Tag Archives: Plaster

Teaching, Workshop

Building Walls and Slinging Mud

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This past weekend at the North Bennet Street School I taught a new 2 day workshop that I designed on framing, drywall, mud and texture work. It was an opportunity for students to learn the techniques necessary to properly install or repair drywall around their homes, improve their finishing and texture skills and ask questions.

Bill Teaching
Bill discussing technique

It was a lot of material to cover in 2 days, but the class was enthusiastic and put in the hard work necessary to get through all the major exercises.  Below is a highlight reel from the class:

Laying out the frames
Laying out the frames

Once each student finished his/her frame they were assembled into wall sections.

Assembling the frame sections
Assembling the frame sections

Each student had their own workspace to practice in.

Students cutting and hanging sheetrock
Cutting and hanging Sheetrock

Cutting, hanging, coursing, cleaning up edges etc.

Bill Demonstrating Technique
Bill demonstrating how to blend coats of mud

Hands on demonstrations of technique

Taping and initial mud work
Taping and initial mud work

Working around obstructions like outlet boxes, taping, and initial coat of mud.

Wet and Dry Sanding
Wet and Dry Sanding

Sanding the initial coat of mud and applying subsequent coats.

Applying Texture
Applying Texture

Patching, repairs and applying various finishing and texture techniques.

It was an informative and enjoyable experience and I look forward to teaching similar workshops in the future. If you have requests for other workshop topics you’d like to see covered, please let me know.

Preservation

What did you do for summer vacation? A Decathlon in Historic Preservation?!

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Back in grade school, I enjoyed when students would get up in front of the class and talk about what they did for their summer vacation. This summer rather than taking a rest from a very recent move to New Hampshire and new job earlier in the year I decided to spend it pursuing my passion for teaching traditional craft skills.

I’ve been teaching the ‘Traditional Building’ master’s class at the Boston Architectural College (BAC) in partnership with the North Bennet Street School (NBSS). It’s a low residency master’s program in Historic Preservation wherein students come in from around the country for a very intensive hands on week in Boston and spend the rest of the semester working online.  For 8 straight days the students are with me from the early morning until dinner time, they grab a quick bite to eat and spend their evenings completing the intensive portion of their other class this semester ‘Preservation Philosophy and Practice’ with Virginia ‘Ginny’ Adams.

Some highlights of the week included:

  •  A walking tour of many historic homes and buildings in Boston including the Paul Revere House, Otis House, Gibson House and Trinity Church hosted by Steve O’Shaughnessy who is the Head of the NBSS Preservation Carpentry Department
Walking tour of historic buildings and homes in Boston
Walking tour of historic buildings and homes in Boston
  • Learning about how to mix and analyze paint with historic paint expert Sara Chase who is a PC program adviser to NBSS
Mixing paints and related analysis
Mixing paints and related analysis
  • Learning about historic hardware and fasteners with preservation expert Robert Adam (former head of PC program at NBSS) and touring the Saugus Ironworks NHP
At the Saugus Ironworks NHP
At the Saugus Ironworks NHP
  • A private tour of the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Boston
Group shot at the MFA
Group shot at the MFA
  • Historic plaster work with master plasterer Andy Ladygo — another adviser to the NBSS PC Program
Historic Plastering
Historic Plastering
  • Traditional woodworking (hand planes, moldings etc) and Historic Window Sash Restoration with Bill Rainford (NBSS PC Graduate and Workshop Instructor)
Sash restoration work
Sash restoration work
  • Historic Timber Framing with Rich Friberg — NBSS Preservation Carpentry instructor and master wood turner

    Timber Framing
    Timber Framing. Photo by Zachary Ingalls
  • To commemorate the experience Robert Ogle, MDS Director at the BAC had the shirts below made up for the class which will be a new tradition for this program. I’m happy to report that everyone survived the week.
"I survived the HP Intensive Week @ The BAC Fall 2012"
“I survived the HP Intensive Week @ The BAC Fall 2012”

Once the intensive was over, everyone took a quick breath, headed home and have been busy with their cameras and notebooks applying some of the skills they learned to their own work and later assignments in the class ever since.

All in all it was a great way to spend a summer vacation.