The Duvall House was built in 1928. It was moved from the farm to the Museum site prior to the Town of Cut Knife’s Centennial in 2012. The house needed some maintenance work and a few upgrades before it was ready for the public, and a fresh coat of paint was high on the list. The walls were filled and sanded; colours were selected to reflect the time period; the house interior was painted. Then came winter.
The upgrades did not include winter heating and the freeze / thaw cycle over the next few years were not kind to the paint. A number of different treatments were tried with varying degrees of success but still the paint peeled and flaked – until Terri suggested chalk paint. Chalk paint is a mixture of plaster-of-paris, warm water, and latex paint. It’s applied with a chalk brush and is worked into the existing wall plaster.
A test wall a few years ago proved to be very encouraging. So, this past Labour Day weekend, Terri and I set to scraping and painting the Duvall House front entrance. The results have been amazing! We’ll be checking it out closely next spring and if there’s no sign of deterioration, be prepared to see a call out for volunteer painters!
A few photos:
Coming soon… the recipe for Chalk Paint!
~ Debbie M.
Clayton McLain Memorial Museum 