What did you do today?

[Zanne]

havasu, the additive was specifically for that mix and it was specified on the box for use in lieu of water. I used the exact amount of stuff that it said to use.

I tried to sand it before I read this. Even got out a friggin belt sander with a thing that catches the dust (can't find an orbital one). It tore the sandpaper but it at least smoothed the sharp edges on some of the higher pieces. I tried chiseling at the stuff and its hard as a rock. It feels all weird and lump under the feet and I don't want to mess with more stuff so I moved on to installing the underlayment. I plan to use it to help with a template for the linoleum.

With the underlayment I can still feel the lumps, but when I put my trashcan (which is about as wide as the toilet) down on top of the area where the toilet will go, it does not rock or move, so I'm hoping it will hold it steady enough.

My toilet has a special SanaGloss finish that is supposed to repel stains and make it so the toilet does not have to be cleaned as often, but it seems its either not as good as advertised, or the hard water just ruined it.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I used one of those drill attached mixers for the job and it still didn't mix the stuff bc the mix had gotten damp in its bag and started to clump. One of the curses of living in a high humidity area.

I can't remember if I mentioned that we were unable to use the space under water heater for storage.

There was a large hole in the floor leading right under the house that let critters get in-- like snakes. I know for sure that they got in because I found a copperhead that got in to the area and tried to come into the house through a hole the cats tore in the wall (which I had patched) but it got stuck on the duct tape and died.

I'm seriously thinking of doubling up on the underlayment (which is not all that thick) over the area that is bumpy and see if it helps get rid of the bumpy feeling.

Any thoughts on that? Good idea? Bad? Somewhere in between?

 

[Chris]

Your are best off breaking out and starting over with the self leveling mud. I have used a few types and if mixed right or slightly wet it will level itself no problem. The stuff Depot carries at 20 bucks a bag in a red bag wprks pretty well.

 

[havasu]

See my question in your thread about using SLC in the first place. I really think you will be sorry if that floor is laid on less than perfect sub-floor.

 

[Zanne]

I saw it. I will probably go back and try to re-do the self-leveling at a later date. for now I want to be able to get my toilet in. Unless the toilet rocks a lot or has problems, I'll leave it as is for the time being. If it is really rocky and unstable then I will pull it up and redo it while my sister is visiting.

I got the underlayment in and also got the linoleum in. I don't actually have all of the baseboards yet, but when I get them, I will use them to smooth out the linoleum a bit.

For some reason i can't seem to find a lot of the hardware I had in a particular place when I was planning to install. I don't know what happened to it. I'll have to look for it all after my nap. In the morning I hope to get the toilet in. I'll have to go get some pvc glue, crawl under the house, and have my brother slide the water supply down so I can hook it up. That part is going to suck.

 

[Caduceus]

Ya gotta love the appliance installer guys. Always a treat.
Call for gas leak at commercial laundromat. Appliance guy greets me at the door and says, "Not a big deal, this will be an easy fix." Alls ya gotta do is...." "No problem right, this will only take you a coupl-a seconds and we'll be all good, right?"

Four hours later they were back up and running. I said, "See, it was a big deal, it wasn't an easy fix, alls I had to do was a whole lot and it took more than a couple of seconds. Next time call a plumber to do your gas work, okay."
Always an interesting day here.

 

[phishfood]

Primed ~600 sq ft of ceiling that I managed to flood with just enough rusty water to stain 60 sq ft. The rest of the ceiling was just dark enough to make me think that not priming all of it before painting was going to bite me in the butt. I will go back and paint it later this week.

 

[Admin]

Today I woke up early and that was about it. Got a ton of articles edited, but all the same I didn't get much done.

 

[phishfood]

Got rid of some more of the extra material off of my job, did some odds and ends of punchout, then went to a drain cleaning call this evening. It went good until I dropped 30' of cable down the vent as I was pulling it back out. That took me an hour to get out, but I did get it.

 

[Chris]

I back filled 1500 feet of 10" water line while my other crew dug and installed 120' of 36" storm drain 10 feet deep in very poor soil. I'm sure phish is used to this type of soil.

 

[havasu]

Chris...Have you ever found human bones? Is there a law that says you must stop all work if you do find them?

 

[Zanne]

I haven't been very productive as its been raining, power has been going out, and now I'm sick.

My mother started badmouthing me to my sister and telling her that I'm lazy and worthless and that I don't do anything. My sister seems to blame me for the condition of the kitchen (since she hasn't been here to see what's been going on).

I didn't get the toilet installed because I decided it would be best to go over the floor with some fresh self-leveling stuff to fix it up first and remove the toilet later would be a pain). I showed my sister my progress and her only response was to say I should have worked on the kitchen instead. Sheesh. Women. I just don't get them. I love my sister but sometimes I think we come from different planets.

I'm the only one who drives now. My brother broke the door on the CRV and he's not allowed to drive the Expedition. My mother won't even try to drive anymore. She wasn't able to get a walker on Friday because the doctor didn't see her until an hour past her appointment and then she didn't get out of the office until after the medical shops closed (and they didn't open again until today). She has huge hips and none of the walkers with seats were big enough for her to sit in. My sister finally ordered one from amazon that we hope is the right size, but it won't get here before we leave for Albuquerque.

My mother is still trying to decide on flooring. She's narrowed it down to a Pergo gunstock oak laminate that is 8mm thick with no laminate from HD (its on clearance for $1.89 a sq foot)

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pergo-Pr...ooring-605-1-sq-ft-pallet-LF000506/203682595#
It comes with a 30 year limited warranty and is in stock. I believe there are matching pieces (quarter round, etc) available for it.

or Allen + Roth butterscotch oak that is 10mm with attached white underlayment for $1.99 from Lowes.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_391763-19871-AR117_0__?productId=3645838
It has a lifetime limited warranty, has to be ordered, and does not have coordinating pieces.

Our current floor is currently medium dark parquet flooring.

At Lowes the flooring person said that we would need to purchase a moisture barrier for our kitchen floor to go under the flooring, but I've never heard of needing one in a kitchen. Our house is raised off the ground rather than having foundation under it and we live in a damp area (but it does not flood). Anyone know if this is true or are they just trying to sell us more stuff that we don't need?

My mother was leaning toward the 10mm with underlayment since it already has the underlayment. I just don't know how good the underlayment is though.

I'm trying to think of what it would cost to get good underlayment and the stuff that comes without it.

 

[havasu]

Although I understand your moisture barrier concerns, I've also been told to always include one on the floating floor. It would only add a few bucks to the costs, but if there ever was a concern about warranty, you would be covered. You also don't want your floor to buckle because of the excess moisture under the floor!

I also agree with your mom, always try for a minimum 10 mil thick flooring, and the attached underlayment makes it a breeze to install. I actually looked at that same product for my lake house before going to the vinyl planking.

Just curious, but do you shop at Sam's Club or Costco? If so, both carry real good quality floating flooring for about ~$1.69 a square foot, and it includes the underlayment on the back side.

 

[Chris]

Chris...Have you ever found human bones? Is there a law that says you must stop all work if you do find them?

We found some Indian bones a few years back and it shut down the job for a few weeks. Other than that found a few cars.

 

[Zanne]

Although I understand your moisture barrier concerns, I've also been told to always include one on the floating floor. It would only add a few bucks to the costs, but if there ever was a concern about warranty, you would be covered. You also don't want your floor to buckle because of the excess moisture under the floor!

I also agree with your mom, always try for a minimum 10 mil thick flooring, and the attached underlayment makes it a breeze to install. I actually looked at that same product for my lake house before going to the vinyl planking.

Just curious, but do you shop at Sam's Club or Costco? If so, both carry real good quality floating flooring for about ~$1.69 a square foot, and it includes the underlayment on the back side.

Thanks for the info, Havasu. The moisture barrier didn't seem expensive, but I had not heard that it was needed for a raised wood subfloor before.

The 10mm includes 2mm of underlayment from what I read. My sister keeps pushing Pergo flooring as the stuff to get because a friend of hers got some.

The more we were kicking around the idea of the floor and I read about laminate, the more we started to lean away from it. I was at the homedepot site this morning and a window popped up to speak with someone from the flooring dept. They did not answer my question about a moisture barrier (as if they didn't see it or something) but they suggested the vinyl plank with wood texture. They also suggested taking samples home and seeing how they look (which is what we previously did-- looking at the samples next to walls and cabinets).

My mother wants a red oak look because our cabinets are red oak. Why she wants it to match exactly is beyond me. I think it would look odd. I like at least a little bit of contrast.

There is no Costco in Louisiana and the nearest Sam's Club had maybe 3 flooring options last time I looked. My mother didn't like any of them.

What was the name of the vinyl flooring you went with? Do you have a link?

I hope that stuff is durable because our floors take a lot of abuse. Knives being dropped, chairs being knocked over, stuff being dragged across the floor, water splashing, etc.

Chris, finding human bones must not have been fun. I wonder what tribe they were from. I'm part Lenape on my father's side. I take it none of the buried cars had human bones in them? Maybe I'm too naive, but I can't think of any other reasons why someone would bury a car (other than to hide a stolen one).

On a side note, I forgot to mention that I really seriously dislike the American Standard commercial toilets in the Lowes bathroom. When I went in, they had not flushed except for one in a stall that had no toilet paper. I had to push the button to make one flush and it splashed all over the seat. So I had to wipe the seat down (they didn't have the paper to go on top of the seats). The stupid thing flushed while I was sitting on it and splashed all over me. The water was very cold. I had to dry myself off and then the thing wouldn't flush on its own again so I had to push the button to make it flush and move away quickly so it didn't splash me in the face. I don't know if that type of toilet just sucks or if they did something wrong with it.

 

[havasu]

Zanne, its just vinyl plank flooring , found everywhere. I still believe it is your best option.

 

[Zanne]

Zanne, its just vinyl plank flooring , found everywhere. I still believe it is your best option.

LOL. I meant which pattern did you get?

I'm looking at some options at the Lowes and HD websites right now, but I'll have to look at it in person with my mother.

 

[havasu]

LOL. I meant which pattern did you get?

I'm looking at some options at the Lowes and HD websites right now, but I'll have to look at it in person with my mother.

I have no idea which one I selected. I can't even tell you what I had for breakfast!

 

[Chris]

He doesn't even know his real name.....

 

[Chris]

See what I get for falling asleep on the couch. I'm the grinch!

 

[Zanne]

I'm trying to get over this stupid cold. I wonder if Lowes or Home Depot are even open today. I know a lot of places are closed. The local post office opened half an hour late and closed 5 hours early yesterday. I have a package to pick up but the note on the door said they won't open until tomorrow.

Last night I watched the Holmes Makes it right people pour self leveling compound and saw what its supposed to look like. I'm hoping to go up to HD and Lowes tomorrow while we take the CRV in to be repaired and look at the vinyl plank flooring. I would do it today but I doubt they are open and I also doubt I could get my family in gear to go with me. Ideally I'd like to go up there and see a movie while we wait for the car to be worked on. I haven't gone to see a movie in a theater for years.