What I did at my house today...

[mjt]

Like Lilly Left The Valley and Corsetiere, there's a lot going on the yard here. The deadline is a graduation party that we hope to host outside in few weeks, weather permitting. Here's the latest update from my blog: Deadlines - Part 4.

[vvzz]

The box to the left of that door, I'm assuming was a light switch. Out of curiosity, did you simply plate the front of the panel after capping the wires, or did you actually pull the box and wires out?

The room behind(a bathroom) is actually gutted to the studs, so I just took out a box altogether.

[awomanwithahammer]

No yard work for me, although mine needs it desperately. I have become severely allergic to poison ivy in the last few years (never bothered me before) so I just stay out of the yard.

Yesterday was a very productive day. I finished repairing the plaster in the living room. This is the corner that was so badly water damaged, floor to ceiling. You can see all the cracks in addition to the plaster repair.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_qHM ... 254b0pScnM
While the plaster was drying, I started hanging the mesh on the undamaged wall.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_qHM ... lhmdW5hakE
Although the wall doesn't have any water damage, the original plasterer didn't do the greatest job on it. It has the old drywall behind that is only about 18 x 48 inches, and every joint has a dip in the plaster. From the side, you can really see it. I'm using the big Fibatape on the whole wall, then I'll skim it and it will look like a brand new wall. I got the whole wall (24 feet!) covered, and I'm excited to get started skimming it. OK, so maybe "excited to start skimming" is an exaggeration, but I can't wait to see it finished.

When I scraped off the top two layers of paint (blue and green), underneath was the brown coat that you can still see. I'm not sure exactly what it is. It's very, very thin, and underneath it is bare plaster. I didn't try to scrape it off, but every time I look at it, I find that some of it is flaking off. I really don't want to scrape the whole thing again, but I'm afraid that if I don't, my skim coat won't adhere as well. Any ideas as to what the brown is? Is it a primer? or really paint? The term calcimine keeps coming to mind, but I looked it up and it says it is white or bluish. If I wash it, the brown color smears.

[Lily left the valley]

Bonnie, it might be the images, but the brownish shade I think you're referring to, do you think it's similar to the color of the veneer plaster vvzz posted about a page before in this thread? Maybe I'm being biased at the door & switch filler plugs' color in the first image of that post are closer to the brown I think you're referring to in yours. It's harder to tell on the second of that post when they're covered as the work light is off, so I'm not sure how much lighter that finished plaster layer really is. Maybe an older variant of such a plaster was darker like your color?

Here's the first image I found from a web search for veneer plaster, so maybe it is this?

[JRC]

I decided that the big landscaping area I made in the front yard last fall would be a kind of memorial to my mom, who loved planting things. So, I went all out at the garden center on Saturday, and spent yesterday afternoon planting 12 different perennial plants in this area. (this, in addition to the tiger lilies I planted last fall) Now, hopefully, they'll all survive. If they do, I should have blooms from spring until fall.



I also planted some large hostas in the shady/weedy/wild part of the backyard. I'm taking an incremental approach to making that part of the yard somewhat presentable.

[vvzz]

When I scraped off the top two layers of paint (blue and green), underneath was the brown coat that you can still see. I'm not sure exactly what it is. It's very, very thin, and underneath it is bare plaster. I didn't try to scrape it off, but every time I look at it, I find that some of it is flaking off. I really don't want to scrape the whole thing again, but I'm afraid that if I don't, my skim coat won't adhere as well. Any ideas as to what the brown is? Is it a primer? or really paint? The term calcimine keeps coming to mind, but I looked it up and it says it is white or bluish. If I wash it, the brown color smears.

Could it be old wallpaper that has partially disintegrated(from all the water)? I would just use a stiff brush/scraper to remove any loose pieces and then hope that the rest has enough strength left in it(whatever it is).

[vvzz]

Bonnie, it might be the images, but the brownish shade I think you're referring to, do you think it's similar to the color of the veneer plaster vvzz posted about a page before in this thread?

Veneer plaster will most likely be bright white when dried as it's typically lime based. Generally 'veneer' is really more of a name of the whole system, to differentiate it from traditional 3 coat system. The final layer is pretty much the same in both cases - high strength lime plaster. It's what underneath that differs - blueboard vs brown+scratch coat.

[awomanwithahammer]

Maybe I'm being biased at the door & switch filler plugs' color in the first image of that post are closer to the brown I think you're referring to in yours. It's harder to tell on the second of that post when they're covered as the work light is off, so I'm not sure how much lighter that finished plaster layer really is. Maybe an older variant of such a plaster was darker like your color?

Here's the first image I found from a web search for veneer plaster, so maybe it is this?

Lily, it does look similar, but when I say it's thin, I mean it's thinner than paper-thin, so I think it had to have been brushed on like paint. It's just thinner than any paint I've ever seen, and the fact that it smears when wet has me puzzled, too. Maybe I should try washing it off! I've been using a razor scraper to take off the flakes that pop up, but I've already gone over those three whole walls scraping off the top layers of paint, and I don't really want to do it again!

Could it be old wallpaper that has partially disintegrated(from all the water)? I would just use a stiff brush/scraper to remove any loose pieces and then hope that the rest has enough strength left in it(whatever it is).

I don't think it is wallpaper. It acts more like paint. I tried a wire brush to remove some but it just burnished the whole area! It looks like it's all adhered well, but every time I look at it, new flakes have popped up.

Thanks for the suggestions, both of you!

[Lily left the valley]

Bonnie, it might be the images, but the brownish shade I think you're referring to, do you think it's similar to the color of the veneer plaster vvzz posted about a page before in this thread?

Veneer plaster will most likely be bright white when dried as it's typically lime based. Generally 'veneer' is really more of a name of the whole system, to differentiate it from traditional 3 coat system. The final layer is pretty much the same in both cases - high strength lime plaster. It's what underneath that differs - blueboard vs brown+scratch coat.

Understood. Thanks for the clarification.

[Lily left the valley]

Lily, it does look similar, but when I say it's thin, I mean it's thinner than paper-thin, so I think it had to have been brushed on like paint. It's just thinner than any paint I've ever seen, and the fact that it smears when wet has me puzzled, too. Maybe I should try washing it off! I've been using a razor scraper to take off the flakes that pop up, but I've already gone over those three whole walls scraping off the top layers of paint, and I don't really want to do it again!

I don't think it is wallpaper. It acts more like paint. I tried a wire brush to remove some but it just burnished the whole area! It looks like it's all adhered well, but every time I look at it, new flakes have popped up.

Thanks for the suggestions, both of you!

I really hope it's not calcimine. From what I've read here about folks dealing with that, it's a nightmare.