One step forward ...

Well, maybe not two steps back, but it sure feels like it. I've fiddled with the staircase and the lobby partition wall but I think they are now finished. I filled in the original stairway hole and gave the ceiling a couple coats of white ceiling paint. tonight I finally got up enough nerve to cut the new stairway opening. I measured about four times but still managed to be off enough that it took a little more plastic surgery to get it where it needs to be. The staircase unit slides out as one piece.

 Here is the lobby through the hole where the front door will go. I'm thinking of ways to keep it from getting too closed in so as not to lose too much of the view.

 I like the little flash of red glass in the clerestory windows.

 View through one of the oval windows in the lobby. I had to trim the frame of the other oval to accomodate the stair railing.

The underside of the stairs has been framed in. I see it needs a bit of detail work. Notice the doorknob on the little door into the desk area. Lloyd was concerned about how Alois was to get in and out.

There will be a hanging light in the lobby, behind the leaded glass windows. I think it will shine nicely. Am waiting for delivery so I can get it installed.

I've prepped the rest of the vertical pieces -- flat walls and tower walls. I painted both sides with flat white ceiling paint and then coated the inside surfaces with a skim coat of wallboard mud. I spread it on with a palette knife and like the way it looks. Tomorrow I'll paint it and put some of the walls in place.

Testing Paint

Well, after a hiatus of nearly two weeks, there's finally something to report. The major pieces in play at the moment have been primed with real life, matte-finish, latex ceiling paint; the ground floor walls have been painted with Glidden's Venetian something-or-other.  On the good side, I like the color. It is a soft buff yet seems to be a bit reflective, which will keep the ground floor light. On the other side, I should have primed with gesso, as the latex is so thin that the surface texture of the wood shows. Sanding hasn't helped. So, today's agenda includes painting it all again with gesso and recoating with the color. I may go ahead and cut the new doors in the end wall (on the right) before I repaint. Those doors will connect with the addition (yet to be built). All you can see of the wall in question is the edge.

The dining room (on the right) looks a bit small. Maybe there will be room for three or four 4-tops with a deuce in the bay window.

Alois is eager for me to get the new wall finished. That's on today's agenda, too. The lead tape arrived yesterday for the leaded glass panels, and I think my hand is steady enough to paint "Hospoda" on the larger window. We'll see!

Making Walls Out of Toothpicks

That's what dear husband Lloyd says. "Oh, you're really making something out of all of those toothpicks." Ha. Not just any toothpicks. I did get side one of Panel One finished and couldn't wait to see it in situ. Alois was just as eager and volunteered to help. Keep in mind that the protective film is still on the Plexiglas, and the unstained channel at the bottom is a temporary place holder; the door lacks hardware, and the clerestory windows will have some bits of colored glass (unless I get a better idea). There will be glass to fill in the opening by the registration desk. (The bottom part will become a half-door, so the hotelier/concierge can get in and out.

The other side of this panel has been completed and is drying. I've looked up the Czech word for Pub and will paint it on the window of the door before assembling the "sandwich" (she says confidently).

Later: Alois insists I show you the 2nd panel in place. One side is finished. The other side will have to wait until tomorrow. Wait. It is nearly tomorrow now! (Lloyd says it looks as if it's a screen door. That's because the protective film is still on the Plexiglas.) I put up the outside walls again for context. I need to find a nice hanging light fixture for the lobby. It will shine through the clerestory windows. And maybe a small lamp on the reception desk.

Going to bed now. Good night! :)

Building a wall

Here is a photo of the wall between the foyer and bar/restaurant areas under construction. I cut two pieces of Plexiglas to fit the footprint shown in the last entry, then drew the door and windows on graph paper. I found enough stripwood and mouldings in my stash to start cutting pieces and fitting them together like a puzzle.

I'm working on the bottom of a corrugated cardboard box. The schematic is covered with waxed paper, so the glue won't stick. The pile of lumber on the left comprises the pieces for the other side. It will have to be assembled in reverse so the Plexiglas can be sandwiched between them.

I thought about how to put a finish on the wood and decided it would be better to stain the wood pieces before assembly. I'm using the stain pen seen at left. Only a few of my fingertips are stained; I keep forgetting to put on gloves. When the whole panel is glued together, it will be coated with a few layers of clear satin-finish acrylic. When the whole assembly is dry and can be removed in one piece, I'll do the panel to the left (under the wood pile). It will be easier, as there is no door to deal with.

Haven't worked out how the door will be finished. I think maybe a few mullions. I don't want to block the view into the foyer any more than necessary.

I'm thinking I may turn the finished units over, cover them with waxed paper, and assemble the mirror-image units right on top, so they will fit precisely when glued in place. I think the only glue I have that will work is E-6000, so once they are placed in the acetate, there they'll stay. There won't be much room for adjustment.

The Reception Desk is ... not quite open

I awoke this morning still not having thought of how to deal with the foyer wall challenge. In the spirit of avoidance, I switched gears a little bit and worked on the reception desk. Alois says he doesn't need much space. He can keep his guest log under the desk and doesn't need to be there except when he's handing out keys or collecting the rent. The desk is made of matboard and is freestanding. After this photo was taken, I added a panel detail like the one under the stairsto the front and added a half-door to close in the reception area. (Door details haven't yet been painted on.) I painted it and again put on 3 or 4 coats of satin finish polycrylic. It matches the stairway. They almost look as if they are part of a single unit.

When the desk was in place, I taped up some of the outside walls and again considered the foyer wall problem. Lo and behold, the answer was right in front of me. The channel molding indicates where the base of the wall will be. Alois is holding one of the acrylic panels in place. If you enlarge the picture, you can see it more easily. Another piece of acrylic will fill in the section to the right. It has to be fitted to the understair angle, and I'm too brain dead to tackle it now. Later -- or tomorrow -- I'll make a template of cardboard to fit the space and then cut the Plexiglas. A third piece of acrylic will fill the space above the near side of the reception desk.

I bought these panels at Hobby Lobby last week. They are about as thin as the acetate in the windows that come with the kit, maybe a hair thicker. I haven't compared them. It was easy to cut. I scored it with a utility knife and snapped it. I've left the protective film on and won't remove it until I'm ready to glue the wood onto it.

Yes ... glue the wood onto it. The acrylic will form the core of the wall with the wainscoting, door frame, door, window framing, etc., prestained and glued onto it. That will be so much easier than building a wall with a door and a couple of windows in it with fiddly little bits of wood and then fitting the "glass" in the openings. There may be some accents of colored glass; I don't want to block so much of the view that the foyer can't be seen. All this is detail yet to be worked out. My muse is threatening to take a long holiday if I don't provide her with some sustenance and a short nap after our mornings' workout!

The plan is for the wall to be freestanding, so it can be removed for access to the foyer.