Back on the Scaffold

We had a good Thanksgiving, and a nice mid-morning nap today because our housekeepers showed up like clockwork before eight in the morning (totally brutal after we stayed up too late paying cards, but all the Thanksgiving mess is cleaned up). Then I really could not put off working on the hallway some more.

This is where I started. Scrubbing the ceiling is hard because you have to be bent over and working hard at the same time. Also it is perilous because the fall is not just off the scaffolding but down over the railing of the staircase. So I'd made little progress before.

And after several hours of work.

The thing that I keep encountering are these areas where the old calcium paint does not scrub off. In fact it is hard to get it off with a razor blade. So I'm going to get a fine sanding block and take those areas down to the plaster. Even the best modern primer will not stick to the calcium paint, so I need some kind of way to get it off there.

I stopped because I had scrubbed every area I could safely reach. In some places I could reach out further over the abyss, because the paint was softer and came away with less effort. Where it's more adhered I couldn't put as much force on it so far from the edge of the scaffolding. It's sort of interesting seeing where those areas are.

I could reach around the light easily, but the wiring there is terrifying and I decided to wait on washing it with water until Noel can help me turn the electricity off.

Next up: crazy scaffolding tricks.

posted by ayse on 11/23/12