What did you do today?

[zannej]

Rested more today and did a little cleaning. Mom had some fruit and then some chicken with broth.
Kitties alerted me that their water fountain wasn't pumping water. It was stagnant & they were upset. They actually woke me up over it. It still had water in it but water that wasn't moving was not OK. Had to unplug it, take it apart, clean it out, change the filter, and clean the pump. Refilled it & they were happy. Put in a new waterproof power strip/surge protector so I don't have to lean over and try to reach the outlet on the wall to unplug. I just flip a switch. I need to replace the fish tank one that stopped working so the cats will have more water available. I also need to put one on the floor for the dogs, but need to figure out how to secure the filter/pump so it can't be knocked off.

I miss my cat, Assclown. He used to lie on an antifatigue mat in front of the waterer, put a paw up on the rim of the bowl, and rest his chin on it and drink. He'd just lounge there while lying on his side. Sometimes he'd fall asleep with his chin on the bowl.

Helped Mom with logging in to her credit card page. She'd been having trouble. She was clicking the wrong things and she had to get some security code via the phone. They only read the code off once and its really fast so she couldn't keep up. Then she clicked the wrong thing after the first time so we had to go through it a 2nd time. I wrote the code down and entered it and had to move her mouse bc she's incapable of following instructions and no matter how many times I point directly at something and say "Please click HERE" she won't move her mouse to where I'm pointing. So I had to take the mouse away and do it myself. It was frustrating, but she was able to get in and pay her balance.

I'd wanted her to check the statements. Found out she's been spending multiple payments of over $100 on some game. Yikes. But, it's her money so I'm not going to judge. But the bill was really high. Anyway, it wouldn't show what was charged thus far this month and I wanted to see if we got doublecharged for something from Prime Day but it won't let her see this month's purchases until next month, which is really asinine.

 

[highup]

Need more details before I can pick apart that install. There’s many a store out there that that’s what one of their installs looks like and it’s acceptable all day long in certain parts of the country. Other parts of the country, you shoulda knew better.

Homeowner probably cheaper out because they're selling the house.
Still, why not use shoe? .......and why not at least attempt to cut the pieces so they meet in the corners.
Somebody taken tokes before they get off work.
I think the drywall guy was buzzing late today.
I was measuring and he came by to do some follow-up mudding. He walked by me and we said hi and a short chit chat.
1/2 hour later as I headed out the garage door, it was pulled shut. I pulled it open, got our and pulled it shut. I got in my truck, headed down the gravel driveway and the Cyclone gate was shut and locked.
(Fancy new house on the hill)
......he knew I was there..... then shut the garage door, then locked the gate....... What the hell was he smokin'? My truck was in the driveway. WTF?

Long story short, .......I'm thinkin that drywall guy installs 1/4 round too.

 

[highup]

Leaving my house and getting to the main road 1/2 mile way I keep looking for progress.
Northeast and on top of a hill, a new home is being constructed. It's been wrapped in yellow house wrap for a year. It's huge, even from a mile away. I'm probably 50 feet above sea level and guessing the house is 450ish ft elevation.
Well, I was told that I had a house to measure.
One version was "a couple rooms".
The first version was simply a "humongous" new house.
Is 13,000 feet "humongous"?
It's 3 stories.

 

[highup]

To be honest, I didn't have to measure it all.....
That would have killed me.
Most is LVP and the contractor is doing that.
My shop is only doing the carpet.
This upstairs area is 70 feet left to right by 45 feet at the widest points the other direction. There's a 4' 7" wide walkway/hallway that forms a U-shape between the left and right bedrooms that looks down into the living room below..... That's a buttload of railings, not including the two sets of stairs. From the living room, there's a double stairway. It's only 20 feet between the sets of stairs. They oppose each other and come together at a common landing...... Symmetry is important no matter the cost.
....and yes the ceiling is high.
I had a couple other rooms to measure on the main/middle level of the home. Angles & offsets abound. Takes a while to wrap your (my) head around a project like this.
I haven't written in all the measurements I took. I only do that after make a few copies. I hate working hard then F'ing up my accurate original.
I do the layout later, not when doing the measuring. If this is woven or even a patterned carpet...... somebody ain't gonna be Happy

 

[C.J.]

That 1/4 round could have been a lot cleaner but that’s about what that looks like these days before caulk and paint. I’ve seen a few guys here that cut their 1/4 round with hand shears. That’s one way to end up with sloppy miters that won’t close up. Another big one is cutting every miter on a 45. That works great if all your corners are 90. Might as well save yourself some time and use the hand shears if you’re ok with leaving sloppy corners all over the place.

 

[zannej]

That 1/4 round could have been a lot cleaner but that’s about what that looks like these days before caulk and paint. I’ve seen a few guys here that cut their 1/4 round with hand shears. That’s one way to end up with sloppy miters that won’t close up. Another big one is cutting every miter on a 45. That works great if all your corners are 90. Might as well save yourself some time and use the hand shears if you’re ok with leaving sloppy corners all over the place.

I believe the OP said that the job was declared "finished" by the contractor, but I could be mistaken.

Bladder woke me up before dawn. Helped Mom adjust her blankets and leg pillow on her bed so she could get comfortable. Fippy had knocked everything askew and she was having trouble getting everything straightened out.

Found the trash tipped over and spilled- spread all over-- with the dogs digging in it. Had to clean that up.

Got my brother to help me bring in the water from the truck. I slipped going down the front steps and torqued my knee a bit.

Still have to go to Samsclub to get some stuff and to HomeDepot to get stuff to make a shelf for my computer, but I'm waiting for afternoon. Will see if my brother wants to go with me so we can stop at Flying Wok.

My psu delivery has been delayed. It was supposed to arrive by Tuesday but they keep bumping delivery date back and it has been at the same Amazon facility for 2 days now. I suspect they lost it. If it doesn't arrive tomorrow I'll call Amazon to complain.

 

[C.J.]

I believe the OP said that the job was declared "finished" by the contractor, but I could be mistaken.

Who knows, maybe it was finished as far as the contractor was concerned. When I did box store work the contract said I would putty the nail holes, I sure as heck ain’t about to caulk your entire house of base or 1/4 round. There’s a catch to that though, your finish work has got to be spot on. Crisp clean miters and you better not blast the 1/4 round full of a bunch of bullet holes cus all you got is a 16 gauge nail gun.

Now as far as the 1/4 round at the doors, unfortunately that’s pretty common. If you have an expansion space you gotta cover it with something. 1/4 round is cheaper than a reducer so that’s what that looks like. I’ve gone the extra mile before and cut tight to a threshold and finished it off with a clean bead of silicone only to have the customer tell me he wants a piece of 1/4 round at the door. Sure, I’ll put a piece of 1/4 round there but that’s not my default go to. I’ll rip a piece of the flooring down to maybe 1” then I’ll send it through my planer and bring that down to 1/8” thick. Works great for bumping up to things cus it matches the floor perfectly.

I would say if anything needed improvement on that job, it would be communication. If a customer knows what to expect there’s a lot less WTF moments after the job is done.

 

[Csason]

What I did yesterday (staying home today) was three rooms of “knots and squares” carpet in a parade home.
I’m in the fastest growing county in the nation Grady Judd land .
Put in 1500 sq ft of wood earlier same location

Have a great weekend if you can avoid the news

 

[MSLI]

What is knots and squares carpet ? (Berber ? ) Got any pics. ….. And what is a parade home , a sample home ?

I looked up the town of Winter Haven Fl. on google map, boy o boy that’s a lot of Lakes in a small area How’s the and is there a problem ?

Back in 2006 we flew into Tampa and I remember flying over a town that had an amazing amount of lakes. I wonder if that was Winter Haven ?

 

[Csason]

What is knots and squares carpet ? (Berber ? ) Got any pics. ….. And what is a parade home , a sample home ?

I looked up the town of Winter Haven Fl. on google map, boy o boy that’s a lot of Lakes in a small area How’s the and is there a problem ?

Back in 2006 we flew into Tampa and I remember flying over a town that had an amazing amount of lakes. I wonder if that was Winter Haven ?

It’s one inch squares of cut loop divided by loops I’m sure it’s got a name . I don’t know it lol
The local builder’s association has a parade of homes every year. My floors have won the few times I was involved , I’m just that good.
The fishing is still good in spite of the pressure best to make the effort and find the off the path spots though if you can.

 

[C.J.]

Working on cleaning out my shed this weekend. In the very back corner was my camp oven, haven’t seen this baby for a few years but we’re gonna get reacquainted. This thing is pimp. It’ll make you some delicious refrigerator biscuits when you’re in the middle of Jellystone park. Trying to cook a game hen might be a bit much but if you’ve got the time it’ll do that too.

I cleaned it up and put a propane bottle on it and tried to fire it up. The igniter spark thing isn’t working so I bumped it with my torch to get it going. She still works like a champ. 400 is about as hot as she’ll get unless you surround the oven with some sort of wind block but that should work for whatever you need to cook while you’re out playing Grizley Adams. I need to find my camp stove now. Busy weekend!

 

[highup]

What I did yesterday (staying home today) was three rooms of “knots and squares” carpet in a parade home.
I’m in the fastest growing county in the nation Grady Judd land .
Put in 1500 sq ft of wood earlier same location

Have a great weekend if you can avoid the news

Knots and squares....... Oh, please educate me. I've only been installing since '74ish.
What's that newfangled lingo?
Land O Judd is a great place even tho I've never been there. They have rules and consequences around there, right?

 

[highup]

Working on cleaning out my shed this weekend. In the very back corner was my camp oven, haven’t seen this baby for a few years but we’re gonna get reacquainted. This thing is pimp. It’ll make you some delicious refrigerator biscuits when you’re in the middle of Jellystone park. Trying to cook a game hen might be a bit much but if you’ve got the time it’ll do that too.

I cleaned it up and put a propane bottle on it and tried to fire it up. The igniter spark thing isn’t working so I bumped it with my torch to get it going. She still works like a champ. 400 is about as hot as she’ll get unless you surround the oven with some sort of wind block but that should work for whatever you need to cook while you’re out playing Grizley Adams. I need to find my camp stove now. Busy weekend!

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400 cooks most edibles....... If I wasn't cleaning up the back room, I'd pop by any let you know what I want for dinner...... I was thinking maybe bacon wrapped, stuffed meatloaf with swiss, mozzarella and shredded beef with 7 herbs and spices.
.... Sorry. After my last "real" flooring job, I'm expecting dinner from everyone now.
I'll blame it on Sherri. She sorta conditioned me to assume dinner is a requirement.
That little unit looks like it can accomplish a lot.
I've never seen one like it.

 

[C.J.]

400 cooks most edibles....... If I wasn't cleaning up the back room, I'd pop by any let you know what I want for dinner...... I was thinking maybe bacon wrapped, stuffed meatloaf with swiss, mozzarella and shredded beef with 7 herbs and spices.
.... Sorry. After my last "real" flooring job, I'm expecting dinner from everyone now.
I'll blame it on Sherri. She sorta conditioned me to assume dinner is a requirement.
That little unit looks like it can accomplish a lot.
I've never seen one like it.

I picked that oven up maybe 15 years ago. Can’t remember if it was a Walmart or not but it was one of them type stores in Redmond? I was doin my leisurely stroll and there it was on a shelf in the back of the store just waiting to be found by me. I think I only paid $89 for it.

I don’t go camping as much anymore cus I can afford to stay in hotels now but when I do go camping I like to eat. You ever seen them outdoor cooking shows where there in a lush meadow somewhere in the middle of nowhere with a full on kitchen setup? Maybe they’re on the water somewhere. It don’t matter, that’s me. You pay for the boat, quad, gas, whatever and I’ll bring the food. Now I want to make a blueberry crumble in it. Might have to get me a box of Jiffy blueberry muffin mix if I leave the house today.

What do you think about bringing it to the job site? I could put a salmon steak in there

 

[zannej]

My day got off to a shitty start. Sometime after midnight (after 1am but I think before 2am) I got up for a snack and noticed my youngest cat, Temjin, on her side near the living room door with her leg in the air. I could only see her bottom half-- rest was behind a chest of drawers. Something hit me as off immediately. I went over to check on her and discovered she was stiff and cold. Eyes were closed & chin was tucked against her chest. She had some drool at her mouth and it looked like she had crapped-- but it wasn't diarrhea. She hadn't been vomiting and a few hours earlier she seemed fine. She'd been staying over in that area most of the day, but that wasn't unusual. She'd spilled lamp oil a day or two before and I cleaned it up but didn't see any on her and was really exhausted at the time. No signs of poisoning from her behavior though. Looks like she died in her sleep. I had to tell my mother about 15x that Temjin was dead before it sunk in. She kept asking me if she was Ok and I kept telling her "No, she's DEAD!" I still tried to get her to move even though I knew it was futile. Kept hoping she'd come to but knew she wouldn't. Put her in a bag and in the freezer for the rest of the night.

Asked my brother to help me dig the hole to bury her but he refused. He'd been up all night and said he needed sleep. Went out after sun came up and started digging but had arrhythmia, shortness of breath, and chest pains so I had to stop. Contacted my friend and asked if he could help and he agreed. He said my brother was a dick for not helping.

Decided to let myself calm down a bit first & had brought my new computer over to friend's house to have him install the psu and leave connections for the bluray drive & SSDs. Did a test fit of mounting bracket and confirmed it wouldn't fit. I brought the board I painted and he got the bracket mounted to the board. Had to take it apart and then beat the pressed in bolts out of it. It bent a bit, but wasn't too bad. Back bracket attached fine but bent one wouldn't stay. Screws kept popping back out so we went to TSC to get bolts & locknuts. On the way there friend didn't like the sound the truck made when steering. Stopped at O'Reilly's and he checked power steering fluid. It was almost empty so we went in & got the fluid and he poured it in.

Got the bolts and I pounded the bracket with a mallet to flatten it a bit more. He got the bolts on and tested the fit. Fits fine, but the straps that came with the bracket were too short & he said they felt flimsy. I got food for him & his family, they ate, and then I brought him out to help with the digging. Had 2 shovels & a hand excavation tool that I used to chop roots. He did most of the work but I still helped. Cow came over to see what we were doing but stayed out of the way. I petted her a little and then got Temjin's body & we buried her.

Went inside and I showed my friend my setup for the UPS. He did a test-fit of the shelf with the bracket to confirm it would fit and was happy. Didn't secure it though. He talked to Mom for a bit and mentioned his fiance wanted ice cream. Mom wanted ice cream too. So we headed to Walmart and got some bungee tie downs, some sort of brackets that the bungee hooks attach to, stress release epsom salt, a heating pad from clearance, & the ice cream.

Friend went to put ice cream in the cooler in the trunk and had trouble opening the tailgate. He noticed some old containers of motor oil and asked if he could use them to lubricate the hinges. He poured a little on and the tailgate works much better now. Got gas, dropped him back at home and headed straight home. Ate a little ice cream & am now resting. My hands and back hurt though. Need to take some naprosyn.

I haven't slept since I found Temjin. I was ugly crying pretty hard earlier. Princess the dog was worried about me and trying to comfort me. Itsy the cat came over to lick my forehead and lick some of my tears away. Rupert got up in my face and rubbed his nose on my tears and cuddled me. I'm currently lying down with Boo on my chest.

I still need to take my morning vitamins even though its afternoon. And I need to see if I can get some sleep.

 

[zannej]

Got my new UPS set up. Involved a lot of cleanup and moving things around and getting my brother to help me adjust my mattress bc it had slipped askew off the boxspring. He wasn't happy about it but it took less than a minute. Had to climb partway under a coffee table (which is where my computer sits) to unplug old UPS and plug in new one. Got some protection for the new UPS setup a bit better. Even after scrubbing the coffee table I wasn't happy with how dirty it still was so I wanted to put it on the stand the computer used to sit in (rolling thing dad built out of scraps). But the stand was absolutely filthy so I put shelf liner on it. May do the same for the coffee table eventually.

Organized cables, labeled which ones were plugged in, and then had to get back under the table (lying on my side on the floor) to plug the new UPS in. That was a pain. I had trouble getting back up.

Cats were very confused. LOL.

This was my test fit (not fully in place & not secured) of the fan hood & basket to protect the new UPS.

Turns out the hood can actually grab the side when tipped back more, but I also used velcro to secure both basket and hood (after I painted the hood black).
This is the current setup:

I used paracord to loosely attach the basket and stuck a face shield up. When the new computer gets setup I'll get the basket more secure & have the shield away from the side a bit more so there is an air gap.

Ginger just climbed on the basket and knocked it off. So I definitely need a better setup. LOL.

 

[C.J.]

I’m about 5 minutes from leaving

 

[havasu]

You mean, "You were about 5 minutes from leaving until this happened..."

 

[DarisMulkin]

You mean about 5 minutes from leaving to go get new hardware.

 

[Floorist]

Just opinion. My wife created the figures on the cups. No pattern, no mold.