Inching Along
With the new computer-crimped drip cap in place, the shingling above window is now complete. White primer dries clear.
And painted! Now, painting the length of cornice above is next.
But, yikes, a section of swirl is missing!
I found two of the pieces in the box long kept in the basement Aladdin’s cave! I will mold the missing section from caulk. It won’t be perfect but from ground level will look fine. The cornice has been mostly scraped now, sanded, and all the swirls have been caulked along their edges so they don’t looked so tacked on (see left). Oh, the horror!
I continue to be amazed that owners of the house, over the decades, maintained a pattern of squirreling away fallen bits/removed bits of the house. As I reinstate a bit I think: When did somebody store this? 1940s? 1950s? 1990s? And who stored it away? Scout Mouse, Jr? Frank Toms? Harry Thompson? Bob Rodak? Does my reinstating a bit somehow telegraph out to the universe that some small thing has been made right? And that such an action is somehow transmitted to the soul who took the initiative to save the bit? And if so, do they…smile?
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I am continued to be amazed at how well your patented “Baby Steps” method works. However, you are extremely motivated to not only save this delightful house, but to move in and enjoy the splendor. I didn’t know that bits and pieces could be molded from caulk, amazing!
Ooh! I’m very interested in how you will mold the new piece from caulk. I hope you will blog about that process.
When I read “painting the cornice is next”, my thought was: but he has to sand and caulk it and the weather is so changeable! However, you are steps (baby ones) ahead. This side is looking great. By the way, I can’t get enough of seeing before and afters of the columns below.
Call me sentimental, but I absolutely believe that they smile! Great work!
I’d use epoxy putty. It is more durable than caulk, easier to mold, will stick to the cleaned metal surface on its own, and can be shaped when it dries.
1. I’d wax up an intact section of the molding that I want to copy, then mix up as much of a stick as I think I need and apply it to make a mold. If you didn’t make enough you can add more after it has hardened. The paste wax keeps it from sticking. The quick hardening epoxy works best for me.
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2.Then I wax up the mold, fill it with more epoxy putty, and install it in place of the missing section. It should stick to the cleaned surface alone, but I put a few non-ferrous screws so they are sticking out in the location so the epoxy has something to grab in addition to the surface.
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Here is an Amazon link to the kind I have been using recently. https://www.amazon.com/Oatey-31270-Tubes-Display-4-Ounce/dp/B0009QW5IU/ref=sr_1_14?crid=253F9S5K54CY3&keywords=epoxy+putty+stick&qid=1578242045&sprefix=epoxy%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-14
Definitely smiling! I can’t believe the Aladdin’s cave keeps providing! Wonderful
You think like I do!
“Does my reinstating a bit somehow telegraph out to the universe that some small thing has been made right? And that such an action is somehow transmitted to the soul who took the initiative to save the bit? And if so, do they…smile?”
All part of our Collective Unconscious. All part of the Relativity of Time and Space. All part of Zen and the Art of Loving What You Do.