Dymented - the Serious stuff starts!

[Philou]

Hello chums,

 

Mojo back with a vengeance! I got the other tower up this morning and this afternoon finished all the plasterboarding AND gave a lick of matt black paint to the window metalwork to give it that 'industrial' look (le loft look is very much 'in' over here at the moment). I ran out of paint so the room side will wait until tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow will also see me buying some paper scrim and plaster so I can do the joints. I'm not sure how long that'll take as I wasn't very good at scrimming - we'll see.

 

Couple of photos for today:

 

 

 

Hopefully, by the end of the week the job this side will be 'a good'un' and the scaffolding can come down - my SiL came round this lunchtime asking if I had some to lend - so I have until Friday pm to get it sorted.

 

Cheers everyone, have a good Sunday evening,

 

Philip

[Graham T]

So we can expect to see some baseboards getting built soon then?  😉

[Philou]

@Graham T Ha ha! As you will recall earlier I gave a great long spiel as to 'no, not yet'. However, I see no reason why I shouldn't make a start at the end of the month. Mrs Philou was sympathetic to me doing some layout work in the house (look back to much earlier on when I built the stairs in our dining area - they were huuuuuge compared to a baseboard). Timing will be all-important. Once I've done the plastering (barn-side will give me an idea of 'how long'), I really will need to get in some leccy as the nights will be drawing in and the natural light will be less, and our secondary freezer is plugged into an outdoor socket. But, yeah, by the end of the month, why not? It'll also keep the mojo going!

 

Looking forwards, I did see on the telly yesterday the setting up of a cat-walk for Paris Fashion Week - I'm not interested in the fashion - and they showed one of the sets being modelled. What caught my eye was they were sculpting a grotto with a mini-Grand Canyon floor in corrugated cardboard. I got to thinking - what's not to like? Sturdy, lightweight, easily carved with a sharp knife, tons of it being skipped at the supermarket, glues with PVA and can be overlain with sacking/papier-maché/plaster. Has anyone reading here used it/seen it used? Any thoughts?

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Graham T]

I'd use it to make a gridded framework, rather than layering it.  Then put a criss-cross layer of card strips over the top, and finish it with papier mache.

[Philou]

Right chaps! No photos today as yesterday turned out to be a non-day work-wise as the morning was spent fetching some tools, joint tape and various plasters and then a looooooong lunch ensued (yes, yet again) with Mrs Philou's sister and hubby by which time 5pm had come and gone!

 

Today went by cutting and trimming some plasterboard infills so that tomorrow I start on the taping of the joints. I have discovered that 'MAP' plaster translates as 'Professional Adhesive Mortar'. It sets rock-solid and is not easy to sand level. I shall attempt to lay the tape in two thin soft coats and just trowel it as flat as possible, thus avoiding the sanding part. I couldn't buy locally two different tape knives (100mm/4" and 150mm/6") that probably would have done the trick.

 

A coat of Dulux Tradesman Matt White (oh yes, I do have a tub in stock that I brought back from the UK) will finish off the job barn-side.

 

Hopefully progress pictures tomorrow.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Hello everyone,

 

I didn't post up yesterday as I felt that the work I did manage to get done - was, well - pants. As is my wont, I tend to start in a rush (time was short yesterday) and instead of taking my time, my mix ended up not only a little thick but also very lumpy. Consequently, the taping wasn't the best, so I did one part of the wall and left it at that. Additionally, after cleaning my material, I went back indoors to be greeted by Mrs Philou's 'What's that on your bum?' Rats! Somewhere on the wall was now the imprint of my bum! Ar$e!!

 

Today - all together a different matter. I found an industrial mixer blade that I had bought years ago, and used that to make my mix. What a difference! I'd not used one before and the mix was ever so smooth, glossy and just about the right consistency - if a little wet.

 

Buoyed up, I got my tape ripped to length (scissors is for sissies ;) ) and away I went on a fresh piece of wall. I completed the whole half-wall and returned to where I'd started yesterday. With a little wetting over the previously laid strips, I recoated them with the new mix that improved it no end.

 

Seeing that I still had some mix left, I manoeuvred the upper scaffolding board away to gain access to the lower half of the wall. 90 minutes and 30 seconds must have passed as the mix had now gorn-orf. Curses! It was lunch-time anyway, so a rapid scrape of the bucket ensued and all cleaned-up. Fresh mix after lunch and as there was a minimum volume that I could make up in the bucket, I had enough to finish the wall and start in the room itself - yay!

 

Tomorrow will be a splash'n'dash of paint and as soon as it's dry, will be the fixing of the acrylic sheets on the outer side as they arrived yesterday. All being well, the scaffolding can come down on Saturday morning.

 

I have learnt through usage that MAP is perhaps not intended for thin coats. It seems to be a little gritty and as in the UK probably more suited to dob'n'dab. It's not going to matter over much as the room side with be skimmed with plaster.

 

Top tip of the day: DON'T ramp up your electric drill to max when using your mixer blade in a small quantity of mix. You end up with a Mr Bean effect when he painted his room with a tub of paint and explosives. How do I know this .......?

 

Today's effort in pictures:

 

 

 

 

Not very neat - but hey ho, I haven't done this in a long while. Anyway, it'll all look lovely once it's - err - plastered/painted - he says hopefully.

 

Cheers everyone - more tomorrow,

 

Philip

 

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Philou
Missing words

[Philou]

Hi everyone,

 

Well, job jobbed! Both parts of the wall were painted this morning and the glazing in place this afternoon. All that needs doing will be the taking down of the scaffolding - but there's no urgency. I'm not sure what tomorrow may bring as I had an idea there was club, but it might be next weekend (I go to the all-day modelling sessions - makes the 60 mile round trip worthwhile). If no club, I shall do more scrimming in the room itself.

 

Here are a couple of photos:

 

 

 

No top tip today. However, I was attacked by hoards of ladybirds taking a short cut through the barn and trying to exit by the (now) glazed openings. They seemed to be heading for my new Velux windows - can't think why (I know they'd be attracted to the light by why come through the barn?).

 

Cheers everyone - the weekend is here so make the most of it,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Hello chums,

 

A short day today - feeling aches and pains from yesterday. I managed to do some more scrimming this morning, but I decided that this afternoon I would do some preparation for tomorrow. I found that stopping and starting to rip the paper tape into lengths was interrupting the work flow, so I spent the afternoon tearing enough tape to complete the one wall first thing tomorrow morning and I then scraped the snobs off the floor before they became rock-hard.

 

.... and the results are just in:

 

 

I shan't win any cups or trophies for neatness, but it is quite smooth and won't require sanding before I skim some plaster over the surface. I really do need a corner trowel though before plastering.

 

I reckon it's about 1/4 of the walls taped - the ceiling will be the hardest and I'm keeping that 'til last.

 

Cheers everyone,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Oh, the bed was just sooooooo comfy this morning but mojo kicked indolence in the bum and out I got, though a little late ('tis Sunday after all!). No photo today but I did manage to complete the wall on the right-hand side, in the picture in the previous post, before lunch. As yesterday, the afternoon was spent tearing more tape into appropriate lengths for tomorrow, and a scrape of the snobs off the floor. Generally, a good morning's work and I am quite happy with the results - so far.

 

I had a message on Friday from M. le Marchand of the materiaux de construction to say that my missing planks have now arrived - 'bout time, too! So another small job that will done and dusted.

 

Cheers everyone, and enjoy what's left of Sunday,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Hello everybody,

 

Just to make up for the lack of pictures yesterday, I now bring you two photos showing two more walls scrimmed making that three with the last one being done tomorrow. Hoorah! After that will be the ceiling. Boo. That will take at least three days to do as I find working overhead very awkward. I have worked it out that plastering is going to take me an additional seven days - one day each for the walls and three for the ceiling (and that's assuming that I can get the mix right and apply the two coats correctly each day and that there's an 'r' in the month, the wind blows fair, the weather is fine, my lucky rabbit foot's not damp etc., etc..). :).

 

Here we are, the two walls - but still no cigar for tidiness:

 

 

 

Cheers everyone - more tomorrow,

 

Philip

 

[5BarVT]

Plenty of r months to come, but I’m afraid I can’t do much about your rabbit foot’s condition!

Paul.

[Philou]

Hi chaps,

 

The last wall was done this morning - do you wanna see? Do You? Do you? Aww go on go on go on ..........

 

Oh, Ok then - here's the photo, but still missing that cigar:

 

 

This afternoon, Mrs Philou helped me take some measurements of the room as it was all well and good having a general arrangement drawing based on some very iffy measurements taken between iffy stone walls, but now I have some nice straight walls. The results are in and I have a difference of two, yes 2, millimetres along the length along the two edges - things are looking good. The room isn't square as I followed the bow of the existing with the plasterboard and the measurements I shall transpose into my 3D file so we shall find out what the actual size and shape is this evening. This may, or may not, have an effect on my proposed layout. If I have two square corners, it'll be thumbs up.

 

Some time this afternoon was also spent scraping the fresh snobs off the floor and giving a sweep under the ceiling area that I shall be attacking tomorrow. I also tore some lengths of jointing tape, so all ready for the off.

 

More tomorrow.

 

Cheers everybody and thank you all for the encouragement,

 

Philip

 

@5BarVT Lucky rabbit got away complete with his four paws! We have got four cats though .....................

 

I forgot a top tip - I tear the jointing paper rather than cut with scissors, as it gives a nice feather edge.

Edited October 11, 2022 by Philou

[simonmcp]

Once helped do up an old barn.  We didn't actually trowel the plaster on but made up a thin mix and painted it on. We dragged the brush vertically which gave quite  a pleasing ripple finish and much quicker than a full plaster.

[Philou]

@simonmcp Ah, I could just stop once I've jointed all the plasterboard and give it a coat of matt white, but in this instance the walls will become part of the layout (it won't be going anywhere as it'll be too big) and be background-painted accordingly, so I'm attempting to have it as smooth as possible. It won't be a Barry Bucknell finish (you may be too young to recognise the name) more like Reg Prescott - unfortunately :).

 

I've done a quick 3D drawing of the room as now constructed and width-wise nothing had changed but I seemed to have gained about 25mm over the length - so not bad considering I didn't really have a proper base-line originally. Only 1 right-angle but I'll live. I shall now use the room to its full width making the baseboard follow the bow in the wall. It means that the one station that bends prototypically, can be twisted slightly as it curves in the same direction as the bow in the wall. Using the odd-shape of the room to the full, I now gain 200mm at one end in width and 300mm the other and I can ease the curves at each throat by a metric tad.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Another update for you all!

 

I got the one part of the ceiling scrimmed today - so I'm under way. It wasn't hard but as no doubt Reg Prescott* would have found out, by not using your hawk correctly soft, wet plaster has a tendency to fall in your hair, on your face and on your clothes before ending up on the floor.

 

I was able to do it fairly easily as it was all in reach from the floor - no tippy-toes needed either! The next part of the ceiling needs the use of steps - I haven't got a hop-up and so it's going to be up and down, up and down.

 

There won't be an update tomorrow and possibly no message as it's my birthday and Mrs Philou has been sweating her little cotton socks off  - bless her - getting lunch ready today for tomorrow. It's choucroute** (French version of sauerkraut), my favourite. The neighbours are coming round so I expect it'll be an all afternoon affair - again! You're all welcome to come round and have a drink.

 

*  For those who don't remember who was Reg Prescott, he was a very inept and unfortunate handyman/DIYer who had nothing but mishaps, a character created by the late Kenny Everett.

 

**Choucroute is fermented cabbage cooked and served with potatoes (and an apple to reduce the acidity of the cabbage) and lots and lots of assorted smoked meats and sausages - probably very bad health-wise. It's being cooked today so that it's all ready beforehand AND the flavour improves over 24 hours. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

 

Saliva away - here are two photos:

 

 

 

Still not getting the cigar!

 

Cheers everybody and have a good evening,

 

Philip

[Flying Fox 34F]

Philip,

 

Happy Birthday

 

Paul

[Philou]

@Flying Fox 34F Thanks muchly, Paul and Mike, The Stationmaster and SR71 - one year older, but I don't feel 72 years old - yet!

 

(It's also a reason why I want to get this room done and the layout started asap - time is on no-one's side).

 

Cheers everyone,

 

Philip

Edited October 12, 2022 by Philou

[Philou]

Hello chums,

 

The internet fell over yesterday - no internet, no telephone and worse (for Mrs Philou) no telly. Luckily we do have a dish so I was able to swap the set-top boxes for the evening. Everything seemed to work this morning except we couldn't make calls but receive only - finally it came down to our phones have given up (batteries won't charge).

 

Back to the work in hand - another part of the ceiling is done, but annoyingly I'm running out of jointing plaster and won't have enough for the whole of the last part. I'll see if I can get a smaller sack instead of a 35kg one.

 

Here are a couple of photos:

 

 

 

I'm going to have a lot of little infills to do around the purlins and I have to set up the quoins around the Velux, these will be in galvanised angle. That'll take at least a day. Tomorrow and Monday will be non-work days, long Sunday lunch (oh yes, yet again :) ), and Monday we're going to 'a big town' to get electrical bits'n'bobs and other household things we can't buy easily around here. I think my working week is going to be disrupted as the weekend (as from Thursday) will be setting up and operating the club's Junior Modules. I just hope the old mojo won't dissipate!

 

One good bit of news - a double parcel arrived from the UK and within them 2 packs of Accurascale HAAs. My birthday present from Mrs Philou - she didn't know, but it's just what I wanted. Downside, she had to pay €40, yes, forty! euros VAT! She wasn't best pleased. What she didn't know either, was the week before I received my FrankenFell from KR (I happen to like it) on which I paid €0 VAT! So it's a case of win some - lose some.

 

Cheers everyone and have a good weekend,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Hello chums and chumesses,

 

A day of mixed fortunes today. We were supposed to be going to 'the big town' directly after a visit to the quacks for a prescription renewal. However, due to distinct lack of petrol and diesel (the French are revolting - again, and always have been) in these here parts, we decided that 'the big town' visit could be put off a week. Instead, we headed for home and on the way back I got a bag of jointing plaster. Got home to find M. Maire waiting for me to tell me that tomorrow he and I would be out marking parcels of woodland (putting new replacement numbers on posts rather than fixed to the trees themselves). I did say ages ago that I'd do it with him - but no date had been fixed - rats!

 

Anyhow, after lunch I set to and did all the infills along the purlins and fixed 6 of the 8 angles around the Velux before the plaster mix started to go off. No photos today as I didn't think anything would really have shown. Got back indoors and tidied myself up to find M. Maire waiting for me again this time to say that the numbering was off, as the third person who was to be part of the 'gang' had gone down with Covid - both he and his wife (she's 85 so fingers crossed). It seems that a ceiling now awaits for me instead - hoorah. Back into the barn I went and hurriedly tore the paper tape to length ready for the off. I may have to do it in two parts as there does seem to be rather a lot of ceiling!

 

Pictures tomorrow then .................

 

Stay safe everyone and masks back on, eh?

 

Philip

[JeffP]

The French media do seem to be starting the covid push again.

Every evening on 19-20 theres at least two, sometimes more, mentions.

A good friend in the UK has a serious heart problem.

Both his doctor and the heart specialist told him if he got covid, he'd die.

They came to visit us here.

On their return to the UK after three days he was hospitalised with his heart beat at 288bpm!

And tested positive for covid🤨

 

Two weeks later he's over both, well and at his mobile holiday home. Obviously he didn't die.

So no masks for me, sorry.

[Andy Hayter]

Jeff, remind me to keep well clear of you.

 

You clearly did not get the message.  Your mask does not protect you very much.  It does however protect me to a great extent - not 100% I will grant you but 95% is better than 0%

[The Stationmaster]

2 hours ago, Andy Hayter said:

Jeff, remind me to keep well clear of you.

 

You clearly did not get the message.  Your mask does not protect you very much.  It does however protect me to a great extent - not 100% I will grant you but 95% is better than 0%

And it protects others from you.

[Philou]

Hello chaps,

 

The ceiling was awaiting this morning and I managed to do quite a bit - I would have done the ceiling in its entirety but I thought I ought to put up some reinforced corner strip first - this took a little time and meant that time was lost to completing the ceiling - it makes no difference as what I did today won't need to be done next time. I also completed the galvanised edging to the Velux.

 

Here we are, the ceiling minus a strip and a half but plus the corner edging:

 

 

 

Still no prizes for tidy work!

 

No work tomorrow (wot? again?!). This time Council business as I'm going for a tramp in the woods (hope he's quick off the mark - ta boom tish!) learning what we as a commune can do to preserve our woods during these climatic changes using good stewardship. I'm the elected member responsible for our woods - I suppose in the UK I'd be the chop steward - Ithangyou.

 

Keep safe,

 

Philip

[Philou]

Hi chums,

 

I went down to woods yesterday as part of the seminar - quite interesting on how the professionals (L'Office National des Forêts - equiv. of the Forestry Commission) value trees - big trees are not necessarily more valuable than smaller ones. Quality oak can be worth 500 - 800€ a cu. metre and that would be only the part nearest the root (about 2.0 - 4.0m at most) getting cheaper as you up. They could see defects that we couldn't - sort of rivet counting! Did you know that the top end nearest the crown goes into making pallets or sleepers (see - a railway connection)? Not one of the others with me even realised the railways needed sleepers!!

 

No pictures today as they would have looked much like the day before yesterday :). I have managed to complete all the big missing strips and tackle most of the cut-outs around the Big Beam. I have about an hour's work left to do.

 

I was supposed to be going to the club for the best part of the weekend - I fear lack of fuel (and it's cost) has put paid to me going everyday (60 mile round trip each time) - so I shall finish off tomorrow. Plastering will follow.

 

I was speaking to a retired professional plasterer and he advised me that I should give the walls and ceiling a coat of slightly diluted vinyl before applying the plaster coat so as to cut down the suction. Not sure if I want to go there - more work and more delay. More delay will mean more 'Oi! Haven't you started the baseboards yet?'. What to do?

 

I saw the news this evening and I 'truss' that the UK will be back on an even keel sooner rather than later - ho hum! Good luck everybody.

 

Maybe a picture or two tomorrow showing the room fully scrimmed.

 

Cheers,

 

Philip

 

 

[Re6/6]

11 hours ago, Philou said:

I was speaking to a retired professional plasterer and he advised me that I should give the walls and ceiling a coat of slightly diluted vinyl before applying the plaster coat so as to cut down the suction.

 

Very good advice Philip.😀