The porcelina went on fine. Did the green wall first and had a gallon of mud left. So I cut back for the gold wall and had to really skimp to make it cover all the surface. It worked in the long run, but I wish I'd made 5 pounds more plaster for backup. Since I know the mix formula, I can always make more but that is a pain in the ___ and the color could be slightly off. We'll cross that quagmire when we get to it.
Did a bunch of other things this week and fiddled with the clay plaster. Added a metal shield to the garage attic ladder cover, which is a code issue (fireproof ceilings required in garages). Got the fan motor fixed since it was DOA. Turns out to be a bad rheosat in the hood. As low settings there wasn't enough voltage going to the motor to turn it, so it made some bad sounds and smells. Replaced the motor on warranty and racked up the rheosat. All is well and the Best Appliance people were real good about the work.
Nancy has been sanding and finishing the Eastern Hard Maple countertops that Bill McCutcheon made for us. I'd bought the wood at Edensaw, a local hardwood supplier that does a fantastic business in the marine trades here. They had too much maple (6000 bd ft) so they marked it down from $7.50 a foot to $3.50 a foot (less than half price). Couldn't pass up that deal. After Bill was done gluing up the board, planing them down and running them thru his big sander, we come out with about 27 ft of counters for the pantry, and another 11 ft for the mudroom desk. That works out to be 38 linear ft (75 sq. ft) for about $1350, or about $35 a linear ft. That is cheaper than any rock you can buy and about half the price of store bought butcher block tops. Another good deal realized, for a change. Cut a bunch of paint grade trim to size for the closets, but will wait to install after flooring goes in. Brian came by for 6 hrs on Wednesday and worked on more doors. Since the plaster is all up, we mounted the trim on the guest bath, pantry and bedroom doors. The natural fir looks great against the clay. We also mounted the double pocket doors in the bath/bedroom opening. These were a bit of a pain to get square and level, but it worked out after a couple of hours of fiddling. So now all the doors downstairs have been hung with the exception of the fire-rated garage/mudroom door (don't want to damage it). Finally, today I finished the trim work on the pantry. Completed the toe kick by adding 1/4" plywood cover to the cabinet bases. The toe kick has to be above the floor so that the cork can expand and contract. Elsewhere in the pantry there are fir baseboards over the cork tiles and some L shaped fir trim on the edges of the cork-covered platform for the washer and dryer. Looks good, now just have to find some big monkeys to help lift all the appliances into the house from the garage.
Tomorrow I need to grout and seal the bathroom tile so that the plumber can come and set the toilets in place on Monday. To speed things along, I've asked him to install all the faucets and plumb the sinks so we can pass the Occupancy inspection in a couple of weeks. Once the plumbing and appliances are in place, the only stickler is the handrails which are made and finished, but not hung. Waiting for a box of hardware, then we're good to go.
