La Chambre pt deux

Here are a few additional photos of the bedroom project we completed this year. This built-in cupboard was constructed many years ago and served its purpose well. As you know France is known for it's beautiful Armoires, lovely free-standing "closets". Perhaps everyone everywhere feels the need to modernize every once in awhile? I guess we are going back in time... we want to take the room back to where it began, but with a bit of polish.

Deconstructing the cupboard we discovered more water damage from that long ago roof leak. The dark spot near the middle of the photo below shows about a 2 foot section of missing wood. Above this room is open attic space, a hole this size is like a super highway for critters that call the fields and barn home. While in the attic we realized much more than this small section of wood needed replacing, the entire alcove area was beyond saving.

Once the new boards where in place then the damage to the wall could be tackled. Small cracks were "tapped out" to reveal wide gaping holes exposing the enormous adobe blocks. The largest or deepest holes were first filled with a cement/stone mixture. When the cement was dry those patches were then filled with layers of plaster each one allowed to dry thoroughly before the next layer is added, until the surface was even.

This alcove to the right of the fireplace now has the final coat of plaster. As this section of the wall dries we move on to the next section. Discovering and repairing the damage took nearly 2 weeks to complete. Layers of plaster were applied in an attempt to even out the surface, thicker layers took a lot longer to dry as you can see from the photo below.

The temperature stayed cool so it was easy to work but the unusual amount of rain for this time of the year made the drying process quite slow. But it's a big room - a really big room approximately 17' x 2 0' - so waiting for the plaster to dry wasn't a problem. Creating that nice 90 degree angle for the corners, well now that was a challenge but with patience he did it! 

Working in small sections the plaster is hand troweled onto the walls. The 9 foot ceilings meant there were countless trips up and down that ladder! 

Adding the plaster coat is a skill developed with patience and practice. For someone who had never plastered a wall I am very proud of these results - Great Job Barry!

Please leave a comment when you stop by to check our progress I'd love to hear from you.

...and if you have, thanks for reading