Claire CJS
20070726 - staining - 2 - spreadsheet showing great progress - we're pretty much done! - IMG_2833
Oh how this horrible spreadsheet plagued us for months!! 5/2007 - 7/24/2007, to be exact. You can see all the areas we had to deal with on the right side (I will add notes describing them in more detail), and all the steps we had to do on the top. The first 6 columns represent over 50% of the total stress. Carolyn says that I actually did most of the polyurethaning while she was processing the brushes. Lots of "N/A"s near the end helped speed thigns up -- in some cases, 2 layers of polyurethane was sufficient. Individual judgments were made on a case-by-case basis, something a so-called professional would not bother with. WE WERE FINALLY DONE ENOUGH TO CELEBRATE!!
Actually, to be completely accurate -- we still had some final touch-up sanding to do... But nothing that required wood stain, polyurethane, ventilation, masks, gloves, dropclothes, painter's tape, and all the hassle. Just some casual final touches with the least rough (400-grit) sandpaper to ensure that the finaly (usually 4th) polyurethane coat was smooth.
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 asshole refused to stain ANY of it, despite the fact that the only reason the color now didn't match was due to their inability to properly execute a contract. (It was a 3 month contract and was not finished for over 3 years.) This left us having to stain WAY more wood than we otherwise would have. It was quite literally a difference of several months' work, as we both had jobs (at the time), and spare time at home has been in deficit for awhile.
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...
sanding, wood staining.
cabinet, closet, paper, portal, shelf, spreadsheet.
120. 150. 220. 60. Mt. Trim. polyurethane.
Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
July 26, 2007.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
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./B>
20070726 - staining - 2 - spreadsheet showing great progress - we're pretty much done! - IMG_2833
Oh how this horrible spreadsheet plagued us for months!! 5/2007 - 7/24/2007, to be exact. You can see all the areas we had to deal with on the right side (I will add notes describing them in more detail), and all the steps we had to do on the top. The first 6 columns represent over 50% of the total stress. Carolyn says that I actually did most of the polyurethaning while she was processing the brushes. Lots of "N/A"s near the end helped speed thigns up -- in some cases, 2 layers of polyurethane was sufficient. Individual judgments were made on a case-by-case basis, something a so-called professional would not bother with. WE WERE FINALLY DONE ENOUGH TO CELEBRATE!!
Actually, to be completely accurate -- we still had some final touch-up sanding to do... But nothing that required wood stain, polyurethane, ventilation, masks, gloves, dropclothes, painter's tape, and all the hassle. Just some casual final touches with the least rough (400-grit) sandpaper to ensure that the finaly (usually 4th) polyurethane coat was smooth.
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 asshole refused to stain ANY of it, despite the fact that the only reason the color now didn't match was due to their inability to properly execute a contract. (It was a 3 month contract and was not finished for over 3 years.) This left us having to stain WAY more wood than we otherwise would have. It was quite literally a difference of several months' work, as we both had jobs (at the time), and spare time at home has been in deficit for awhile.
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...
sanding, wood staining.
cabinet, closet, paper, portal, shelf, spreadsheet.
120. 150. 220. 60. Mt. Trim. polyurethane.
Clint and Carolyn's house, Alexandria, Virginia.
July 26, 2007.
... Read my blog at ClintJCL.wordpress.com
... Read Carolyn's blog at CarolynCASL.wordpress.com
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./B>