What did you do today?

[Floorist]

alligator in new jersey http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/09/19/alligator-spotted-in-new-jersey-township-police-warn.html

Hey Nick, need some new shoes?

 

[Nick]

That town is not far from me .. I already have more shoes then most women ..

 

[Tom Picciani]

There are primers or additives to make the filler stick to the vinyl. Is the vinyl flat and you want to fill the embossing, or does the floor have low spots that need to be filled?
Is this the kitchen?

Feel like an idiot. Just decided to get on hands and knees and take a closer look. The floor on landing is ceramic tile. It has an uneven surface but very glossy and slippery. Because of the mess in tearing it out, I think I’ll prime, level, and cover with Coretec if that makes sense.

 

[Ernesto]

Finished up 340 sqft of glue down vinyl plank, 6 inches wide. Doing the quarter round tomorrow.

 

[Tom Picciani]

My carpenter friend said he'll coat the tiles with Ardex leveling compound. Will stick to tile according to him. He's used it plenty of times before.

 

[Nick]

You have to roll on a primer first .. Contact Ardex and ask them which one to use ..

 

[Tom Picciani]

Here's the quote from the Ardex website:

Information ARDEX K 60™ ARDITEX
Choose Versatile, No Water
ARDEX K 60™ ARDITEX is a blend of Portland cement and other hydraulic cements that is a self-smoothing, trowelable, latex leveling compound with excellent adhesion, flexibility and moisture resistance. ARDEX K 60 can be used to smooth interior concrete, wood, terrazzo, ceramic and quarry tile, steel, select epoxy coating systems and non-water-soluble adhesive residue on concrete prior to the installation of finished flooring on-, above- or below-grade.

Key Features

• Use to level and smooth interior concrete, wood, terrazzo, ceramic and quarry tile, steel, select epoxy coating systems and non-water-soluble adhesive residue on concrete
• A blend of Portland cement and other hydraulic cements
• No water required for mixing; simply mix with latex additive
• No mechanical profiling required (except steel substrates; see below)
• No priming required (except non-ARDEX epoxy substrates; see below)
• Trowelable and can smooth floors at 1/8″ (3 mm) or less
• Walkable in 2 – 3 hours
• Suitable for use under ARDEX MC™ Moisture Control Systems
• Interior use only

 

[highup]

Your tile is glossy and slippery. I've seen old quarry tile that was waxed. You aren't gluing anything to the tile, so it may not need to bond the same as what's needed for glue down products.
Acrylic mortar admix is an additive designed for use with grout and thinset. It works as a bonding agent for Ardex when added to the powder.
If the admix is used 100% and no water, you would want to use it as a very thin bonding coat. Then, once hardened, use Ardex mixed as recommended for the leveling.
If the Ardex is mixed with the acrylic admix and used for a deeper fill like for filling the grout recess in your tiled floor it may take quite a while to dry and harden.

 

[zannej]

Thanks, Nick. I always hate when I lose one of my pets. The surviving sibling is clearly not feeling well and I'm afraid he has the same thing. But if he does, there is nothing they can/will do for him & life expectancy is only 2 years (which is how long the other one lasted after her diagnosis). I'm hoping it's not that so I will take him in just in case. He's one of my favorites.

Had to take my friend's fiance back to the hospital because her fingers were swelling & the pain was radiating from her fingers up to her shoulder, neck, and back. They gave her narcotics and released her. Apparently they worked pretty well, but she said she felt high. Must be an odd sensation. I've been given narcotics after surgery before but they never really had any effect. Didn't work on the pain & didn't make me feel any better. So, I have no use for that stuff. She has a followup appointment ion Tuesday. Over an hour drive and it's at 8am. I am sooo not a morning person. LOL. My friend's grandfather can't take her because he's taking my friend to a dental appointment in another town in the opposite direction (also about an hour away). Well, the one for her appointment will take longer because it's on a narrow two-lane road with no shoulders and it has a lot of curves (many blind curves as well). I've narrowly avoided being hit head-on a few times on that road before because some drivers are just idiots.

My mother's computer is running just fine, but she just got that popup on a website. But I want to run virus scanner just in case to make sure nothing got on it from her ignorantly clicking stuff. My sister is the one having actual problems with her OS but she never told me what the symptoms were. On a side note, a member of another forum I'm on complained about getting website hijacking ads that take her to another site when she visits the forum. I was thinking it was an ad on the forums but now I'm wondering if she has something on her computer doing it.

The cats got in to the living room & the dog accidentally pushed the door closed so they were locked in. They knocked a bunch of stuff off the coffee table & my mother's desk, knocked over a folding tray table, and generally ran amok. Fortunately they didn't break anything, but the cleanup was a pain-- at least now part of my mother's desk is more organized though. The girl who broke her wrist was going to help organize that room (throw out stuff we don't need, put stuff in storage/find places to put them, & get rid of cardboard boxes) but that will have to wait until she recovers. She heard back from Social Security on her temporary disability claim & they told her they would need another 4 to 6 months to look into it.

 

[Tom Picciani]

Your tile is glossy and slippery. I've seen old quarry tile that was waxed. You aren't gluing anything to the tile, so it may not need to bond the same as what's needed for glue down products.
Acrylic mortar admix is an additive designed for use with grout and thinset. It works as a bonding agent for Ardex when added to the powder.
If the admix is used 100% and no water, you would want to use it as a very thin bonding coat. Then, once hardened, use Ardex mixed as recommended for the leveling.
If the Ardex is mixed with the acrylic admix and used for a deeper fill like for filling the grout recess in your tiled floor it may take quite a while to dry and harden.

My carpenter is coming Tuesday and I’ll discuss best options then. Maybe priming and then using Henry 547 troweled in would be ok?

Btw, the house is 40 years old so I doubt any wax would still be on the tiles. I could wipe them down with denatured alcohol though.

Thoughts?

 

[Tom Picciani]

Just found out Henry products uses Ardex technology. Will work with him before I do anything. I did get a sample of Pergo XP while at HD. Will get a sample of Coretec this weekend if possible and compare. Two different animals I know.

 

[Floorist]

My high school class had a 70th birthday get together tonight. Lots of fun.

 

[Tom Picciani]

I just shoveled 3 tons of dirt into my back yard in preparation for reseeding. So I ran out of seed. Just so happens that my floor glue came in. Went to Lowe’s to get a trowel for adhesive, a beater for mixing leveling compound, spacers, knee pads, and seeds. Did I forget anything.? Adhesive is still waiting to be picked up. Lowe’s is down the road from my favorite breakfast place. You get picture...

 

[Tom Picciani]

Went to Home Depot. Looked at flooring and picked up samples. I decided to make landing same as living room. Got sample of Pergo XP Royal oak. Also took a picture of Outlast applewood planks.

Also looked at reviews of each color floor for pictures, especially the ones that had oak furniture or trim to compare.

Leaning towards Applewood. Still thinking about it.

 

[DarisMulkin]

I could wipe them down with denatured alcohol though

Isn't that kind of dangerous as alcohol is very flamable and you can't see the flame. I'd just use wax stripper.

 

[Nick]

I just shoveled 3 tons of dirt into my back yard in preparation for reseeding. So I ran out of seed. Just so happens that my floor glue came in. Went to Lowe’s to get a trowel for adhesive, a beater for mixing leveling compound, spacers, knee pads, and seeds. Did I forget anything.? Adhesive is still waiting to be picked up. Lowe’s is down the road from my favorite breakfast place. You get picture...

Did I forget anything.? Tricking friends to come over for a barbecue ..

 

[Tom Picciani]

If we ever get clear weather...

Went to Lowe's and got 3 samples of Quick-Step Studio. Not sure about the Studio series but I like the locking mechanism a lot. Concerned about hardness so I went to town on the stuff with my keys. Nothing

Isn't that kind of dangerous as alcohol is very flamable and you can't see the flame. I'd just use wax stripper.

I don't think there's enough I would be using to make it dangerous but just to be safe I might go with something safer.

Thanks.

 

[Tom Picciani]

Picked up some Quick-Step studio samples at Lowe's. I think I'm going to go with this instead of Pergo. I just did a scratch test on it by going at it with my keys. Not a single sign of a blemish. I like the locking mechanism and the reviews are good. At least on these samples you get a full plank width with locking system so you can test how it works. Seems easy enough.

Not sure of color yet though. Probably West End Apple or Glenwood Oak. Might go back for a few more samples.

Hard to tell when you don't have a full plank to lay against baseboard.

On a related note, Can I put transition molding all the way around the landing (except for the bull nose on the top step)? It would look like it's framed in. Will it hold if it's only PL Premium attached?

Thanks for all your help. You're helping me avoid making a big mistake or two.

Tom P.

 

[highup]

Picked up some Quick-Step studio samples at Lowe's. I think I'm going to go with this instead of Pergo. I just did a scratch test on it by going at it with my keys. Not a single sign of a blemish. I like the locking mechanism and the reviews are good. At least on these samples you get a full plank width with locking system so you can test how it works. Seems easy enough.

Not sure of color yet though. Probably West End Apple or Glenwood Oak. Might go back for a few more samples.

Hard to tell when you don't have a full plank to lay against baseboard.

On a related note, Can I put transition molding all the way around the landing (except for the bull nose on the top step)? It would look like it's framed in. Will it hold if it's only PL Premium attached?

Thanks for all your help. You're helping me avoid making a big mistake or two.

Tom P.

It might look framed if you used a contrasting color. Using the same color, you might only notice the framing effect on the two perpendicular sides ...the other two parallel edges might just blend in.

 

[highup]

I'm not a real football fanatic but this afternoon the Ducks/Stanford game was on ESPN. It was a home game in Eugene at Autzen Stadium. Ducks started off great and up till 1/2 time. The Ducks stayed ahead the entire game and with a couple minutes left to go an Oregon receiver tried too hard to get a first down. Instead of going down and playing it safe, he reached out to hold the ball past the line to get a first down ...........and fumbled it. Had he not done that, the Ducks could have possibly scored or run the clock down. Stanford scored then tied the game and won in overtime. The longer the game went on, the better Stanford played.
The Ducks quarterback and receivers were excellent. I think they are going to have a good season.