Silk Dynasty ?

[Paul P]

Hi guys... I'm the noob here.

We have been asked to hang some Silk Dynasty - Paris Collection for a customer here.

Glazed ceramic on canvas/embossed/fabric backing

We have hung many high dollar drops in our time but this one has us a little worried. After asking the company for their suggested directions we got back 8 pages of very specific instruction. 8 PAGES

I would not be so worried but we will be hanging it in a curved stairwell. 12' panels at about 30' above the stairs and 10' panels below that. We have trimmed in boxes we will be dropping them in. These boxes are a little shorter than the panels and we will be seaming it once down the middle of each box.

Have any of you guys ever hung any Silk Dynasty on anything other than flat walls? Like I said we will be trimming it into the "boxes" and it is a curved wall. Those two factors have me worried. I'm sure it hangs just fine on flat walls in the showroom.

Anyone have any hints on this one? I thought you "Guild" guys might have at least handled this stuff........

http://www.silkdynasty.com/paris.html

[Paul P]

Well, I see my inquiry went right by you guys.......

If this is any indication as to how the guild works, I now understand why the Columbia, SC chapter flopped so badly.

At least I did get some support from a few Guild Members outside of this place. I guess there is still some hope.

Thanks anyway guys.......

[Bill Archibald]

Mr P.,

Your last note caught my eye and I felt a strong urge to respond in an acerbic tone, but I bite my tongue.

I would ask that you consider that perhaps all those who read your first query had not installed any Silk Dynasty in a situation as you described and may have felt it unwise and unprofessional to answer a question for which they did not have experience.

I see not the need for taking a swipe at the NGPP because no one with this unique experience was able to answer. I do know that many are timid to respond for fear that they may be flamed or otherwise jumped upon. Your response only enforces that fear.

-Bill Archibald
Norfolk, MA
NGPP, Boston Chapter
Chair, Communications Committee

[Paul P]

Thank you Bill for your correspondence.

My reply to my own post is born of my frustration in not receiving the slightest recognition that anyone here even knew what I was talking about. My frustration is further fueled by the illusive nature of this material and finding someone who has handled it before.

I have been communicating on Internet forums a long time and sit on staff at several. I, all too well, understand your point and position. I respectfully ask that you forgive my tone. I had intended only to poke a little and see if it was alive. I guess I got carried away. I should know better.

[Eunice, PRS Reporter]

Hey Paul,

I am one of the many who read your post, and as Bill said, since I do not have direct experience with that material, didn't feel qualified to offer a response.

Like you, I was sure hoping someone would respond because it sounds like quite the stuff, and I would like to know the answers too! Where are you now on the job and what sort of information were you able to gather from other installers offline? Is the ceramic brittle, making the curve a problem?

I hope you will post as to what has happened so we can continue to learn. Sorry you felt let down on this one.

[Chris Nelson]

As was sugested on another board, did you contact Michael Keith aka walldude at walldude@aol.com? He wrote the directions for this material,I believe.

[Paul P]

Originally posted by Chris Nelson
As was suggested on another board, did you contact Michael Keith aka walldude at walldude@aol.com? He wrote the directions for this material,I believe.

I have hesitated to contact Mr. Keith for two reasons.

From reading the instructions / compared to the limited info I can in fact gather, those who have hung this material have completely disregarded the written instruction prescribed by him. For instance Mr. Keith suggests using a Heavy Duty Clear and pasting several times but the few that have made any comment anywhere say Clay Base is the way to go. I feel that it would be a bit redundant to inquire with him as I have read the 8 pages he and the company offer.

The other reason would be a hint someone dropped... He won't hang it himself anymore.

Originally posted by eunice
I hope you will post as to what has happened so we can continue to learn. Sorry you felt let down on this one.

Thank you for your reply eunice. I will pass along anything I can accumulate from the experience. The job is not going to be ready for a while. That is why I am on a fact finding mission now. To be honest we haven't really accepted the challenge yet but I'm sure we are going to, at the very least, attempt to meet the challenge. Like any job, I'll learn most everything I need to know when we start to apply it to the walls.
Thank you for your acknowledgment and support.

[Chris Murphy]

Not everyone checks this thing all the time, so either have some patience...OR JOIN THE GUILD so you have sources to call.
'Dude may have written some of the instructions, but not all, I don't think.
My source for SD info is KL Conner, he's done a bunch of the ceramics (PapaKL@aol.com). I don't understand your "boxes," that you're "dropping" the sheets into.

www.ScenicHanger.com

[Paul P]

Originally posted by Chris Murphy
Not everyone checks this thing all the time, so either have some patience...OR JOIN THE GUILD so you have sources to call.
'Dude may have written some of the instructions, but not all, I don't think.
My source for SD info is KL Conner, he's done a bunch of the ceramics (PapaKL@aol.com). I don't understand your "boxes," that you're "dropping" the sheets into.

www.ScenicHanger.com

Sorry Chris, I use this darn box maybe too much. I check it all the time. I guess I just thought everyone used it daily.

If I had a guild chapter here in Columbia I would join. I'm a single Dad and I don't have the leisure of jumping in the truck and running off to the closest meeting to associate. It seems the people around here are more interested in posturing than they are about sharing. We did have a chapter at one time and a lot of chapters "spun off" from this one when we did. Hey, I've accepted that I'm down south and egos are bigger than organization. I guess Cola. hasn't caught up with Atlanta. You think?

The "Boxes" we are hanging this in are trimmed out with 1/2" molding on a curved wall. Each box has two vertical strips of molding running parallel to each other and one strip of the same molding at the top running horizontal to the verticals, and one at the bottom in the same attitude. In short a "Trimmed in box". The horizontal strips will be Bent (warped) to the radius (curvature) of the walls.

The other pain is that we will have to "hang" several flat walls, BUT there are arched doorways leading from the "hall" or room. Trimming to these arches seems like it will also be a pain due to the nature of the material. Templates seem to be in order here.

Let me add this... I posted my inquiry in earnest. I posted the reply in frustration. I posted my apology to Bill Archibald & the forum from my most sincere regret for getting upset. At this point any attitude regarding my frustration would be pointless. I'm just looking for answers. If you think I should join the Guild then show me an organization I would want to join or start a chapter of and not a a group I dread asking a question of, or leading.

The thing about Internet forums is that you only read words here. You don't get to see posture, you don't see a persons eyes, you don't hear the chuckle in the voice in a reply. You only read words and THEN you have to discern how it was offered. My post is a prime example of this. Your post only followed suit. I know how I could have tempered my post to mitigate my tone. Do You?

[Chris Murphy]

<< The thing about Internet forums is that you only read words here. You don't get to see posture, you don't see a persons eyes, you don't hear the chuckle in the voice in a reply. You only read words and THEN you have to discern how it was offered. My post is a prime example of this. Your post only followed suit. I know how I could have tempered my post to mitigate my tone. Do You?>>

No, I don't. You wanted a solution, and I gave you two. I didn't "follow your suit."

[Bill Archibald]

Sorry Paul not to have more info on your Silk Dynasty, but I just had to assure you that Chris is the same warm lovable curmudgeon in person

Pity me, please, as I asked him first to help with our newsletter, The INSTALLER, when I was volunteered to be its editor, and I now consult with him often. (NEVER wake him from a nap )

But I assure you the answers and advice he gives are well worth the abuse that comes with them

I can give you about 800 good reasons to join the Guild, and Chris is just ONE of them.


-Bill

[Paul P]

Chris, I apologize for not recognizing in my post that you did in fact give 2 directions to look to. Thank you very much for the e-mail for PapaKL. Your most recent reply only reinforces my opinion of the Guild. Were it not for Bill & eunice I would probably just walk away shaking my head.

You know they have meds out for anxiety now that might help......

Bill - I understand the ego involved. I worked with and apprenticed under a guy who left a person with the same feeling Chris leaves you with. I had to swallow a LOT of pride and bow my head many times but the sacrifice was worth it all as I learned more than I could have ever dreamed of with anyone else. He has become much wiser with age and I now look forward to getting to work with him. Even after 15 years he still finds something to teach me whenever I do.

It seems that I have exhausted any appreciable help I may find from here so I'll just withhold any further comments unless someone who has worked with ceramics has anything to offer, or shares any info.

Thank you Guild members for your support.

[Paul P]

Darn it.... I did it again.......

I attacked the Guild out of reaction.......

Sorry Guild members. I really must admit that I do not know the organization well enough to even have an opinion of the Guild. I only know what I have been told and from my current communications. You would have thought I would have learned the first time....

Sorry Bill......

I apologize - once again.

[Tim Bodine]

Paul P said:

You know they have meds out for anxiety now that might help......

Where would a brother in St. Louis get some of these?

[Eunice, PRS Reporter]

<>

OK Paul, I gotta take you up on this one. I live in Edmonton, Alberta, CANADA and if you're not sure where that is, go to the northern Montana botder and keep driving north for eight hours. There is no chapter, no meetings, nothing - but the Guild is the best investment in my career that I have made. The networking and resources are still available to At-Large members and the annual convention is where you will put names to faces and get to know all those you email. Some of the crustier sounding ones online aren't that way at all in person - heck, I hate the way I come across in email, but there it is. The Installer newsletter is great and the resource Directory can be invaluable. All for a measly $150.

In addition to this official Guild website there are a few others that many post on. APN (paperhanging@imagicom.com), Cliff Hayes site on Delphi (delphiforums.com/paperhanging) and Papernet (papernet@yahoogroups.com) The last one has a few too many off-topic posts and political rants for me, but there are some on that list who do not post on the others and they are darn good installers. All the lists also have searchable archives which is a real bonus when researching something. The depth of knowledge is amazing - if someone doesn't know they can often point the way toward someone who does.

Well, that's about all I know. Look forward to meeting you at the Orlando convention.