Does anyone in SF have a recommendation for a plasterer? I'm looking to get a skim coat applied to my newly repaired plaster walls (2) and a new dry wall wall-- they are all in the same room so I don't think I can leave the dry wall as is-- I think it would look a bit off. Alternatively, has anyone done skim coating themsleves? Any tips or thoughts or suggestions?

yes, I am now in process of plastering the walls. all the walls. very long process. However, I've gotten quite good with the trowel(s)!!

I'm using a plaster restoration product called Master of plaster (masterofplaster.com) maybe that website can steer you towards someone in your area. It's tough and a high learning curve, skill-oriented job. I'm going whole-hog and doing a venetian finish since I'm plastering already, saves me on priming, painting, etc. This product is pre-mixed and lovely to apply. NOT CHEAP. wELL WORTH the price though, imho.

I think skim-coating is in some ways easier and harder, in that there's sanding involved (messy, but you get a smooth wall). joint compound is softer and thus not as good a structural material as real plaster. Check out forums on gardenweb.com look in the home forums, search plastering and skim-coating. I've pillaged the internet looking for answers. I've got them via the ole timey plasterer who sells the MOP product (that his dad developed some decades ago) and the decorative paint studio in nyc that sells it. I also took a professional class in how to do it. I kepp calling with questions and trying different techniques out. it's fun and creative.

I just plastered and stenciled my ceiling with it. I am however, in the opinions in those who hear of my travails, crazy.

well, I do love my ceiling!

good luck.

hey guys, DROOLING over all of the new stuff that Target just posted on their website. the vintage modern stuff continues to impress and check out all of this global Bazaar stuff.
Wow.

AT'ers,
I need some help finding an article, from I think Ready-Made magazine a few months back. It was regarding how to construct a platform bed by attaching a sheet of plywood onto two IKEA "lack" shelving units. I want to make sure that was all there was to it, or did the shelved need extra support. Has anyone out there done this or have any advice. THANKS

http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?topcategoryId=15561&catalogId=10103&storeId=12&productId=11317&langId=-1&parentCats=15561*15639*15651

kristian. Funny you should mention the big T. I spent the night in Palm Springs. And, since I was the first one up this morning with time to kill before brunch, I drove over to the local Target at 8am and got my "Tarzhay" on. All of the new home lines (Casual Home, Global Bazaar, Modern Home, the kind-of-Valentine's Day-themed housewares, etc) all looked really good. The quality of the furniture looked to be better than what they've stocked in the past. Some standouts: Isaac Mizrahi bath furniture (stainless steel with beech-veneered cabinetry with no fuschia accents!); mercury glass table lamps for around $25 (shades were in various candy colors, but could be easily switched out for neutral shades); all of the Thomas O'Brien furniture, beddings and bath textiles on sale! (most recent wave of Vintage Modern excluded from sale pricing, but 20-50% off of most other items). In the kitchen department: the coolest salad spinner I've ever seen from the Michael Graves line; a Haier countertop 12-bottle wine refrigerator (perfect for smaller kitchens), Andy Warhol-branded melamine plates. In the 1-Spot ("dollar store" section): a line of dinner dishes, salad dishes and appetizer/wineglass holder plates--all with a blank ink drawings and red text ("New York" with Statue of Liberty sketch, "Paris" with Eiffel Tower, "London" with Big Ben, "San Francisco" with G.G. Bridge, etc) for a buck apiece; fun sepia-toned photo magnets; desktop accessories in chocolate brown and baby blue. Fortunately, I resisted the siren call of home furnishings and got out of the store for $1.38 (for a closeout-priced cream and orange sport-striped knit cap).

[Off topic... I know it's been several weeks since Maxwell posted the threads on dinner and cocktail party music suggestions, but I just got a great album when I got back to L.A. this afternoon: Mylo "Destroy Rock & Roll". With the exception of one or two uptempo dance tracks, the album is filled with lushly-layered midtempo and downtempo electronica. This is one of the best albums (start to finish) that I've heard in a long time. If you're a fan of Royksopp, Air, Weekend Players, Junior Boys, Kings of Convenience (remixed album), Erland Oye, etc. Very groovy and not at all generic-sounding.

DC Dave-

Sorry I don't have info on the ready made article. But I did just build a platform bed which I think is probably similar. It is made out of 2 doors (size of a queen mattress) for the platform and sits on top of a rectangle (60 x 36) made from 4 pieces of plywood. It doesn't have any shelves, though. Let me know if you want the plans for it or other info on building it.

Enrique-
Thanks for the eye witness account! I won't be back in the states until january but I plan on getting my butt over to Target to pick up one of those Camel Mohair throws!

When I was home for thanksgiving, I picked up a couple of T O'brien 2 tone boxes (they JUST fit into my suitcase, filled with all sorts of breakables) that look fab in my bathroom.... why couldn't Target have come out with all of this great stuff when I was actually living in the states?

Hi Enrique! Thanks for the Target update. I go to the States approx every 2 months, so I'm looking forward to my next visit (I'm in Montreal).
Also, thanks for the music tips, I just love reading you music reviews. The dinner & cocktail party lists were great! will definitely be checking some of those suggestions out.

Has anyone ever ordered furniture from homedecorators.com? Just wondering about their quality. Imports can be dicey. Thanks!

Moving into a newly renovated apt, but my son has pulmnonary sensitivity - so we need someone to really clean the apt. No dust, nothing. Anyone have anyone in Manhattan to recommend?

kristian,
Is this the T. O'Brien 2-tone box you picked up at Target?
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_26/602-4882579-9192669?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000AAEWWW
I've been thinking about getting these, but it's a bit of a hassle to get over to Target for me, and I want to check them out before buying. What do you think of the quality of the box? Thanks.

Diane I. -
I helped a friend select a few things from HomeDecorators.com and they worked out great for him and they came very nicely packed, and seemed surprisingly well-made. They were some white storage cabinet-ish things and they were great. From what I've seen in the cabinet, it really probably depends on what you order, how good it is. It's kind of an amazingly chockfull catalog.

k1ate -

I have to wholeheartedly endorse the recommendation of the first respondent with respect to Master of Plaster (www.masterofplaster.com) skim coat. It is EXACTLY what you are looking for to skim coat repair an entire plaster wall as well as skim coat ordinary drywall (blueboard not needed!). I don't represent M.O.P., but I'm the owner of an 1830s house who has used M.O.P. on varied projects in 4 rooms over the last 10 years. It has held up excellently and is very "homeowner friendly". I learned to use it on my own pretty quickly. I'm in the middle of reworking a bedroom right now, in fact.

You are defintely right about wanting to skim the drywall wall as well. If you don't, that wall won't look "in sync" with the others. MOP will adhere well over solid (not peeling or flaking) paint, as long as it isn't calcimine paint (google it). I don't know of any other product that is as forgiving about what it goes over. Most plaster skim coats require special drywall & don't adhere to existing paint. M.O.P. doesn't have these limitations. I've tried it over normal painted plaster and drywall walls and ceilings and it has stuck fine for years thus far.

Application is pretty easy. No sanding is ever needed (and would make a mess if you tried it).
1. Secure any loose plaster with plaster washers (get via web from Charles Street Supply in MA).
2. Do any taping repairs you need to do with mesh tape (hardware store, Home Depot, etc.).
3. Skim the entire wall as thinly as possible with MOP "base coat" product and a flat trowl (applying the MOP from a plaster hawk). A 4" flexible taping knife may be helpful in corners and edges. Let it dry overnight. Tools available at Home Depot or any decent hardware/home store.
4. Repeat step 3. After the MOP has dried a half hour or so, you can trowl off any globs or ridges you may have left. Mist with water from a pump sprayer if you need to to resoften spots. MOP can be resoftened at any point with water so it is easy to rework, blend repairs, and stop work & pick up later.
5. After the 2 coats of "Base" in steps 3 and 4, skim the wall with MOP "finish coat". This is basically the same stuff as the "base coat" but without the presence of the fine sand which lets the base coat do some building. The purpose of teh finish coat it to fill the slightly rough (from teh sand) surface of the basecoat with a really thin topcoat. Let dry overnight or so.
6. Using a pump sprayer wet the applied MOP and bring the wet suface to a polish with your trowel briskly. If you need t, you can reapply some MOP "finish coat" in areas with imperfections and blend it in with the water. You want to wet it enough to slightly soften it but not totally. If you get it too wet, no big deal. Let dry and reapply a little more fish coat in the affected area. It's very tolerant of such touching up as you learn.
7. When you are done it will be incredibly smooth, yet the overall surface will not look like drywall -- there will be the extremely subtle variations in level indicative of a plaster wall applied by someone with more skill than you thought you had. :-)

There are more detailed instructions on the Master of Plaster web site (http://www.masterofplaster.com/product/application.html) or just call and talk to the owner, Mike. He's very helpful.

So what are the downsides of M.O.P.? Local availability is quite limited (check their website). I wind up having to mail order it. This works fine, but adds to the cost because it is heavy to ship. A "normal" order consists of 3 five gallon buckets of Basecoat and 1 five gallon bucket of Finish Coat. So, it isn't cheap, but it's a whole lot easier than working with alternate materials and reduces the need for replacing existing material and/or hiring a professional plasterer.

Jim B.