Anybody I used to know still post around here?????? by 6ixStringJack

Anchor, junction box and flex conduit with two neutrals and two hots run near the "hot" box complete. The anchor is rock solid. Hope to have the electric done tomorrow and have my first coat of mud over the access panels and on the two fixture boxes and any other imperfections by tomorrow night.

When I was loading a complete living room set into my small Cavalier about 6 years ago, the mother said I must be an engineer to have been able to fit that entire set in such a small space. I do admit, it took a little creative work to get it all in there, but I'm just a dumb HS grad with some college. I told her that I was an Alumni of The College of Tetris.

Thanks Russia!

I'm really happy the electric thing is going to take a day or two less than I had anticipated, not to mention the extra day or two of mudding and drying time the other solutions would have added in the end. Damn... it's possible I'll have the priming done by Saturday and ready for the painting stage upstairs by Sunday!

Better get to choosing those colors ASAP!

Painting shouldn't really take more than 3 days if I plan it right. 4 or 5 days is more likely though. That would still give me 3 days before I find out my union test results, so I could, in theory, have all of the upstairs work minus trim, casings and ceiling fans done well before I even interview for the position.

Maybe I could even rip all of the hideous kitchen wall paper and repair those walls before I have a job even. Man... that would be so sweet!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012 2:39 PM

PIC UPDATES!!!! (YAY!)

Master Bedroom (Before/During):

More basic crappy windows/trim. Carpet was already removed.

Ugly closet and not put together very well.

Beautiful (not!) accent wall.

Though the coaxial cable was mounted properly with a plastic frame to attach the cover to, you can see they took a bit of a shortcut on the phone line. Hole-saw right smack dab in the middle of a stud. Nice touch :)

There were two cracks like this that spanned nearly 16 inches. The room took so long to do because the ceiling damage was much more than I had anticipated. As you can see here, I screwed 2 1/4" drywall screws through the 1" thick ceiling to the joists before mudding, which I have been assured is the only way to prevent the ceiling from just cracking again within the first few years of painting.

Mudded ceiling. 16 feet x 2 cracks x 2 feet of fanned out mud = 64 square feet of overhead sanding.... yuck!

Master Bedroom (After Primer Stage):

No more accent wall and a fresh start on the closet.

Proper installation of the coaxial cable and phone outlets.

No more cracks!

OOPS! I forgot to take a shot of the finished ceiling. I'll have to add that later. The entire ceiling looks smooth and free of defects like the corners you can see of it in the last few pics though!

Hallway/Stairwell Project:

Here's the access panel I added for the bathroom. I put the flange behind the wall so the cover will mount flush with the wall itself. All I need to do is mud around it and paint it and it should be barely noticeable, even before I get a mirror to cover it.

Hole in ceiling for junction box for Chandelier. After doing the project I mentioned in a previous post, thankfully, that was as large a hole as I needed to make, so mudding and sanding will be a breeze.

An overhead view of the contraption I made in a very hidden location to anchor the junctionbox for the chandelier. The white board is actually 2 42" lengths of 1"x6" that was shimmed with 2 halves of a wooden paint stirrer to maintain a perfect level. Four 2 1/2" screws were then drilled into countersunk holes through the plywood and into the joists. Four 1" 1/2" screws were then screwed through the box into the 1"x6" boards to the exact pressure to keep a tight, level box. (Up top and below). Two extra wires, a hot and a neutral, were also brought up into the unfinished area of the crawl so I can later add a light and a switch to illuminate the area when changing the furnace filter.

The Chandelier!!!!

Everybody I know won't have a problem clearing it. I had to remove 8 chain links to get that height. Unless Michael Jordan comes for a visit, it seems to be the perfect height for me. I also installed a decorative sliding dimmer downstairs which really makes it shiny.

Bummer that I found out you can only have one dimmer on a 3-Way, but at least I get to take one very expensive light switch back anyways. I won't say how much the switches cost, but let's just say that making this project really stand out in the end had a cheap guy like me do something he usually wouldn't ever do.

All I need now is to finish the hall, get my mirror and a nice piece of wrapped canvice artwork and I do believe that this area of the house will be the showcase.

What do ya'all think?

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012 4:51 PM

Anybody know a good way to remove contact paper from wood or walls? The tiny linen closet I have across from the upstairs bathroom is chock full of aqua blue-green flower print contact paper on the walls and shelves that had to have been born in the late 60's or 70's. I spent 3 hours today removing only about 60 % of it. And once you've left a small area un-removed, it takes ages to lift enough up to get a firm hold to pull that part up.

F-ing contact paper.

Sure... it has its utility uses.... It's very easy to wash if a bottle of drain-o or mouthwash explodes on them, or if you are a careless bastard and spill all over them, but really.... when would either of those things ever happen in real life when you're talking about a 9" deep storage closet for toiletries?

Just in case anything bad like that ever happens I plan on painting the entire closet in an ULTRA Gloss finish, and I will be staining the 4 shelves the same dark color as the floors and giving them 3 or 4 coats of poly.

Sure, it's a lot more work than contact paper, but it doesn't look so stupid and serves the same purpose... washable nearly-indestructible surfaces that will last decades to come.

The only difference is, my stained wood shelves on a stark, glossy white linen closet will aesthetically withstand the test of time 100 years from now. Any contact paper installed today would be out-daded 10 years from now.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012 5:11 PM

I would say hot blow dryer, if ya have one... but I think Beer would be better.

As in go get one.
Then find a pretty enough gal and send her one.

You working yourself silly is giving ME cabin fever...

C'mon, Valentines is just around the corner. Go get yourself a sqeeeze. Aught, aught, I don't wanna hear yer excuses. Now go...

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012 6:12 PM

I actually have a blow dryer from my "hair down half my back days". If I thought there was a chance I could get hired in today's market with long hair I would do it again. Everytime I went for a haircut the girl cutting my hair would tell the other girls to run their fingers through my hair and feel how soft it was.

I cut it back in the day when I knew I was up for a promotion. I tried growing it long again, twice, but bailed out halfway. It's hard for guys to do that..... there's no way to make it look good in the "middle stages" as a guy, and when you're 32 years old you just look like a douche that lives in their mom's basement when you're trying. It's been nothing but short "controlled chaos" for the mane since then.....

I'll have to give the blow dryer a try tomorrow. Thanks Wish!

Beer on the wall probably wouldn't work though since this contact paper was made to outlive the cockroaches in a nuclear holocaust. Plus, I'd rather drink it.....

Oh.... I get it....

You sound like my mom and step-dad now lol.

My problem is I'm attracted to the high-maintenance girls and I don't have time for that in my life at the moment. I'm in mid-thrust building my castle for my future princess.

I just don't want to be distracted by "Mrs Right Now" when the end goal is to get "Mrs Right"

Once this house is a bit more put together and I get a steady job, that part shouldn't be too hard.

Relatively young, beautiful finished house, no mortgage, no kids, no STDS....

I'm looking for the girl that will give me a reason to stop drinking and finally shed those last 10-15 pesky pounds that are covering an awesome 6 pack that I know still lies beneath.

Valentine's Day is nothing to me. Just another Hallmark holiday. The last few years without a New Years makeout session with a model wannabe is what really hits home. There was a day when I was spending New Years with the hottest girl in the bar, whether it was my GF or somebody I hooked up with that night.....

My last two New Years were spent as the 7th or 8th wheel at married friend's houses with no potential 8th wheels, and even some of their kids.....

It's cool though... My old man did right the second time. Married a woman half his age that already had a kid. She's just as frugal as he is.... a perfect match. They put him and their shared kid through very expensive collages on full scholarships.

One is likely to be at the forefront of renewable energy and the other could pretty much do whatever the F he wants to do after showing his grades at the college he went to. Neither of them paid a dime for college except for taxes.....

I don't want to make the mistakes my old man made and marry early. I want to marry somebody that needs a leg up when I'm ready to provide it. He'd be sending his kids to college from free from his yacht today instead of in his suburban house while researching all the options from his modest suburban house.

My step brother today is one of the most stand up guys I've ever known in my life, after 12 years of my old man in his life. Being a kid without a father in the picture and a 16 year old mother he could likely be a drug dealer today if not just a hard core user. He had a stand-in-Dad that made enough that his mom could stay at home all day and keep a perfectly clean house and help the kids. She might not have made any money at her job all those years, but the dividends paid out by two well educated and well adjusted kids in today's climate will be paid in full.

This world? Kids of my own? Hell no. I'm not going to add any of my own to it. But I'd be honored to help the right Woman to make her illegitimate child from a deadbeat be everything he or she could be like my Dad did. I give him even more cred since he had a kid of his own the second time around and this one would probably be a household name in the average American household if he ever decided what he was going to do with his 172 IQ.

It's crazy to me that my step brother calls my old man Dad. He's such an awesome guy all around. His deadbeat douche-bag of a biological father lost out on so much.....

Here's a guy who is going to be involved in renewable energy after his college experience and internships and all his father had to give the world was the carbon footprints of illegitimate children he didn't' have any intention to ever support.

Anyways..... happy Valentines DAy, the two of you.

I think I'll be skipiing this one.

Maybe Next Year???

I've got another 7 years, from what I grew up with. There's nothing wrong with having a nearly 60 year old Dad when you're old enough to drink if he's still alive to celebrate your 21st and you're on your way to be the next Bill Gates of whatever you want to be.

Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
I would say hot blow dryer, if ya have one... but I think Beer would be better.

As in go get one.
Then find a pretty enough gal and send her one.

You working yourself silly is giving ME cabin fever...

C'mon, Valentines is just around the corner. Go get yourself a sqeeeze. Aught, aught, I don't wanna hear yer excuses. Now go...

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Thursday, February 9, 2012 3:59 PM

Thanks Wish!

Your blow dryer idea worked perfectly. I did think of doing that yesterday, but I didn't feel like figuring out where I buried it because I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. Man am I glad I found it for the top 1/3 of the removal... The "closet" is only 8" or so deep and is really only good for stocking toiletries. So to reach up that last 2' or so in such a small space would have been brutal if it kept ripping on me and I had to keep trying to peel up a new section with my fingernails. Not only did the heat loosen the glue a bit, but it also gave the contact paper a rubbery consistency so it was much less likely to break while pulling.

You easily saved me 4 hours of work here!

I Prepped the walls for mudding and actually worked a few hours late tonight to get the first coat of mud on. If things go well this weekend I'll have all of my furnature moved downstairs in prep for the floor refinishing and I'll be ready to primer the hallway on Monday. Should only take one day to primer it hopefully! Yay!

Oh yeah... I bought the coolest cheap little plastic tool today. Actually, it was one tool that came in a set of 8 plastic tools for 99 cents at Menards. It's a scraper that looks a bit like a shaving razor and you can replace the blade with utility knife blades when it gets dull. It made scraping away the gunk where the door casings and floor trim were removed a breeze. Since there are 7 doors in the hallway (2 of them are just a decorative doorless frame), I felt it necessary to try to get a tool like this rather than using a utility knife like I did in the rooms. I easily saved myself another day of work by spending a buck.

It's really cheap and I don't think it would last too much longer with the abuse I gave it, but at a buck, who cares? Most of the other tools in there are pretty useless, such as a plastic utility knife, but there is one of those keychain knives that could come in handy. I used to have one, but it was so dull I chucked it.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Friday, February 10, 2012 4:58 PM

Some GREAT news I realized today.....

I already know that I can't use large (3 5/8") casings on the doors in the hallway because too many of them are too close to the walls to even think about it, but I wanted to use large door and window casings in the bedrooms.

For about a week there, after primering my Master Bedroom, I thought I messed that all up. Measuring where the light switch is to the entry way, I was coming up with 3 5/8" overlapping the beginning of the junction box, which would mean that I'd either have to notch the casing, or score the plate for the switch......

In my mind, I thought I forgot that I needed to move the switch over a few inches.

But, truthfully/thankfully, the idea was no longer on my radar because I didn't have to move it. I don't know what I was thinking. I was measuring from the end of the drywall to the switch, and not the extra nearly 2" from the actual end of the door frame.

This means oversized casings for the windows and doors in both bedrooms. Yay!

Got my second coat of mud up today and should be on track to start primering on Monday or Tuesday, even though I have to move a ton of furnature downstairs when my bro comes over on Sunday.

Once I figure my paint colors, my God, this shack is really going to start looking like a home come late next week!!!!!

I'm glad the 1st floor hardwood looks as good as it does. I always hated that my Mom and Step-dad treated the house like a museum when I was a kid. I'm already going to be instituting a "no shoes" rule for the 2nd floor when the work is done, but I might not ever get around to doing the 1st floor hardwood because I don't want to be "that guy".

It's good enough by far to be presentable with a few area rugs over it and not have to worry about people spilling stuff or tracking anything in.

Of course, I'll kick their ass if they do it and don't clean up after themselves, but I won't go out of my mind in rage if accidents happen downstairs if I don't put the work in on the floor.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, February 12, 2012 3:52 PM

NO....
MORE.....
DRYWALL DUST.....!!!!!

At least upstairs anyways

One step closer. Tomorrow, hopefully will be two coats of primer in the hallway and I'll be set for painting! Hopefully the first coat doesn't reveal anything I feel needs to be repaired and I can just move right on to the second coat after the first is complete. Aside from the access panel for plumbing and the electrical work, the hallway was a much easier job than the bedrooms. Only one 2-foot ceiling crack and just a few minor wall repairs over 2 doors.

Wow... I'll really be painting the upstairs by Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

I do believe there is a very good chance that my 2nd floor will actually be completely remodeled short of the trim, casings and window frames before the end of the month.

I can't wait to look at those before/after pics.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Monday, February 13, 2012 5:37 PM

Hey Wish,

I don't have the exact color names yet, but here's what I was thinking I'm going to do. I wanted to run the ideas by you, and the reason's why, and see what you thought of them.

1) Hallway/Stairwell - Light Beige-type tint on walls, in a semi-gloss.

Why:
EXTREMELY dark hardwood floor stain.

Glossy White trim/casings.

Semi-gloss is easy to wash, and it the hallway/stairwell is likely to be a fingerprint haven.

I've heard that neutrals like Beiges are great for linking rooms of contrasting colors together in the hallways.

The stairwell will be VERY busy with my plans. As I've mentioned before, I want dark stairs with light vertical parts for the wood, and I'll match the wooden banister with this theme in mind. I will also have the mirror that will reflect the chandelier with a decorative piece of abstract artwork behind it. I can't imagine any other color than a neutral would work with all of this action without looking chaotic.

Plus... there is the question of the living room color and how it works with the hallway/stairwell.......

And so....

2) Living room - Darker Beige tint (eggshell).

Why:
Light varnish on 1st floor.

White trim/casings. (Probably going to put some thick, decorative white crown molding on the 1st floor too).

The dark beige should mesh perfectly with the light beige upstairs in the hallway and stairwell, as well as all of the potentially "chaotic" things I mentioned before.

The living room will likely be a host to a myriad of artistic pieces, and from what I hear, the neutrals-to-whites-are a great way to make the art stand out, even if it's a dark neutral.

The reverse-transition of dark beige on the 1st floor wall to light beige on the 2nd floor walls should work brilliantly with the contrast of the light floor on the 1st floor and the very dark floor on the 2nd floor.

The white trim throughout will be the thing that ties it all together.

Eggshell, because even in that sheen it should be completely washable using high quality paint (Benjamin Moore). This should be good for a living room. If anybody is "fingering" the walls with something like axel grease, I'll have to figure out how to get blood off walls too

3) Master Bedroom (about 16'x16' - A light to medium reddish tone (eggshell). (Not pink, by any means, but a lighter red that wouldn't be to dark to be imposing with the very dark hardwood floors).

Why:
It's the color of passion. I figure a few years after I get married and the walls don't even do it for us anymore, I could always change it to a tranquil green, right?

My fancy King Sized bed set that I bust out on special occasions is a burgundy color. (I don't waste that on myself. It costs me almost 30 bucks just to get the comforter dry cleaned!)

I never thought I'd consider a red on walls, but my mind has been changed after seeing some things online.

4) Secondary Bedroom - A very, very light blue.

Why:
Well... I'm hoping for a son to carry on the name in the future

It turns out that the primarily navy blue oriental rug I've inherited from my grandmother will fit perfectly in that room and only show about 1 foot of hardwood on all edges.

Blue is my favorite color.

As long as I'm single, I could just sleep in the 2nd bedroom if the red ends up too loud for my sleeping habits. (It would be better to keep the Master Bedroom clean for any after-hours hook ups anyways, right? .... next Valentine's day, perhaps???)

In all rooms, at least upstairs, I was thinking I'd go with just a flat white ceiling to absorb the light and mitigate the few imperfections with my mudding that are driving me crazy with the glossy primer showing. I figure with the DARK floors and the glossy white trim it would be a great contrast.

So... what do you think, Wish?

I need to figure this out STAT!

I just finished painting 2 coats of primer in the hallway tonight and now I'm ready for paint. I have a few misc things to take care of like removing the paint from a sloppy trim job on the stairs to the 2nd floor and I could even begin to remove the ugly wallpaper from the kitchen and repair those walls while I'm figuring out the colors, but I'm running out of things very quickly before I need to commit to color.

I know you said before that this was something I'd have to choose for myself, so I think I have done that now. I just want to know you you think all of this would work well together?

Thanks so much!
~6

EDITED TO ADD:

Here's some updated pics....

Perfect blank slate for my future chandelier/artwork/mirror plans. (It's actually stark white, that was just the camera... but I'm thinking I like that beige color that showed up)

Even without the mirror installed, you would barely even notice this panel was installed unless I told you to look at it.

I vision of the previous light fixture (with a temporary light hung for painting purposes), and the extended junction box for the chandelier (left).

And finally, the fabled ceiling pic from the aftermath of the damage repair work for the ceiling in the Master Bedroom.

That room took me two weeks to bring up to my own personal code before I primered it.

It may not be absolutely perfect, but even with my OCD I'm not going to be "Monk" about it. Whatever minor imperfections are left that nobody but me would notice will be invisible when I get some high quality, flat, white paint up there.

EDIT 2:

I love the internet!

I saw this episode of the second run of the Twilight zone back in the late 80's and it scarred me for life. It was called "Something in the Walls".

An "insane" woman believed that people (or demons or whatever) were out to get her, through any wall that wasn't perfect. Any wall that was patterened or had wallpaper, or even walls with cracks or imperfections would "come to life" when she was alone.

Here it is... seriously, if you have the time, it's seriously worth watching...

My only question now is, was I "brainwashed" at a young age through terror to be a perfectionist, or did this episode just speak to me because I was already that way at 8 years old?

Chicken or the Egg, right?

EDIT 3: Man, just watched it again for the first time in over 20 years.....

If I was 32 for the first time seeing it today it wouldn't have any impact on me.... but I was only about 8 when I saw it.....

The Rod Serling wannabe's 15 second narrative at the very end is what really drove the psychosis home....

Damn.... there's probably a potential class action lawsuit here, if I was a gold digger....

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012 8:14 AM

I'd have to say, based on the last few months, that you were already a little high wired at eight, hah. I've started a drinking game based on the number of times you say "primer". hehehe....

I was walking out of my kids school this morning and saw one of my kid's classmates counting the blocks in the wall to his class, so intently he did not see or hear me say "Morning ---" even though I was right next to him. He's 9. I remember counting driveways to town when I was five, and my kid can't step on a crack because she heard that old poem, and she knows it's not true, but can't help herself... I think most kids pass through a period where they tried to force the world to make sense, to work for them. The lucky ones get to pass through that... The unlucky ones I feel for... I can't imagine the constant panic they live in.

Anyway, don't let it eat ya, Jack, they are just... walls. But yours look better than mine, I will tell you that. I didn't have the luxury of repetition, the stuff makes hubby choke and gag.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2012 2:52 PM

A drinking game every time I say primer, huh? Be careful... If you're drinking the hard stuff you're probably getting way drunker than me.

Holy crap... your poor kid. I remember that old evil little poem. I couldn't step on cracks either... I don't remember how old I was back then. Old enough to know better, I'm sure. I never counted things, but when I was alone in a room sometimes I'd space out and imagine lines bouncing off the walls from different angles and which way they would ricochet when they hit.... (Apparently, either I wasn't very good at it, or my hand/eye coordination blows because I never was good enough to hustle anyone at pool)

Thankfully I at least grew out of that and I don't needlessly count things. I can walk out of the house with two different colored socks, I don't wash my hands a hundred times a day, and I don't drive around the block 3 times before I park.

I'm a perfectionist and a monomaniac though for sure. (I found out at my best friend's wives 30th B-Day party that he tells people I've never even met about his friend they've never met because he keeps to himself because he buries himself so deep into a project. He tells them he's sure I could build a time machine though if that was my goal).

This house will be a painstaking process until it's finished for those reasons, and aside from working the inevitable real job, I doubt I'll have much interest in any outside stuff until it's done. Hopefully when this huge project is finally through I can try to temper that instinct and enjoy broader range of social hobbies and not obsess so much on one thing.

Hopefully that's sooner than later, because I keep noticing more pesky gray hairs popping up over my earlobes. I shouldn't ever be bald because nobody in my family is, but I can't believe I'm old enough to start turning gray. What am I, Steve Martin?

I had another question for you Wish.

First, a picture....

The large white moulding on the right side of the stairs. Turns out it's Oak that's been painted white.

I was playing around with the idea of stripping it and integrating it into my Dark Wood/Light Wood theme for the floors and the banister that I'll eventually put on the left side. If I did this, it would be light wood on the molding, and dark wood on the corner-round on top.

At the same time, leaving it white has its merits too. Leaving it white is probably the only way to really tie the 1st and 2nd floor molding together. I'm not sure how good it would look to make that varnished/poly molding when it adjoins to white molding at the top and bottom of the same wall.

What do you think?

Thanks!

BTW... Happy Valentines Day! I didn't have nobody else to say it to today, so might as well live vicariously through the one female outside of my family I have talked to most since I bought the house.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Thursday, February 16, 2012 2:36 PM

BIG TIME MONEY SAVING TIPS AHEAD FOR BENJAMIN MOORE PAINT FANS!!!!!

I've used Benjamin Moore paint on the job for years back when I learned much of what I know today. My boss always said, why would you put this much work into the background only to cover it with final touches that were inferior?

I've also used Sherwin Williams (another outstanding paint), Behr and Dutch Boy and many of the other "contractor grade" paints.

Benjamin Moore has always been by far, my favorite. Not only to work with, but the finish on even their flattest sheens in their highest grade paints are very washable and, so long as you like the color you chose, should hold up for decades to come.

In the past few days I've had a wonderful experience at the local paint store that carries all BM products. I've never been an "Apple" guy, but everything the Apple People say about the Apple Store Experience is exactly what I found here. They have an extremely knowledgeable and attentive staff (Especially impressive, since their store was in shambles during a massive cosmetic upgrade they kept apologizing to me for).

My first conversation two days ago was on the phone with a woman who was on a ladder while painting over a 50 year old mural kept right on answering my questions while working. She must have devoted 20 minutes to that call and gave me a lot of ideas I never even considered before. She never pushed for me to let her get back to her work, and I'm sure I could have gotten another 20 minutes out of her if I kept on asking questions.

She mentioned a "whole house rehab" discount that I could enjoy for 6 months if I waited 2 days when her manager came back in. I told her that I doubted I'd be rehabbing the entire house in 6 months, but she told me to talk about it with him anyhow.

So....

Today I met her in person and spoke with her manager, who also seemed to be at least 10 times as knowledgeable, helpful, and interested in the subject about all-things-paint than even the best home improvement store people ever were.

I had to laugh when the manager was actually running through the "whole house discounts" to me and what they entailed and he was very "quiet" about it when some other customers came in that were only buying one or two gallons. (I was only buying two gallons today, but after the rapport we built and their trust that I will be buying much more in the near and late future, that was totally beside the point).

Bottom line.....

I walked out of there with 2 gallons of premium paint and a premium brush for 106 dollars. I know it sounds like a lot, but particularly with the price of the enamel paint I'll be putting on the trim and casings, I saved over 35 bucks being put on this premium plan.

The girl was heavily pushing the top of the line "Aura" paint on me, which runs for 62+ a gallon (before discount) for every wall in my house. The manager, however, told me later that he would only recommend that for walls that I'm going really dark on. At normal price, the difference is not to much in price per gallon, but he's able to discount the 2nd to the top of the line paint about twice as much per gallon, and since I have so many coats of primer up he feels that I would be wasting money on any light colors that would easily be covered in 1-2 coats. (They guaranty 2 coat coverage for any paint in any sheen, but since Aura is a self primering paint they say that many times you only need one coat... that's not the case with the 2nd best).

Your biggest savings with the whole house discount will be on the premium "Satin Impervo" paint. It is an acrylic enamel that is designed to cover your door frames, casings, mouldings, and window sills/casings. Enamel, meaning, tough... think about how your teeth hold up over 50 or so years to the elements.

While the Impervo costs about the same as their top of the line Aura paint, the Aura is only discounted about 7bucks per gallon, the Impervo is discounted over 20 bucks per gallon with the whole house discount!

So.... that's it!

Build up a rapport with these people. Let them know your future plans and that you want the Best. They have my name and number, but never asked for address or any other info. Even if the manager isn't in when I go back for more, I can just mention the Whole House discount and drop his name and I get big savings on premium paint.

They'll even give you a discount on their "Ben" grade, which is their contractor grade paint (prices much in line with what you'd see at Home Depot, Menards, Lowes).

Try getting Menards to give you a Whole House discount!

In the mean time, still have a lot of door frames/jambs to prep and prime (that I forgot about completely..... doh!), as well as the stairwell mounding to prep, and remove all the paint on the oak stairs that the previous carpet lovers didn't bother to tape off when loading up with white paint.

Hopefully I'll be painting the ceilings and affixed trim/frames come Sunday.

Then we'll add some color to this house finally.

So exciting

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Thursday, February 16, 2012 5:37 PM

I'm not tring to harsh your buzz, but I never leave the same color paint up for more than a few years, so buying premium isn't worth it for me. 'Sides if the color isn't right, I'm not out much.

Expensive paint, cheap paint, don't matter much when it's under another layer of paint... And a warranty don't mean much unless you plan to leave it for the next fifty uears, and who knows if THAT'LL happen....

I've already painted my basement and bathroom twice!

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012 4:55 PM

Hey Wish,

I'm a lot more "permanent" than every few years, so no buzz harshed

The only thing that would make me repaint it quick is if I absolutely hated the color after it went up, which is why I'm being majorly over-concerned with color now.

I'd really like to do a deep red in my Master Bedroom, but I'm too chicken to pull the trigger on it. I think a darker brown with some reddish tints, like I mentioned in the color thread, is about as adventurous as I want to get at 55 bucks a gallon.

Even if you buy cheap paint though, you can get quite a deal with the "whole house" discount at BM. Their new contractor grade paint called "Ben" is on par with dutchboy and Behr, and without a discount costs as much as those paints do at Home Depot or Menards. Even if you don't plan on doing the entire house within six months, if you convince them that you're planning to they will give you a discount making it cheaper than you'd pay at your local hardware superstore.

There's four bonuses to buying the "Aura" BM paint though.

1) It's guaranteed that if you miss a tiny spot that you can use the "Aura" roller over just that spot and you won't even notice any evidence that you touched it up. (Any other BM paint is fine to use with my favorite Sheepskin roller, but with Aura I've been told that it will apply too much paint without the specific roller)

2) You're actually told to cut in the entire room before you begin rolling. The paint lays on so smooth that you don't need to rush to cut in and then roll before you're pulling up the half-dried cut-ins.

3) Aura paint is mildew proof and mold resistant.

4) With cheap paints, especially in hallways where hands are more likely to be touching walls all the time, you need to use at least an eggshell sheen to wash the walls without damaging them. In bathrooms, you should use at least a semi-gloss with cheap paint. Aura paints are completely washable with soap down to the Matte finish.

Matte finish = more absorbed light, so any wall imperfections are that less noticeable. I've never even heard that Matte finished walls were washable with soap before I researched this line of BM paint.

Anyways.....

UPDATES!!!!!

Hallway/Stairwell progress damn near done. This should be the last post for a while that you can drink when I say "primer". I'll make it worth your while and say it a bunch of times here so you can get plastered.

I'm actually going to start PAINTING upstairs tomorrow!

Here's a pic of the stairs under the carpet. What you can see from the pic is how they slapped paint everywhere without using tape because they knew they were carpeting over it. What you can't really see is just how many gouges and imperfections the large white molding had before I stripped it, repaired it with wood filler, and sanded it.

Here's a pic of the pre-primer stage. I had stripped off all the unsandable paint, filled in the 100+ gouges in the molding, and sanded enough of the adjoining stairs so i won't mess up the finish on the molding down the road when I refinish the stairs after painting the molding tomorrow.

See how much nicer painters tape makes everything look????

Unfortunately, I have to put new painters tape down tomorrow before painting 2 coats, but if I left the old stuff down there I probably would be ripping up dried paint otherwise. The amount of tape is minimal, so it's not a cost issue, it's just that it takes so damn long to put it down perfectly so you don't paint the stairs at all or you don't accidentally cover the molding slightly so it's not getting the paint you intended it to.

Here's an old pic that shows the door frames that I forgot about. They're the reason that I'm not done painting the entire 2nd floor yet. There's really nothing wrong with them, as-is, but I've decided to go with white molding and trim.

2 coats of primer later, and it's all ready for the ImpervoSatin BM enamel paint!

I had to use quite a bit of wood filler and caulk behind the scenes, but when it's all layered on tomorrow it will look perfect!

If I'm really ambitious tomorrow, I may even paint the ceilings with my flat white Regal BM paint tomorrow as well.

Either way, I'm headed back to the paint shop on Saturday to get my paint for the 2 bedrooms and the hallway. I'll probably have that floor refinished in under 2 weeks or less if things go well too!

I can't wait to show those pics!

I just wish I could afford the molding and casings for the doors and windows straight away right now too and really finish the rooms off.

Oh well... I went overkill on prep and primer on spots that would never even show under the casings. Even unfinished, they should look pretty awesome until I get the trim up.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Saturday, February 25, 2012 5:43 PM

Hey Wish, and anyone else who has casually paid attention to the work being done between my ramblings....

Door frames, Master Bedroom and Hallway/Stairwell paint is done!

I love how good the access panel to the shower looks with the Aura paint up. You can barely tell from the 1st floor. It won't matter once I get my mirror up there though.

Here's a shot of the hallway from the small bedroom. I think the contrast of the hallway color and the Master bedroom color looks great.

I'm just imagining what this view will look like when the floors are finished and the white casings, molding and windows are installed!

If you didn't see the pics of the painted bedroom in the other thread, here they are:

Tomorrow I paint the 3 closets with BM's lowest grade "Super Spec" paint in a white pearl sheen. Monday I'll be going back to the paint store to buy a gallon of Aura for the 2nd bedroom. After that, it's time to refinish the floors.

It's amazing how fast things seem to be going these last few days after months of behind the scenes work. Adding color sure is a quick way to make major visual changes and really give a boost in the morale department.

~6

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, February 26, 2012 2:46 PM

Damn... I hope I didn't break my finger yesterday. I took a nasty tumble down my stairs and almost kept tumbling down the 2nd flight of adjoining stairs to the basement since there's no banister between them at the moment. I don't know what happened... I didn't trip or misstep, I my legs just kind of gave out on me.

First I fell on my back and then I was falling forward. My face almost planted on the corner of the first step going down to the basement, but luckily I was able to break the fall with my right hand about an inch away from breaking my nose on the corner of the step, and then tumbling down another 8 steps......

I took a break from painting today. I think I've been breathing in way too many paint fumes day in and day out the last couple days without being able to open the windows to vent them out.

My swollen, messed up finger sure makes doing a lot of things you take for granted painful, but I'm really just grateful that it wasn't a broken neck or spine.

Thankfully I'm still alive and not injured badly enough that I can't get right back into the work this week.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Monday, February 27, 2012 3:22 PM

My finger's not broke! Yay!

In an odd turn of events, it seems to be healing at a RAPID rate. The swelling went down and it barely even hurts anymore. I've got the full range of motion again. Very strange, since any damage to my skin seems to take ages to heal these days.

Got all 3 of my closets painted today and I picked up the paint for the small bedroom. After painting tomorrow I will be scheduling the floor sander rental (100 bucks for one day, yikes!)

Hopefully I'll be done with the floors and ready to move furniture back upstairs by the end of the weekend.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Monday, February 27, 2012 3:29 PM

rezident owtsidr

Better to get a little cold and waste sum heat than to reck your brain with solvent fumez, dude.

and

62$ per gallon?!??!!!! Iz that American dollarz or Lithuanian?

A little story that may amuze you.

Many yarinz ago, back in the 80z, I got this airless paint sprayer. This wuz wen they were first appearing in the storez, and the teknolojy wuz still being ironed out.

Being a bit uv a rebel, I got wun that worked different than the rest - insted uv using a piston to pump the paint thru a spray nozzle, this wun had a spinning weel that literally flung the paint out! Seemed like a reazonable idea to me.

I started painting the wall in my parents bedroom. The can sed it shoud cover so many skwer feet and 2 or 3 layerz bla bla bla.

I put on the 1st layer over a big patch in the middle but thot I must be doing sumthing rong, kuz I'd alredy used 1/3 gallon and the coverage wuz very uneven. I coud still see the old color. So rered the sprayer instructionz & the paint can and tried to even it out.

And kept trying to even it out.

No paint left! The whole gallon gon & I hadnt even cover the whole wall yet! Then I noticed the paint starting to sag in sum areaz!

So I ran down sterz & got the roller and a scraper and spent the rest uv the day transfering the paint frum that wall to the other 3.

I sold the 'sprayer' to a second hand store for 10 bucks.

-------------------------------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early
http://www.nooalf.com

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Monday, February 27, 2012 3:45 PM

Hehe.... Me no have cold but me feel not so smart deez dayz.

Bah... what's a little minor brain damage from paint fumes when I drink 6-10 beers a night, right?

Actually, I was wrong about he price of Aura. I found out today that their "retail" price is $63.29 a gallon. And, yes, that is US dollars. TOTALLY worth every extra penny though, I assure you. It's AMAZING paint!

I'm getting the "contractor" discount, so it's only $54.99, which is still a lot, but it's a huge discount.

Sounds like your paint sprayer story is like my brush with Scientology back about 12 years ago. It looked good on paper, but in practice it was just a mess. You're probably lucky you got 10 bucks for it in the end. :)

How's your math problem/theory and start-up business going? It's been a while since you posted. :)

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Monday, February 27, 2012 10:05 PM

rezident owtsidr

I'v reached a sort uv conclusion on the trisek project. I think I posted a topic here for it, or maybe it wuz for the new KoMIKS I added.
http://www.zolkorp.com/TRiSeK.html

I got sum math books, so in a year maybe I'll be able to figure out how the TRiSeK V5 actually works and be able to refine it to the ultimate utmost perfect. (if it iznt alredy there)

Bizness iz same az usual, less income than an average lemonade stand.

Howz the finger now?

-------------------------------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early
http://www.nooalf.com

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012 3:59 PM

Hey JO753,

I did read what you were doing before, but I commented that it was beyond me. I can't even pass a college Algebra class. It really sounded impressive though.

Good luck on figuring out the V5 and perfecting it. Hope business picks up for ya sometime soon. You seem to have very valuable skills. Maybe you just need an agent? Know anybody with good PR skills who could sell your product or services?

The finger is MUCH better today, thanks for asking. I thought it was pretty much healed until I bent it backwards a little while painting and it was excruciating for about 10 seconds. Doesn't hurt to type right now though like it still did last night. Probably will be like new in a day or two. Really lucked out on that whole ordeal.

I got the last of my painting done, besides a few last minute touch ups I'm going to take care of tomorrow while I'm prepping the floors for sanding.

Behold, the 2nd Bedroom!

Not sure if you remember the clown colors of yesterday, but besides pictures as proof, they are all a distant memory. In the end, I ended up going with a blue-gray shade of Aura called "Instinct". It turned out a little darker than I was hoping for in a smaller room that doesn't get a ton of sunlight, but I think it's a very relaxing and peaceful color for a bedroom.

Also, there is no zero evidence of the ghetto rigged electrical boxes that were placed above the drywall.

This pic shows the nice contrast between the blue-gray bedroom and the middle-beige hallway.

Finally, here's a shot of the contrast of both bedrooms and the hallway from the viewpoint of the 2nd bedroom.

Also, after paint there is zero evidence of the work I did to bring the light switch into the room from across the hall outside of the room.

Getting ready to refinish the floors soon after taking care of other non-house related things that have been piling up. It's so exciting to be this close to done with the 2nd floor now!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012 5:42 PM

OMG! You RE-painted the whole room??! I mean, you made the right choice, but DAMN... You make MY fingers hurt just thinking about it!

I put in a planter bed fulla strawberries! Soooo pretty...

No word on the jobs front lately?? There's bound to be something popping up with the warm weather coming...

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012 5:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Wishimay:
OMG! You RE-painted the whole room??! I mean, you made the right choice, but DAMN... You make MY fingers hurt just thinking about it!

I put in a planter bed fulla strawberries! Soooo pretty...

No word on the jobs front lately?? There's bound to be something popping up with the warm weather coming...

Hey Wish,

Long time no hear

I didn't re-paint anything that I did before, just painted over the BS old colors an 2 months of prep work. The final coats of paint only took about 5-6 days. Tons of prep goes into perfect walls before you paint them though

I'm glad you like the colors.

I want to make a video to post when it's all done. You can get a better idea of the final touches then.

My finger is good. It's been better, but in a few days it shouldn't hurt anymore.

You know it's been a warm winter when you're planting strawberries in southern IN before March... lol.

I've got a job interview with the pipefitters on Monday at 8AM. I got an early slot on the first day of interviews, so I'm assuming I must have done very well on the test to get such a prime position. If I was scheduled for 4:30PM on Tuesday, I'd be a bit more worried.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Wish me luck,
~6

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Tuesday, February 28, 2012 5:55 PM

rezident owtsidr

Looks very smooth! I like the shade. At least on my screen it looks very similar to the color I did my room in. Therez no name for it kuz I just got wite & added blue & black tint till it looked OK.

I started trying to make it a gradually deeper blue az it went up, but it alwayz looked like eazily vizable zonez, so I just went with a uniform shade.

No, I don't know anybody with salez talent that will work with me. I've tried, but I'm sucha bad salezman I can't even talk salezmen into believing that I can't sell!

-------------------------------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early
http://www.nooalf.com

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012 3:00 AM

CANTTAKESKY

Hi Six,

Good to see ya.

-----
So many gods, so many creeds, So many paths that wind and wind, While just the art of being kind is all the sad world needs. - Ella Wheeler Wilcox, poet (1850-1919)

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012 6:09 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by JO753:
... At least on my screen it looks very similar to the color I did my room in. Therez no name for it kuz I just got wite & added blue & black tint till it looked OK.

My kinda kludger!

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012 3:17 PM

Haha, J (and Wish).... I'm not that artistic. I need pre-approved colors before I mess with anything.

Hey Canttakesky!, good to see ya too.

What do you think of the rooms!!!

Well... I broke down and ordered the drum and edge sander for 24 hours starting tomorrow, much earlier than I usually care to wake up.

It turns out, I still have NO idea how I'm going to stain the floor though......

I originally wanted this type of floor:

But after researching stains, I'm starting to think this floor was painted, or at least had paint mixed in with the stain. I definitely don't want to paint the hardwood, and I'm WAY too novice at this to try dicking around with mixing stain and paint to still see a subtle difference in the grain.

I've seen some posts in blogs where people get close to what I want, but they stained the floor 2 or 3 times to get there!!!! Drat! The stain takes FOREVER to dry enough to even be walkable and I can't get up to my computer room or take a shower from the 1st floor in between coats. (My downstairs shower is currently de-funked after the mold removal).

Anybody got any hardwood floor experience here that could give me tips on a dark hardwood floor? I've been searching Google for hours and come up with only partial information.

THANKS!
~6

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Thursday, March 1, 2012 4:11 PM

SANDING HARDWOOD FLOORS IS NOT FOR THE WEEKEND WARRIOR!!!!!

It seems I have underestimated every single aspect of this job and what it entails. It wasn't even close to being done in one day (more likely 2 or 3 days for the 2nd floor and stairs). It's FAR more physical than I thought it would ever be, particularly on the back and knees while using the edger. It's also going to cost $100-200 more for rental fees because of the length of time than I had anticipated.

The first sand with 24 grit on the drum and 20 grit on the edger is an absolute bitch. First off, the floors had never been refinished in the past, so where a lot of planks meet there are "low spots" that are very hard to sand without running over them a billion times. Second, the floors were carelessly gouged by a previous owner, and to remove all traces of this takes 2 billion runs.

I can't believe you have to sand these floors so much with 24 grit paper. I've never seen 24 grit paper before. It looks like something out of your worst nightmare!

Fortunately for the back and knees, the edger (an orbital sander) with the 20 grit makes short work of the defects. Also fortunate is the next steps after the first sand are very fast and less strenuous. After everything is done with 24/20, you go back over everything 2-3 times with 40 grit, than 80 grit, then 100 grit. I'm skipping the 120 grit step because my desired color is DARK and the wood will accept more stain with a 100 grit finish than a 120 grit finish.

Anyways.....

PICS!!!!!!

My ancient digital camera doesn't do much justice to the seriousness of how bad the floors are here. You can see a few scratches in this picture, but there are a ton more all over the place, not to mention that the finish is worn down to the stain all over the place too.

Here's a close up pic of one of the worst spots. I don't know what happened here. I can only assume that the "house gremlins" were ice skating on the finish.

And... the finished product (at least the first sanding, anyways. As I mentioned before, my camera hides a lot of imperfections, but trust me, it really looks this good now. I sure hope it should, since all I got done in 8 hours labor today was the Master Bedroom.

I think I got the hang of the machine now though, and I hope to get the hallway and 2nd bedroom done in about 5 hours. After that, I'm hoping that it should only take about 2-3 hours more to put the last 3 final sands with lighter grit down so I can save myself a Hundo for the third day of rental that I am really hoping to avoid.

Here's me... going to bed early tonight so I can start sanding at 7AM.... :(

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Friday, March 2, 2012 4:42 PM

Got it done after oh, only 12 more hours of work today..... 20 hours total to sand my floors. I was not expecting that.

Man, every inch of my body hurts......

I still need to use a fine grit random orbital to blend the edger/drum marks and get a buffer to buff out any imperfections that inferior drum sander I'm paying 200 bucks for left behind. The floor looked great after going up to 80 grit, but when I used 100 grit it left "wobble" marks. You can't feel them with your fingers, but you can see them. If you can see anything like that now, you'll REALLY be able to see them when the stain is down.

The over-sized and ancient edger scuffed up my painted walls in the corners pretty bad too. Glad I sprung for Aura paint since you won't ever see the touchups when I get to them.

I'll definitely do my research before I sand the 1st floor on sanders and where to rent a good (NEW) ones, since I now know that not all drum sanders are created equal.

I've probably got about 10 days of actual labor left to be complete with the floors. Everything else should be a cakewalk though compared to the last two days. After the final sanding/buffing touches, A LOT of that time is just trying to accomplish smaller things I've been neglecting while waiting for stain and poly to dry.

I do believe I will take a break from the work at that point. After these last two days, I'm officially burnt out.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Friday, March 2, 2012 7:27 PM

rezident owtsidr

Sanding floorz! More work than I ever want to do!

I like wall to wall carpet anyway.

Seemz like this forum never stops a page & starts another for a topic.

I wunder how the new forum iz doing. I'm gessing its not, since its taking so long.

Another forum I'm in switched to xenforo recently & it took 10 minits.

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DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early
http://www.nooalf.com

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Sunday, March 4, 2012 11:44 AM

It's finally here. The moment of truth....

For over 6 1/2 months in this house (and a year before that), tomorrow is the day that had always just seemed to be a theoretical date in the future that would "make or break" the rest of my life.

The HV/AC union interview.

The funny thing is, I'm not the ball of nerves that I thought I would be.

Me... the guy who had nightmares the day before a speech in high school. The guy who, 10 years ago, was so uptight at an iron workers apprenticeship interview that even the interviewer laughed and told me to relax.

I'm doing things differently now. I'm also, I suspect, doing things differently than most interviewees would do.

I will go into the interview with nothing in hand. No notepad. No pen. I know most of the questions they're likely to ask me, but I'm not obsessing over them because I know enough about myself now, and about my strengths (and my weaknesses), my desires for my personal future, and my own potential contributions to my employer. I will just let the interview flow as a conversation and the responses that flow out of me will feel natural, rather than drilling myself tonight on how I feel they would want me to answer each of these questions and giving them robotic replies and seeming "aloof" because I'm too deep in my own head trying to get every question perfect.

To say that I will not be nervous at all going into this thing tomorrow would be a lie, but I'm sure I'll be the least nervous guy walking in there that doesn't currently have a job, by far.

I'm still living very comfortably now, even though I've been hemorrhaging money through these home improvements. But all that considered, it's not as if this interview is the do-or-die situation I imagined it would be today. If it works out, I'm all but set for life. If it doesn't, I'm sure other suitable, if less desirable, opportunities will arise in the near future.

Wish me luck!

Quote:
Originally posted by JO753:
Sanding floorz! More work than I ever want to do!

I like wall to wall carpet anyway.

To each his own man. Personally, I'm so glad to be rid of the old carpet in here.

Carpet ages over time. If you spill on carpet, there's a good chance that you'll never be able to get rid of the mark completely. If you have pets that are more unruly, you have to always be on the lookout for fluid marks or even torn up carpet. Hardwood floors that are done correctly, on the other hand, are very easy cleanup as long as you don't leave spill or pee marks sitting for a day at a time.

I've always loved the natural beauty of a refinished hardwood floor anyway ever since my step-dad refinished the living room floor in the house I spent my teenage years in and at my Mom's parents 1st floor.

As great as he is at what he does, he was able to get the job done much quicker than I ever could, and much of that is because even after he stained and polyed the floors there are minor visible defects that most people wouldn't even ever notice. One reason for how slow I am is because I'm a novice, and the other is because I'm a perfectionist to a fault. Most of his living room is covered in a decorative rug so you wouldn't notice any scratches under there, and mine will be as well, but if I'm going to do something (especially on my own house) it's going to be PERFECT!

I don't blame you for not wanting to sand floors though, especially after having gone through it. I've done nearly nothing for two days to recharge. If it were a job I could do at my leisure, it wouldn't have been so bad, but when every day was costing me 100 bucks more I just had to man-up and get it all done in two days.

It's a painful, miserable process.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, March 4, 2012 1:06 PM

LOL....

Seriously?????

The top 50 posts on CareerBuilder.com about what to do and what not to do in a job interview come off to me as SERIOUSLY insulting overall.

I won't get into details, but, really..........?

Don't dress in pajamas, don't bring a cockatoo on your shoulder, don't ask about benefits 2 minutes into the conversation?

Don't get me wrong, there is some very good information on that site if you dig, but with all the "featured" articles out there along the lines I've spoken of, either CB is speaking to the absolute lowest common denominator, or I don't have a chance in hell of NOT scoring this job.

The moral of the story is, if you're a young white male with little college education but an ass-load of natural talent and street smarts just be yourself at the interview.

Sure, there's quotas to fill legally and this and that in the EOE environment today, but really.... It seems the bar is set very (VERY) low.

I'm sure a vast majority of the minorities and women actually hired in the end because of EOE laws today are extremely talented and much more equipped to handle the responsibilities than the average non-thinking-and-non-adaptable-white male is today.

I dunno.... Maybe this "cheat-sheet" from CareerBuilder.com is 10 years out of date from back in the good ol' days when anyone could get a job, but it just seems to easy to me.

I'm going to rock this MF tomorrow!

When I leave, the only question they'll be asking each other is why WOULDN'T they hire me?

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, March 4, 2012 5:34 PM

rezident owtsidr

Funny you mention that about carpet today.

Wun uv our regular vizitorz iz confined to the house on account uv nearly dying last week from (maybe) my mom letting him gobble Activia and he'z possibly 20 yirz old. Then she let him get out so I blew about 10 owrz over 3 dayz looking for him so he woudnt die out in the snow and he finally just showed up on the back porch Friday nite.

Anyway, he took a dump on the carpet wich wuznt too bad since it wuz mostly solid, but then I noticed he'd taken a leak next to the wall also, wich required me to drag the shopvak upstairz to clean it up. It wuz krazy since I'd taken him downstairz to the cat potty only an owr earlier and he must hav a bladder that a champion beer drinker woud be proud uv.

Good luck with your interview. Dont be too confident with the job for life idea. Did you see I, Robot? Not very far off, dude!

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DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early
http://www.nooalf.com

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Sunday, March 4, 2012 5:46 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by JO753:
Good luck with your interview. Dont be too confident with the job for life idea. Did you see I, Robot? Not very far off, dude!

So... I'm Will Smith in this equation, right?

So I should wear Converse shoes to my interview then?

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Monday, March 5, 2012 12:56 PM

So, how'd it go?? Rollicking good time?

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Monday, March 5, 2012 1:44 PM

Hey Wish,

It's a coin toss. I'd give it 50/50 that I get it.

The interview went well, but was it top-ten-percent well is the question.

Going into this, I heard that there would probably be around 75 guys for the HVAC. Turns out there is only 35 guys this year for it. 150 guys interviewed today, plus the existing 200 (100 a year) from the last two years and we're all inserted together based off of our scores.

Scores are 100+100/2. Possible 100 on test, possible 100 on interview.

At least I was in and out of there quick. They took 10 guys at a time out of 150, and it was non-alphabetical. If it was random, I just got lucky... I it was based off of test scores, I was the first called in the 2nd group, so I scored the 11th top score of the 150 interviewed, which would give me a little wiggle room on the interview since i would have tested in the top 7.5%.

I assume the best here regarding the test, since if I were in charge of the interviews I'd want to talk to the guys most likely to get the job first, since even if you didn't consider the other 200 still on the waiting lists from 2 years ago the last 115 guys in the group today had no chance of getting in and it was all just a formality of going through the motions.

Of course, as long as their sons or nephews tested well, the interview scores of relatives of respected workers will be high enough to make it in even if they drooled through the interview.

I feel well about how it went though. After hearing about what I've been doing on the house and how I fixed my own furnace 3 days after not even knowing how to light a pilot and it still works now that winter is almost over, when they came to the question about "do you have experience with using tools/machines?", one of the two suits just kind of laughed and said they didn't need to ask me that question.

I'm not going to get my hopes up only to be let down though. 50/50 is what I'm giving it right now. If they were taking 75 guys this year like they have in the past, I'd be drinking Heineken in celebration right now. Knowing that I had to score at least in the top 10% in the interviews of 350 guys from the last three years, well... tonight I'm just drinking enough Icehouse to put it out of my mind for a few hours + sleep.

On the bright side, I'll know if I got in the school this weekend, and if I didn't I'll know my rank out of the remaining 215 guys.

If I find out I was accepted on the 10th, class starts on the 14th, so this will all happen VERY quick. I view this as a good sign even if I don't get in this class, since I'm positive I'm in the top 50 of the 350. The class was supposed to start a month later, but for unspoken reasons they pushed it forward a month. (I'd hate to be a working guy who had to bail on a job with 4 days notice). I'm just wishfully thinking here, but to move the class up 1 month in my mind can only mean 2 of 2 things.

One, they need fresh meat NOW. And two, they might have a second class available by summertime that I'd be sure to get in if I didn't score well enough for this one.

After this post, I won't think about it now until Saturday. I refuse to dwell on it and I have so much personal work to do in a short timespan so that should be easy.

The focus the next 9 days is refinishing that floor early enough to have my furniture moved back upstairs by the 13th now based on the iffy assumption that the spot is mine.

I don't want to be sleeping on 30 year old foam mattresses in my cold attic the night before my first class.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Tuesday, March 6, 2012 1:03 PM

Uggggh.... the floors.....

Note to Self: A pole sander by hand with 80grit paper doesn't put a dent in Oak flooring. Neither does a random orbital sander with 60 grit paper do anything to blend in the differences between a powerful edger and a drum sander.

All in all, I got virtually nothing done today.

I discovered a REALLY cool sanding machine I wasn't even aware existed today, and it's available for rental from Home Depot for 50 bucks a day plus paper.

The "Floor Sander", also known as the square bulk sander. According to the guy at Home Depot, it's a "glorified" pole sander. It's a heavier machine with a 14"x18" sand pad that vibrates in a forward/back motion that will go with the grain. It's designed to do final touch up work after using a drum sander, and to remove any swirl marks from the edger.

I'm so happy I found out about this today. I was going to use a buffer to do the final touches, but I was worried that it would leave tons of nearly microscopic swirl marks that would show up in the final product. I was also afraid that I'd have to go all the way up to 150 grit on the buffer to minimize the swirl marks, but then the stain wouldn't be nearly as deep a color as I wanted. With the Floor Sander, I'll be able to remove all these last imperfections that the ghetto drum/edge sanders I rented left and finish with a 100 grit paper that will leave the floor ready to take on a lot more color than a 150 grit would allow.

So... staining will be pushed back a day, but hopefully with the few days wiggle room I have I'll still be able to sleep in my bed the night before my first day on the job if I get it.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Wednesday, March 7, 2012 3:27 PM

I wish I could tell what a floor was by looking at it!!!!!!!

There is NO WAY these floors are Red Oak!

I picked up the square buff sander at Home Depot and the guys there told me not to go under 80 grit (we were all assuming I had Red Oak). A half hour later on a 4x4 spot of floor with the 80 grit and I barely had any dust in the bag. I practically had to beg for two sheets of 24 grit paper since they were telling me I'd gouge the hell out of my floor with it. After 3 hours of sanding with 24 grit paper, I've just barely got 3/4 of the Master Bedroom buffed out, and it is practically polishing the wood. I'm afraid to go with much lighter coarseness on future sands because I don't want to polish the floor and close all the pores. I want a VERY dark color and I'm afraid that if I sand it too much the wood won't take the stain.

http://tinytimbers.com/janka.htm

According to the Jenka Hardness scale, Red Oak scores a 1,290 in toughness.

I do believe I have Hickory hardwood floors, which have a toughness of 1820 (nearly 1.5 that of Northern Red Oak.

Working Properties

The heaviest of American hardwoods, the hickories can be difficult to machine and glue, and are very hard to work with hand tools, so care is needed. They hold nails and screws well, but there is a tendency to split so pre-boring is advised. The wood can be sanded to a good finish. The grain pattern welcomes a full range of medium-to-dark finishes and bleaching treatments. It can be difficult to dry and has high shrinkage.

General Description

The hickories are an important group within the Eastern hardwood forests. Botanically they are split into two groups; the true hickories, and the pecan hickories (fruit bearing). The wood is virtually the same for both and is usually sold together. Hickory is the hardest, heaviest and strongest American wood. The sapwood of hickory is white, tinged with inconspicuous fine brown lines while the heartwood is pale to reddish brown. Both are coarse-textured and the grain is fine, usually straight but can be wavy or irregular.

Strong and hard to sand, especially with hand tools.... check.

High Shrinkage... check. (This would explain why there were so many pits around the corners that needed to be sanded a billion times with the drum sander)

White with inconspicuous fine brown lines... check. (This would make it "sapwood", and also explain why to the naked eye it resembles bare Northern Red Oak, which is also nearly white when bare.)

Tendancy to split if you don't pre-bore holes.... check. (There is a hole in the floor of the second bedroom closet that was made after the hardwood was put down. I don't know what was hidden there at one point, but it's empty now. The nails that were affixed to stud cut-outs were just hammered straight in and wouldn't go under the surface with a punch tool. I had to remove all of that and drill some countersunk holes so I could screw 2 1/2" drywall screws into the supports. The wood definitely was split around there, but with a little Titebond everything is good now. I think I'm going to install a safe in the floor and put a hardwood trapdoor over it, and then fit nice carpet in that closet when it's all done).

So, I guess I can't bitch too much about the time/money I'm spending on sanding this to an acceptable finish. It's much higher quality wood than your standard Oak flooring. I'm just hoping that it stains dark after 3 coats. It seems to score pretty low on the stainablity scales.

All I know is that when I decide to finally get the first floor hardwood taken care of, I'm going to leave that to a pro. This is not fun at all.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Saturday, March 10, 2012 3:58 PM

Bummer....

Out of the previous two years of applicants and the 150 that were interview the other day, I settle in at 54 on a cropped list of 245 people. They were only currently accepting the first 35 people. :(

54 isn't bad when you consider nearly 1,000 people applied for this position in the last 3 years, but.... in this economy.....

SHIT! If this were late 1900's or early 2,000's they'd have been hiring 75 guys! My timing sucks on everything.

I tested in the low 90%'s. But I interviewed in the low 70%'s. Damn my novice interview skills!

So close, yet, so far away.....

F-It. Whatever... I'm over it.

I could have just called it a day at 10:30AM and started drinking. The thought crossed my mind more than once, but thankfully, "keep on truckin'" prevailed.

Got my floor stained today. It looks AMAZING!

4 days of sanding really paid off. The floors are PERFECT! I can't wait to see what it looks like with 3 coats of poly and a buff job. I bet I'll be able to see what my face would look like with a woodgrain pattern.

The Hickory has SOOOOOO much more character than standard Red Oak. It was a bitch to prepare, but now that the heavy lifting and costs are done, I'm 1000% pleased with the results.

Looking forward to showing you the finished floor pics.

:)

EDITED TO ADD:

Oh yeah, I've read from more than one professional hardwood installer/re-finisher online that staining more than one coat is a no-no, even though Minwax tells you it's possible.

As scared as I was about blotchyness and the prospect of the finish poly coat not adhering correctly if I stained more than one coat, I was still on the fence after reading these testimonials against it from pros.

After one coat, I'm perfectly pleased with how the floor looks, so it doesn't matter.

As a side note, it's also funny that (like every other project I've done so far) the stain process took about 6 times longer than I expected going into it. For a one man OCD crew, a stain job for 2 bedrooms and a hallway is a full day's work, drying time not even considered.

I'm so glad that I love this finish and that I have no intention stain anymore coats before putting the poly down.

F-It....

I'll say one last thing about the union that interviewed me so low.......

It's their mistake for taking 20 or so guys above me just because they were less nervous than I was at the interview. When I need to get a job done, I learn what I need to learn to get it done. Maybe I shouldn't have told them I was working on my paid house. They might have just screwed me over because even with their mighty Union salaries they're underwater like everybody else because they have no "off button" on their spending habits.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, March 11, 2012 3:23 PM

The floors are completely stained now. I'm going to wait 2 days before putting the first coat of poly. However long it takes me to do 3 coats, I'll wait another week before buffing it to a mirror finish, because trying to buff it before it's completely cured could chip it.

I want to post pics how it looks right now so bad, but I'm going to wait until it's complete.

While I was sanding the floors, my step-dad couldn't figure out what was taking me so long or making the job so hard. He was sure it was oak flooring with the previous job done to it. The guys at the rental places couldn't figure out why it was so hard to sand either (Likely because 99% of people restoring hardwood floors with rental equipment have Northern Red Oak flooring). I was SURE that I was doing it right, but something was wrong. It just had to be a different wood.

My step-dad is a furniture restorer by trade.

The second he came by today and saw the floor stained and the patterns of the grain he said "this isn't Oak".

"No Shit", I said....

He believes it's either Hickory or Ash, or a mixture of both. (He can't believe that somebody would make the effort of mixing both together, but he says he sees planks that make him think one way, only to see planks that make him think the other way).

The good news is, it's hardwood floor that almost nobody these days has in their house, and it's quite a bit more costly to install new than the traditional oak flooring. It's also much stronger.

The even better news is that even though poly won't be going down for another 2 days, this is the most beautiful hardwood floor I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. AND IT'S MINE!!!!!!

It has so much character. Every plank is entirely different than it's neighbor. When you've got Oak floors, you have the natural difference that comes from every living organism being slightly different from the next, but the grain patterns on these floors are so strikingly different that the finished product is a piece of art. I can't even do it justice by trying to explain it with words.

Can't wait to post pics!

~6

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, March 11, 2012 4:38 PM

We should have the plumbing all run to our new bathroom by the end of the week!

*excitement fistbump*

Sorry 'bout the job though

...Keep on Keepin on...

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Sunday, March 11, 2012 5:18 PM

Awesome Wish!

Hopefully you and hubby's expected timeline for the plumbing is more in-sync with reality than any single aspect of my job has been in the last 7 months.

I'm assuming you're paying somebody to do it though, since he's an electrician by trade.... right?

Don't worry about me with the job. I'll find something else to get by. I'm good at least until Christmas without a job.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Sunday, March 11, 2012 6:09 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:

I'm assuming you're paying somebody to do it though, since he's an electrician by trade.... right?

Dear lord, why would I wanna blow cash like that fer?

You fixed a furnace, and you aren't HVAC...

We aren't running whole new lines, we are just adding to existing water and sewer that are already in the area...Our setup is not complicated at all really, and its C-pvc soo it's easy peasy. I mighta done without hubbs help even if some of the work wasn't in a creepy cramped dark basement closet and me with claustro issues... I made a 'tater gun in high school in PVC

Actually too, I prolly could do the copper lines with the soldering with very little practice too, as I have seen it done all told about thirty times...It's kinda fascinating to me how all the parts fit together. Wish I could afford to upgrade, but CPVC is just soo much easier to maintain out here in the south forty... Eventually, when our water heater goes out (it's not that old) I'd really like to put in a tankless heater, and I've already prepped a spot for it...for whenever...

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012 4:23 PM

Haha!

If you're up to the challenge, than by all means.....

I HATE plumbing work, and what you're doing seems to be way above my pay grade.

I'd love to seriously revamp some plumbing here while doing the rough work so I could put a jacuzzi downstairs, but it's all on the wrong side of the bathroom to make it work now. It's just too big a project for me. I HATE plumbing, and I know I'm far too much of a novice to even contemplate trying to make it work without paying a pro some big bucks.

Sounds like this is an easier project though and you both have it under control. Good on you :)

I hope to start polying sometime tomorrow. I was completely mislead by the girl at Menards today. I saw online that Minwax super fast poly dries in 2 hours, but every way I read the can it said 6-8 hours before a recoat. She assured me it was only 2 hours. F-ing Minwax doesn't mention if you're buying "oil based" or "water based". Seems that the oil based is in a traditional metal gallon and water based is in a plastic jug, similar to what you buy OJ at the market from.

Menards doesn't carry water based, and I was right about the 6-8 drying time with the two gallons I just paid nearly 100 bucks for.

Now I've got to drive 15 miles round trip to the nearest Sherwin Williams tomorrow to get two gallons of the water based stuff......

At least it beats the feeling I would have had tomorrow afternoon when I was trying to clean my applicator with water and realized I'd have to break out the Lacquer thinner again.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr....

This Minwax water based better look REALLY FING GOOD when I'm done. It infuriates me that nowhere on the cans that I purchased did it say one way or the other if it was water or oil based.

F'ING liars!

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012 4:44 PM

Make 'em pop the can anytime you have a question, one whiff will tell ya. But yeah, I've been there...Seems some companies are intentionally vague...

Reminds me of a news story from last year... Women was helping lay concrete, but didn't know it was corrosive...Damn near ate her knees off...
She sued and I think won, because nowhere did it have a warning on the bag... Not everybody is a science major... or uses a product enough ta know...I think Great Stuff should have a clearer label myself.

Speakin' of news, seen you in the dreaded RWED

Gotta go where the conversation happens

I dunno if yer weather up there is as good as our weather is, but DANG, go out and soak some up if it is... Dairy Queen and the sunshine in the park was awesome today!

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012 4:37 PM

Hey Wish,

To be fair to Menards, i spoke with the same girl there today after I made my return and picked up some Mineral Spirits. She wasn't even aware of the product I was trying to buy. When I asked her if they had water based she happily showed me their "polycrylic" line, but that's not what I was looking for. Polycrilic comes in a gallon just like its oil bretheren. This "Water Based" Poly for floors ("for floors", being the key) is available in a 1 gallon black plastic jug that looks like a 96Oz container of Minute Maid OJ.

To give the girl at Menards even more credit, when I called Sherwin Williams ahead of time to confirm they carried it, when I got there the guy came up to the counter with the Polycrilic (which by the way, he wanted to charge me 7 bucks more a gallon than Menards did)!!!!! When I explained that it came in the plastic OJ container, he said, "Oh, I know what you're talking about". They only had two gallons in stock, which I think I will be able to just eek out 3 coats with (I might have to cut corners in the closets and only do 2 there).

When I asked the guy why I had to drive 15 miles round trip to by this and it wasn't available at every local home improvement store that carries the rest of the Minwax line, he said it's probably because it's a brand new product.

Interesting.... That's why even the Minwax site didn't have any reviews of the product.

The ultimate fate of the beauty of my floors lies with a relatively untested product that nobody has ever heard of before. I'm in a dangerous mood though

I've got a good feeling about this stuff and I'm hoping I feel the same way 3 days from now when it's cured enough for heavy traffic.

I'll be showing pictures hopefully in a few days and let you know what I think about the finish. Good or bad, I'll be sure to write a very strong opinion either way on both the Minwax and the Sherwin Williams site :)

BTW... though the Polycrilic has the same 2-3 hour drying time as the stuff I'm going to be using, here's what grabbed me....

Q. How durable is Minwax® Water Based Polyurethane for Floors?

Water Based Polyurethane for Floors provides durability that is comparable to oil-based polyurethanes. It is significantly more durable than most water-based finishes available to consumers.

I assume that they even refer to their own Polycrilic line there as well (without actually knocking it as an inferior product for floors). In theory, it sounds PERFECT. 2-3 hours drying time between coats (as opposed to at least 8 hours for oil based), no "amber effect" that oil poly leaves on your stained floor, and the implication that it is MUCH stronger and suited for the heavy foot traffic that hardwood floors suffer over furniture restoration that my step-dad uses Polycrilic for.

Aside from the ballooned price and twice the work load I expected originally, everything has gone flawlessly so far. Here's hoping the last step is, literally, the one to make it really shine.

Haha... had to laugh about the "eating the knees off" thing. WHAT THE HELL CONCRETE WAS SHE USING THAT WAS CORROSIVE!!!!! I'd like to know myself, because I am quite partial to my unburned, if overburdened knees.

I'm usually 100% against 99% of the lawsuits out there, but if there was truly no warning on the bag that something like that could happen on a substance readily available to the idiot public at any major home improvement retailer, I hope she got the maximum amount and put them SOB's out of business.

That's not even implying she's an idiot. If she won, I can only assume that it's because she DID follow the instructions and there was NO mention that by not following the instructions you could burn your knees off.

It's not as if she was that dumb bitch that spilled scalding McDonalds coffee in her lap and successfully sued for millions. Now, anytime I order coffee from a fast food joint I have to be insulted with "CAUTION HOT!!!!" warnings all over the cup. NO SHIT IT'S HOT!

I dare you, McDonalds, or White Castle, or especially you Starbucks (at 5 bucks a cup) to give me a cold cup of Black coffee, straight up with no sugar or cream and it's even remotely cold.

If I spill that shit on my own balls, that's just Darwin doing his thing. I would hope, for the future of this race, that if I was to dump a cup of scalding hot coffee on my reproductive organs that they would cease to create any drooling idiot offspring that would have further championed this "lowest common denominator" culture we've become accostomed to.

Bah.... whatever..... (This ain't the RWED!)

Speaking of the RWED, kind of weird talking to you about it. You've got me at an advantage here. You're one of the only people I give to shits about on these boards. I'd hate to think that you despise my positions. Even some of the other people I respect there don't agree with me :)

BTW... I LOVE the weather here!!!!

It was 79 degrees today and a record 80 degrees at O'Hare Airport. Usually my ideal weather, but admittedly just a bit to hot too soon, seeing as how it was less than half that a week ago and my body hasn't had time to adjust.

I felt like I had air conditioning in my house today! Here it is, 80 degrees outside, and my house is still only 65 because of the cold from the night before.

WEIRD weather......

I actually had wasps as visitors today. One of them terrorized my cup of coffee for 2 minutes before I decided he'd never go away and I'd never get another sip until I manned up and took the risk of a sting.

I usually don't see those bastards this far North until late July-Early August.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012 7:04 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Hey Wish,

Haha... had to laugh about the "eating the knees off" thing. WHAT THE HELL CONCRETE WAS SHE USING THAT WAS CORROSIVE!!!!! I'd like to know myself, because I am quite partial to my unburned, if overburdened knees.

Speaking of the RWED, kind of weird talking to you about it. You've got me at an advantage here. You're one of the only people I give to shits about on these boards. I'd hate to think that you despise my positions. Even some of the other people I respect there don't agree with me :)

Concrete mixes contain harsh chemicals, some have soda lye and other things that in combination with oils or sweat from your skin can cause chemical burns, and some have higher levels than others, and some people are also more reactive. Dad used to pour concrete and every once in a while he would come home and it would look like road rash, also hubbs uses a fair amout in the mines when they build walls to direct airflow and he got it under his suspenders and it a a "Y" shape burned into his back for a while... Diluted vinegar can help, as does not letting it dry completely on your skin.
The woman let it dry on her pants and I bet the chemicals concentrated in the material.

As for RWED, I appreciate the compliment, but don't be so quick to count those guys out. One of the reasons I love this place is all the real and passionate differences of opinion. I'd have to say FF taught me personally quite a bit about how ta not take things personally and how to forgive, even when you are called things unmentionable

There's quite a few brain cells being rubbed together here at any given time, and sadly- there aren't many places like that left.

Have fun in RWED, and say what you need to ( I promise not to hold anything against you for any longer than a day or two, like I do for everyone else in there, that's kinda my natural limit).... just try not to take it as seriously as you take your home improvements, for we would ALL be fubared if that were the case

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Thursday, March 15, 2012 3:16 PM

Road rash is one thing... If it was something that was going to heal, I don't think it really warrented a case. If it was something that left her disfigured for life though, and there was no warning, she's got me on her side.

Temporary burns aren't a big deal. I know we went over the temporary discoloration of my hands from the Great Stuff. It was slightly embarrassing for a week or so, but it went away. If my hands were messed up for life, I would have a problem with that... but at the same time Great Stuff does tell you to always wear gloves and goggles, so I wouldn't have a case.

Hehe... I wasn't counting anybody out. I was just saying that aside from a few people in the RWED (or this entire site, for that matter) you're one of the few I've actually made a meaningful connection with. I wasn't knocking anybody for their political beliefs. There are quite a few people here I agree with on almost everything, but I don't ever have any meaningful conversations with them.

In other news....

Got my first coat of poly down today. I wish I could say I was extremely pleased with the results, but I'm not. The instructions say to use a lambs wool or synthetic applicator, which I did, but I wish I opted for a paint roller instead. The coat may have been thicker that way, but at least it would be even. When I first put the poly down, it looked great all shiny like that, but as it dried you could tell every spot where I picked up or put down the applicator. Even the spots that still look wet aren't tacky anymore. There was no way I was going to try a second coat today. I'm hoping that by tomorrow morning everything evaporates and looks even. I'd really hate to think that the "built up" areas will look like they have extra gunk on them. I'm pretty sure it will look fine tomorrow.

Aside from that, the parts that look completely dry look AMAZING! Very Shiny! I can't even imagine how good these floors will look with 2 more coats, assuming the finish evens out when it's completely dry.

BTW, Wish.... do you have any experience with sod and/or grass seed? Before I start work on the 26th, one of the last pre-work projects I'd love to get done is finally filling in the crater where the pool used to be.

After some settling, I believe I need anywhere from 1 to 3 more yards (tons) of dirt. This will vary depending on whether I seed or sod.

With spring arriving so early this year, I'm hoping that either way I go I have a beautiful back yard by mid-summer.

"A government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned." ~Shepherd Book

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Thursday, March 15, 2012 4:08 PM

rezident owtsidr

DUDE! Time to start a new topic! If this gets any longer it'll snap off at the base!

-------------------------------------------------
DUZ XaT SEM RiT TQ YQ? - Jubal Early
http://www.nooalf.com

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Thursday, March 15, 2012 4:20 PM