Hello everybody, I'm new here :o) I was interested in reading how these moulds were made. I use a slightly different technique for both the silicone skin, and the mother mould. Here's what I do, just in case anyone wants to experiment. Names of products may be slightly different, as I'm not in the US. I use ordinary clear silicone - the type you buy for sealing anything outdoors. 1. Fill a basin with warm water, add a very good squirt of dishwashing liquid and mix well. 2. Put silicone dispenser in caulk gun, cut off top, and squeeze straight into the soapy water. 3. Using your hands (you can use rubber gloves, but I never bother) gather up the silicone mass, lift it onto your master (the object you want to make a mould from) and press down well all over. Make sure it gets pressed into all depressions. 4. Dip your hands back into the soapy water if the silicone starts to stick to them. Smooth over the outside of the mould with wet soapy hands. 5. Leave overnight to cure. Case-mould I use Fine Casting Plaster, which is much the same as Plaster of Paris. Large bags of it can be bought in large hardware and builders' suppliers. It will perish if the bag is left open, so buy only enough for your needs. I use hessian scrim or plasterer's scrim. Small rolls of plasterer's scrim will do the job OK, and are easy to source. Hope these tips are useful...

Hostarhodo, I was bare handed, flip flops, shorts, etc, several years back, when I began cutting some thick vines off a big pine tree in my back yard at MoccasinLanding. I had lots of blisters on my hand and they all burst. I finished the day of gardening before I discovered those vines were poison ivy, something I was not allergic to before. I also handled some chemical, by which time I was using heavy gloves but the sprayer came off the bottle and filled up the gloves with the stuff, entering my system through the busted blisters. It was the perfect storm of conditions. I became sensitized to chemicals, allergic to poison ivy, and so broke out that I could not drive to work or wear much clothing for several days. And in total misery! Now I am super cautious handling any chemical.

Thanks moonshadow, and bud. . . I went by around noon yesterday, just to run in and pick up some beach towels quickly, and there was alot of activity - the kitchen was completely sealed off with heavy plastic sheeting, floor to ceiling, even taped securely to the floor, with a zipper entry (it was zipped up at the time - and I saw no vendors but heard alot of activity from behind the sheeting). A tube, maybe a foot and a half across, made of the same heavy sheeting, was running from the sealed-off area out through the sliding glass door - venting whatever it was to the outside (most likely through a filter first). I had read online about the need for negative pressure environments in cases of toxic mold and the sheeting was definitely being drawn in toward the area, so that was good. Also they had unloaded the cabinets that were directly beneath the hole in the ceiling and brought the contents into the living room - meaning maybe they took out that whole bank of cabinets to look behind the drywall there as well. I took some pictures and left. Around 4pm I checked back - the vendor's truck was gone and I wanted to be sure everything was locked up (also a bit curious for sure) - this time the vent tube was gone, the whole area was still completely sealed up, and now there were motors running from behind the sheeting (dehumidifier or fans or both). Even the electric cord, which was running through a really small hole in the sheeting, was surrounded by tape, and the small hole was also surrounded by tape. I said all of this to indicate it does seem like they are being super careful. I took more pictures and will go by again this morning (Tuesday) to see what's up. I appreciate your replies and I agree that at this point the complex does seem to be doing everything right. I know they are concerned about long-term damage and making sure everything is ok for the future - it's their investment and who knows where we will be in a year - but they are absolutely taking good care of us with all of this and I really don't think they could've handled it any nicer than they have (so far). I will be really curious to know what they found - do they always test in cases like this or just assume the worst and take all the precautions and that way they are covered for sure? I need to read about air testing or whatever but it seems reasonable to expect that if it was repaired under those negative pressure/sealed conditions and if we (as the residents) didn't uncover the sealed area or stir anything up over the weekend before they started work on Monday (we had moved out on Friday afternoon) - - everything else inside should be ok, right? We did consider asking about another unit - our complex has a program where you can change to another apartment with no penalty - we will see what happens over the next several days. And, we will see how everything shakes out with the whole situation before involving anyone who isn't already involved.

I might be able to help you if there are names on the back of their heads. Brenda