Floor Maintenance

We’ve had a couple spots in our new kitchen floor start to separate but we were easily able to pop them back into place. In order to prevent that from happening again, we spent the day placing shims against the wall at the ends of each plank we laid.

The floor is a floating floor which means it expands and contracts, hence the movement of the boards. We are hoping the shims reduce the amount of movement. I really need to get the baseboard in which will also help to secure the floor. That and gravity!

Mo Last Wall Papering

I am sitting here in the kitchen watching Susan hang the last piece of wall paper on the west wall. Each piece has been very frustrating for her to put up. She talks to herself a lot and kind of mutters. 

I’ve been staying out of the way for the most part, helping in small ways when I can but this is basically her show.

Here is the progression of the installation.

I don’t have a precise estimate of the time it took but I would guess she’s got six or seven hours over two days.

I think it looks good. Next job is to install the cabinets against the wall and get the quartz counter top in place. 

When it’s all finished, it will look something like this

The Last Wall Paper…for now

Today, Susan is working on the last wall papering project for the kitchen.

Above is a picture of the wall as she gets started. I have the laser level aimed at the wall for her to help get the first piece square as it is glued to the wall.

This wall paper is especially difficult to work with because it has no self adhesive. She has to apply the glue to each piece. The reason it doesn’t have its own adhesive is an indication of how old it is.

2:35 PM: The first piece is up and it took three hours. This is actually the second piece because the first one ripped. Susan is presently researching if she can apply the glue to the wall and then put the paper up. She is considering it.

While this is going on, I’ve been watching a crew take down a tree down the street. The have bunch a guys, a chipper and a special little Bobcat that carries large branches around. Plus, it’s pouring down rain. It looks like a lot of fun!

4:44PM: She ended up applying the glue to the wall. We determined it didn’t seem to make a difference. In any event, she got those first two panels up and those were the critical ones as far as matching the seams. The third, fourth and fifth panels will have the cabinets in front so matching the seam all the way down the wall isn’t as critical.

5:45PM: The third panel is up and went much faster. She’s done for the day. Once it’s finished, I will have to get to work getting the cabinets in place.

The Curse of the Snow Blower is Lifted.

It looks like I’m going to get to use the snow blower today!

I got up at seven and checked to see if it had snowed, as the forecast indicated. It had not. 

By the time I got out of the shower, it was snowing and in no time, it was snowing pretty hard.

It’s still coming down as of now (11:21 AM) and there is about an inch on the ground.

I just returned from a dentist appointment and let me tell you, it’s really fun driving around out there. I saw one accident on the way to the dentist, and a couple more driving back home.

This is one of those days when I’m happy not to have to be out there. 

One of the weather apps I keep an eye on indicates snow for another 70 minutes and then more after 3:00.

Besides getting to use my rebuilt snow blower, I’m excited for this snowfall because I’m going skiing tomorrow. It’s my first time up this season and I’m really looking forward to it.

I’ll keep this post updated as the snow progresses. In the meantime, this seems like a good day for a fire.

4:50PM: I was able to blow and there was about 2 inches of snow on the ground when I went out. I did the block and half way up the alley…pretty much like I usually do.

The snow blower worked beautifully. The one thing I noticed right away was that it turned much better than it used to. I don’t know if that had something to do with the larger tires or something else.

The snow was pretty heavy but it went through the blow with nary a problem. At times, it seemed like it was pushing a big mound of snow in front of it rather than sucking the snow in through the blades and into the auger. When it did that, it left a bit of a berm coming off the side. It just meant I had to do another pass. No biggie!

Anyway, I’m glad it worked and I’m glad I got to use it at least one more time this season.