That coffee shop drywall job in Portland was a nightmare

I was helping a buddy with a coffee shop renovation over on Hawthorne last month. The owner wanted this real smooth finish on the walls, like level 5 smooth, but they had old plaster behind the drywall. We ended up having to skim coat the whole place twice because the moisture from the espresso machine kept popping the tape. Took us an extra 3 days on a timeline that was already tight. Has anyone else dealt with humidity messing up their finish like that on a commercial job?

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karen_perry383mo ago

Had the same thing happen on a bakery renovation out in Beaverton a couple years back. The steam from the ovens made our first coat of mud bubble up like a bad sunburn. We finally had to put in a dehumidifier and run it for two days straight before the tape would even stick. Extra days on a tight timeline is a nightmare, especially when you're paying for equipment rental out of pocket.

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gonzalez.reese3mo ago

Dude that is brutal. You guys had to skim coat twice because of the espresso machine? I've dealt with humidity on a few commercial jobs and it's the worst. The moisture just gets trapped back there and bubbles everything up. It's like the tape never really seals right. I totally feel your pain on that timeline too, nothing worse than having to add days when your schedule is already shot. Hope your buddy's shop turned out okay in the end.

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