Fancy, But Hard Work

 

When I am given an address and very little else, I do not know what to expect when I go to look at a potential job, so it is always an new adventure. This customer got my name from Su Casa Designs where Andy told the customer that I was 'the best'. That is a hard billing to live up to.

The house turned out to be the monstrosity at the entry gate to Pepin Brook Estates, an exclusive winery estate subdivision.

The customer quizzed me about my experience and emphasized that he did not care about price, only that I do a good job.

 

We did the easy job first, the feature wall in the daughter's bedroom. I have worked with this German designed product before and it was the quickest easiest work I had done in months. Oh, and it looked fantastic.

 

Then it was on to the very heavy 54" wide commercial grade vinyl that went above the wainscoting in the dining room. Reverse hang, overlap and double cut, and take every piece sequentially off the big roll. I am beginning to hate this type of wall covering. Because of the horizontal pattern and the vertical seams, the plan was to hang two panels and then get the homeowner's approval to carry on or not.

 

We got approval when the customer could not find the seam even though he knew where it was. (In the above photo I have not double cut the seam yet, so it is quite obvious) And then the going got tough. The pattern match was tough, yet critical. The material was so stiff and unyielding that I was damaging the surface when I put my straight guide against it for trimming. It dulled the knife after a few cuts and I was continually snapping new blades.

 

Because the ceilings were 10' tall, I spent the rest of the day on the ladder.

 

Not much wall area, but each piece was a challenge.

 

It was not just random stripes that had to line up, but there was match to the pattern.

 

When the material, which is made of vinyl, is stiff and inflexible, I use a heat gun which almost melts the material so I can push it into the corners easily for trimming. This, of course, dries out the adhesive rapidly, which means I have to work very quickly and accurately.

 

Finally, the last piece. The customer was not home when we were done so he called later in the evening and actually delivered payment to my door. Nice. However, he said that he and wife noticed a big green spot on the wallpaper, about where my head is in the above photo. I dismissed his comment as we did not see any such thing in the daylight. I told him that more than likely what he was seeing was a glow coming from one of the baubles on his fancy chandelier. I told him to call me in the morning, when the lights were off and the daylight was streaming into the room, if there was still a green spot. He never did call.