powder and plaster
looking down from the office loft area of the master bedroom
We are now in the fourth week of plasterwork and the rooms are coming together one by one. The house is full of plaster and our clothes (and hair and pockets and ears and phones and gloves) are full of powder.
At the end of December when the structural part of the build was complete (minus a few last things which will be done soon) the main builder packed up and left the site for the time being so that we could authorize a new worker to be on site and do the intonaco (plasterwork). We chose the builder who we’ve known for a long time and who helped J restore his house years ago. He works independently and is wonderful with the detailed types of work.
After getting quotes for this step, he was able to save me a hefty amount…and we would be able to help out as well. But instead of taking just a couple of weeks (as it would have been with the original builder’s full crew), our friend would need about 6 weeks as he’d be working solo… but at this point I have the time, and don’t have much extra money. So it was an easy decision to make.
It reminds me of a saying it’d hear a lot in the graphic design field …”You can have it fast, good, or cheap. Pick two.”
For this step I chose good and cheap…and had to forego fast.
And it’s still not cheap, but it certainly was less expensive.
So in the first few days after ringing in the new year, we met at the site for the delivery of the pallets of plaster and the first walk through to decide the order of things. Rewinding a few weeks, the finding of the plaster was a bit of a job in and of itself. Since the house is under regulations from the eco-certifying committee, I had to find very specific plaster that had a high lye content and was itself certified with the same committee to prove its breathability, eco-friendliness, and origins. This already had narrowed down the dozens of plaster options to less than a handful. Then finding availability of one of those brands here in the area narrowed it down to only a couple of choices. Finally a prospect was found, and although the cost is 2-3 times that of the regular plaster, I was happy with the type we found and are using.
Then we got to work…
The last three and a half weeks has been filled with full time workdays and I’ve been completely enjoying it. Getting to site bright and early, sometimes in below-freezing temps, putting on our powder-filled work clothes/layers/gloves, preparing the supplies and workspaces, and going at it.
It feels so satisfying getting to finally work with my hands on site and see my own effort helping to create the permanent structure. Between the builder, J, and myself we have come into quite a seamless rhythm. Arriving, getting the site set up, plaster mixed, supplies gathered, then the builder tells us our “assignments” for the day. We take care of chiseling off the clumps of concrete and uneven blocks to help even out the walls. Then we fill any larger holes with a cement mixture before painting any exposed poured concrete (like the columns) with a special gripping paint to help the plaster adhere better. A type of netting has to be applied to any joints of concrete and blockwork to create a better melding of the two materials and to prevent future cracking between them.
After this we do the ‘primo mano’, the first pass, with the plaster. As the blockwork was very raw - partially because of the non-linear design, the many electric and plumbing pipes which had been added, and a few tweaks here and there, this first pass is needed just to somewhat even out the surface a bit. The main layer and final skin is handled by the expert and so he’s normally working a room behind us.
We’ve so far finished the bedrooms, bathrooms, hallway, most of the garage, and also have started in the studio. A few days throughout this process I’ve not been able to go to site because of other things I had to do - and I find myself missing it when I don’t get to work. It’s nice to be away from screens, see progress take place minute by minute, and actually feel useful in a new way…and since because we are getting to help out it’s saving me money, in a way it feels like I have a paying job again for the time being!
…not to mention after a full day’s work of physical labor dinner tastes even better and sleep is even more sound. Bonus.