Record of paints used (rev. 12/2025)

THIS IS A RECORD of the brand and color of the paints used on our premises. Presumably it will be updated periodically.…

West wall of school building receives maintenance (Activity Report)

AS A FOLLOW-UP to my having noted in October the maintenance need HERE, I am pleased to record that our Director of Operations has arranged to have this wall painted, as part of a larger project in November. 

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

The quick turnaround is heartening. (Sometimes things do come together nicely!)

Below the jump, this short post documents the wall’s current condition via photos. They are meant to be compared directly with those in the previous post.

Front façade water intrusion repair and prevention (Completion Report)

THIS PROJECT was completed last month. It features several historically significant components of our sanctuary building’s façade. Therefore this post follows a report template in the 2003 Historic Structure Report, as recommended for all historic-cultural monuments. 

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Below the jump, this post restates the basic need and documents the work done. For more background, see HERE.…

West wall of school building needs maintenance (Condition Record)

LAST PAINTED IN 2007, which was 17 years ago, the west wall of our school building is in need of a little lovin’. In retrospect, it should have been repainted a decade ago. 

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

This wall has been neglected because almost nobody except the staff ever sees it. Meanwhile, the afternoon sun and sea breezes have taken their toll.

Below the jump, this short post documents the wall’s current condition, with three annotated photos.

Degradation of plaster wall at our southwest edge

TWO WEEKS AGO, I hosted the representatives of two waterproofing companies. It prompted me to take a more careful look at the plaster-covered concrete wall at the southwest corner of our property. Its degradation is now obvious, as the result of water damage. It took a big hit this past winter.

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Below the jump, this post discusses the condition of what I am calling the “southwest edge” of our sanctuary property.…

Color scheme for sanctuary façade walls

THE WATERPROOFING CONTRACTOR is being engaged mainly to coat the vertical wall surfaces. Painting certain other elements of the façade is incidental—but still necessary. (Otherwise, they will look bad by comparison.) 

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Below the jump, this post explains our intended schema. (It was updated on 7-31 from the original 6-17 post, following another on-site meeting of the color committee.)…

Color formula for the Half Hailstorm wall paint (rev. 8/2)

AS NOTED ELSEWHERE, I’m pursuing this color for the main walls, because it meets the project criteria, and it was the Color Committee’s first choice. 

According to Chris Williams, the owner of CertaPro of Santa Monica, who works with Sherwin-Williams paints, the color composition of Half Hailstorm is as follows…below the jump.

Exterior color schemes as proposed by the Ad-Hoc Color Committee

THIS POST RECORDS the color treatments for exterior walls, as proposed last summer by Roberta Tishman’s color committee, together with their consultant from Sydney Harbour Paint Company (SHP). 

The committee was given two criteria to guide its efforts: 

• the wall color must be as light as possible, so as to last as long as possible and need as little maintenance as possible; and 
• exploration should start with the light green that was original in 1948. 

The committee came up not only with a main wall color as requested, but also with a variety of accent colors, arranged in three related color schemes.

The colors mentioned are standard colors in the SHP palette. Our office has one set of 8"x8" swatches of most of them.

Below the jump, I record the committee’s recommendations, for posterity, while providing links to online swatches. (The color displayed will depend upon your device.)…

Color of the sanctuary building exterior

WHAT COLOR will the façade of our historic building be, after it is waterproofed this summer? 

The present blue-gray color — which is not original — is not a prudent choice from a maintenance perspective. Therefore last summer, given our need for a lighter and more neutral color, an ad-hoc committee recommended two color choices instead.

Left side:  Southwest corner of façade, last painted 17 years ago.
Right side:  Western edge of south wall, recoated in July 2023.
(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

This post updates a similar one from 3/30/23, which I wrote before the committee met, and before a color was selected for the south wall exterior. 

Sanctuary exterior-wall maintenance: a cooperative endeavor

TWO NEIGHBORS WITH SHARED WALLS have been cooperating on maintenance and repair issues. I’m referring to Mishkon Tephilo and the owner of the corner building to its north, Soheil Darvish. A couple of years ago, we worked together on the walls and foundation of the flagstone patio on Main Street. 

Now it’s time to work together on the maintenance of our shared stucco wall, on the north side of Mishkon’s sanctuary building.

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Below the jump, this post discusses the main considerations involved. It literally fills in the above drawing.

Maintenance needs of the new front gates/fence

NEARLY ALL of the newly installed iron gates/fence on Main Street is double powder-coated. Its fabricated sections were all carted to an industrial-sized oven, where they were coated with a dry powdered plastic (much like toner in a laser printer) that was then baked on, for a durable finish. 

That’s the best way to coat ferrous metal that sits near the ocean. Tougher than paint, it should last for a dozen years before rust starts to show through. 

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

That being said, there are a few iron pieces that needed to be welded on site, and therefore could not be powder coated. Those pieces have been primed and painted. I.e., they are likely to start showing rust first, before the rest of the gates/fence does. 

Below the jump, I provide documentation for those pieces, so that our maintenance staff can keep on eye on them. (I’ll also note the moving parts that will need periodic lubrication.)

Waterproofing the façade on Main Street

THE BASIC PLAN for restoring the sanctuary building’s façade and eliminating water intrusion is outlined in this post. (The condition of the walls is documented in photographs HERE.)

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Condition of the Main Street façade

THE SANCTUARY BUILDING façade on Main Street is due for restoration, given the longstanding water intrusion in the hallway. The same kind of problems that we found at the south wall are increasingly evident. They seem to be the result of two of the 1948 construction methods — namely, the lack of a weep screed and of a waterproof coating for the above-ground portion of the concrete foundation.

We know basically what needs to be done. Now it’s a matter of gathering the necessary funds, completing a contract, and arranging the logistics of the restoration work.

Below the jump, this post documents the present condition of the walls, via photographs. (As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

A fixed crack in the ceiling, from long-ago water intrusion

SOME YEARS AGO, rainwater apparently made its way through a cracked seam in the roof. It left a noticeable T-shaped crack in the sanctuary ceiling, above the westernmost window on the south side. 

Good news to report! CertaPro has now repaired that crack, as part of their prep for the repainting effort that is scheduled to begin in earnest next Monday. Below the jump are two photos that document the repair.

Showing our true colors: Painting choices

WE ARE GETTING CLOSE to applying new surface finishes to our sanctuary’s outer south wall, and to our main sanctuary hall. Which leads to a question: What should their surface colors be?

Below the jump, this post discusses both surfaces—exterior and interior.

South wall: Opinion of a stucco repair contractor

TODAY I MET outside the south wall with Brian James, who works for a stucco repair contractor. He has 17 years of experience in dealing with aging and decrepit stucco surfaces in the L.A. area. While awaiting his bid for restoration, I will write up what I learned from our conversation.…

(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

Decorative painting (murals) on the sanctuary’s eastern wall

MUCH OF THE ORIGINAL ARTWORK from 1948 is currently hidden behind two coats of paint in our sanctuary. However, it is the intent of our most preservation-oriented member that those decorations be uncovered in a future restoration effort. In the meantime, let’s take care not to damage them further!

Detail from underneath the Decalogue frieze, as seen in a 1948 photo
(As usual, click/tap on an image to enlarge it.)

This post recaps what is known from the 2003 Historic Structure Report (HSR) and from old photographs. Let’s start with the photos.…

A look ahead at my final 6 months as chair

WHEN I TOOK ON THE MANTLE of chair of the B&G Committee, my initial commitment was for the second (i.e., last) year of my term on the board. About halfway through that period, I announced my willingness to remain as chair for an additional fiscal year — so that Cindy’s successor could enjoy the continuity while growing into the job of being president. (Little did I know at the time that my own dear spouse would decide to stand for office — and get elected as president!) Indeed, that decision has proven to be helpful to Carole.

Now, as I am on the cusp of my final 6 months in this post, let me share my vision for the remaining period. (Aside from certain termite-related work that is discussed elsewhere on this blog, which is already scheduled for January.)

Identifying the Source of Stairwell Efflorescence

PUTTING OUR HEADS TOGETHER, the asbestos inspector and I came up with a new hypothesis for why efflorescence has for years been showing up on the walls of the stairwell that goes down to the Social Hall.

Years ago, someone (Sonia Cummings?) covered these walls’ lesions with butcher paper.
(As usual, click/tap on a photo to enlarge it.)

My new understanding fits the data pretty well. Below the jump, I will explain — and offer a prognosis.…

Compromises in the Outer Wall on the South Side

THE EVER-ALERT Brett Barenholtz has called my attention to some breaks and gaps in the sanctuary’s stucco wall on the south side. 

I wasn’t previously aware of the problem, because that wall is not normally accessible to us, due to our neighbors’ fence around their parking lot. (Yes, it’s merely a matter of giving due notice to the owner, Perloff & Webster, and getting permission to go in; but I just hadn’t gotten around to it yet.…) 

This post documents the issue—which needs to be fixed before the rainy season, and before doing interior wall repairs.…