Curved walls are easy with swami's mystic rope trick.

Trick for curved walls

Stair towers and large curves such as barrel ceilings can be tricky. The idea is to get the wall both straight and round.

Please click to see how we use a rope to brown the wall in.

Veneer plaster basecoat in Washington DC

Veneer plaster:

The basecoat plaster for veneer plaster, also called thin coat plaster is super hard and impact resistant for a thin layer.

Here we're plastering a bathroom in Washington, DC.

More about veneer plaster here:

Storefront windows:

stucco application is failing because
the stucco sticks out past the window mullion

I took this picture of this building in Washington, DC. The stucco application is failing because the stucco sticks out past the window mullion allowing water penetration.

4 year old house in Arlington, Virginia has severe rot

Design for failure:
This 4 year old house in Arlington, Virginia has severe rot under all the windows. In this case, the material is a cement basecoat with a synthetic (fake) finish. Not only does the material project out past the window mullion, but the weep groove is filled with an ugly gob of caulk.

weep grooves are frequently sealed with caulk

Follow the instructions: The manufacturer of these windows made a well designed system for drainage for water that enters the window and for condensation. These weep grooves are frequently sealed with caulk, causing damage and rot.

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Thanks for reading all these years.