Claire CJS
20070720-ish - staining - ladder placement - (by Evan) - triptych - 1544569487_e27fcc06d4_o - 1544569621_011171f73c_o - 1544569777_d906db8391_o
During a hangout night (some time between 6/23 and 7/26), I complained about how we had no clue how to physically get to the top of the enclosure wall that needs to be stained. In the end, it was an unsafe ladder placement, plus having to lean past the point of impossibility -- the ONLY way this section could be conquered was to have someone support you, and to lean in such a way that you'd fall into the spiral stiars without support. So Lacey, Dave, and Evan helped me out up there, while Kipp & Casey stayed downstairs making out. At one point there were more hands on my ass than... ever? Thanks for not dropping me guys! Later, for the actual staining, Carolyn would go up, and I would support her by holding on to her belt loop with one hand, and her ass with the other. It was quite scary for her, and of course she had to go up 10+ times.
BACKSTORY: Anyone who reads our contract (link below) can see that it specified to move the closet and built-in shelves. But Virginia Design Builders's workers -- the workers hired by Daniel M. Lopez -- were unable to properly move the closet without destroying it. And they "accidentally" threw away our shelves. They also broke the trim at the edge of the closet.
And then guess what? The assholes refused to stain the broken trim (and everything else they broke/threw away too) to match the pre-existing color, leaving US with the job of restoring what they broke to the condition it was in before broken. Months of wood-staining hell thanks to the inability of Daniel M. Lopez's company to follow simple contractual instructions, as well as a total lack of honor in fully restoring damaged sections to their pre-damaged condition. There were a few parts that we legitimately would have needed to stain ourself, but they were the minority. In this picture, we are dealing with one of those parts: The wood used to create the enclosure for the extra ventilation ducts to travel through.
STAINING IS A PAIN: Just for reference, proper wood staining is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR pain in the ass. The wood filling, the sanding, the pre-conditioning, staining, the wiping, the dropcloths, the multiple coats of everything, the (4) polyurethane coats [which often required holding a lamp in one hand, to reflect light on it to ensure evenness], and the final sanding. And don't get me started on the timing: Stain 20 minutes after pre-conditioning, but only for 2 hours; stain in 20 minute cycles consisting of 4 sub-cycles: stain area #1, stain area #2, wipe area #1, wipe area #2. Then break, get new gloves, and start over. A 20 minute cycle might equal 2 shelves, or 2 boards from ceiling to floor. Our spreadsheet had over 200 cells. At the end of the day, the only way to get stain off your skin was to apply paint thinner directly to your skin in violation of the instructions, common sense, and one's best interests...
Carolyn, Clint, Dave, Lacey.
ladder, painter's tape.
cameraphone. triptych.
Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
June, 2007.
Pic by Evan.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
... Read Dave's blog at www.spugbrap.com/blog/
... View Dave's photos at www.flickr.com/photos/spugbrap/
... Read Evan's blog at rerunsrunons.wordpress.com/
... View Evan's photos at www.flickr.com/photos/evangoldstein/
LEGAL: To see an official VA DPOR sanction of $500 (+$150) against Dan Lopez and Virginia Design Builders: www.acm.vt.edu/~clint/download/filedump/2008/daniel-m-lop... ... These people were suing him for $400K last time I checked.
To see OUR contract with Dan Lopez / Virginia Design Builders: www.acm.vt.edu/~clint/download/filedump/2008/daniel-m-lop... ... Just in case anybody doesn't believe me.
20070720-ish - staining - ladder placement - (by Evan) - triptych - 1544569487_e27fcc06d4_o - 1544569621_011171f73c_o - 1544569777_d906db8391_o
During a hangout night (some time between 6/23 and 7/26), I complained about how we had no clue how to physically get to the top of the enclosure wall that needs to be stained. In the end, it was an unsafe ladder placement, plus having to lean past the point of impossibility -- the ONLY way this section could be conquered was to have someone support you, and to lean in such a way that you'd fall into the spiral stiars without support. So Lacey, Dave, and Evan helped me out up there, while Kipp & Casey stayed downstairs making out. At one point there were more hands on my ass than... ever? Thanks for not dropping me guys! Later, for the actual staining, Carolyn would go up, and I would support her by holding on to her belt loop with one hand, and her ass with the other. It was quite scary for her, and of course she had to go up 10+ times.
BACKSTORY: Anyone who reads our contract (link below) can see that it specified to move the closet and built-in shelves. But Virginia Design Builders's workers -- the workers hired by Daniel M. Lopez -- were unable to properly move the closet without destroying it. And they "accidentally" threw away our shelves. They also broke the trim at the edge of the closet.
And then guess what? The assholes refused to stain the broken trim (and everything else they broke/threw away too) to match the pre-existing color, leaving US with the job of restoring what they broke to the condition it was in before broken. Months of wood-staining hell thanks to the inability of Daniel M. Lopez's company to follow simple contractual instructions, as well as a total lack of honor in fully restoring damaged sections to their pre-damaged condition. There were a few parts that we legitimately would have needed to stain ourself, but they were the minority. In this picture, we are dealing with one of those parts: The wood used to create the enclosure for the extra ventilation ducts to travel through.
STAINING IS A PAIN: Just for reference, proper wood staining is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR pain in the ass. The wood filling, the sanding, the pre-conditioning, staining, the wiping, the dropcloths, the multiple coats of everything, the (4) polyurethane coats [which often required holding a lamp in one hand, to reflect light on it to ensure evenness], and the final sanding. And don't get me started on the timing: Stain 20 minutes after pre-conditioning, but only for 2 hours; stain in 20 minute cycles consisting of 4 sub-cycles: stain area #1, stain area #2, wipe area #1, wipe area #2. Then break, get new gloves, and start over. A 20 minute cycle might equal 2 shelves, or 2 boards from ceiling to floor. Our spreadsheet had over 200 cells. At the end of the day, the only way to get stain off your skin was to apply paint thinner directly to your skin in violation of the instructions, common sense, and one's best interests...
Carolyn, Clint, Dave, Lacey.
ladder, painter's tape.
cameraphone. triptych.
Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
June, 2007.
Pic by Evan.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
... Read Dave's blog at www.spugbrap.com/blog/
... View Dave's photos at www.flickr.com/photos/spugbrap/
... Read Evan's blog at rerunsrunons.wordpress.com/
... View Evan's photos at www.flickr.com/photos/evangoldstein/
LEGAL: To see an official VA DPOR sanction of $500 (+$150) against Dan Lopez and Virginia Design Builders: www.acm.vt.edu/~clint/download/filedump/2008/daniel-m-lop... ... These people were suing him for $400K last time I checked.
To see OUR contract with Dan Lopez / Virginia Design Builders: www.acm.vt.edu/~clint/download/filedump/2008/daniel-m-lop... ... Just in case anybody doesn't believe me.