greg said...

Plasters and mortars without Portland cement in them have the ability to flex and move as temperature and moisture conditions change. This is why you can't use Portland cement based mortars with traditional clay bricks. Portland cement gets so hard that as conditions change the brick expands and contracts and the cement does not. The end results is that the brick gets ruined.