June 13th - June 15th, 2008 - How to Tile using a Homemade Wet Saw
Once
again it was another WOW week. We arrived on Friday night and didn't
recognize Lupine. Here's what it looked like when we left last weekend: 
And here's what it looked like when we arrived on Friday: 
The siding on Lupine is completely done and we have the new windows and front door. The storage area now has a window as well. The walls of the storage area were squared up so that it uses the entire space. Here's the inside of this newly created room: 
We aren't going to do anything with this room this year, but it's a nice bit of extra space to keep our tools in. The
other WOW moment was when we went looking in the upstairs of Equinox.
All of the drywall is up (not mudded yet) which makes it feel almost
finished. It's easier now to imagine what the finished space will feel
like in a few weeks. 
Friday night we got to work skim coating the living room of Equinox. Here's the before picture: 
And here's what it looked like when we finished the skim coating: 
The next day we were blessed to have a neighbor who agreed to babysit for us, so we were both able to work all day. The major project was the porch roof demo. We initially were supposed to only take off the shingles and sheathing. However, our contractor, Jim Dance couldn't wait to see what the condition underneath was - so he ripped off the sheathing and the shingles on Friday. What he found was such extensive rot that he had to tell us to take it all down. The entire porch roof. That was quite disappointing, but at this late stage of our project, this is the worst surprise we had, so we're not upset at all. Dan and Abbie along with our friend C2 got right on it, and had the thing torn off in no time at all.
I couldn't leave the house at one point, since they were working over the doorway, so I took these pictures through the screen door. It was the best I could do. 
Although getting that porch roof demoed in a few hours was impressive, it wasn't the most impressive thing that happened. One of the projects for after lunch was to tile the mudroom floor of the West Wing unit. C2, Semi and I were on the Tile Team. Dan and Jeremy sanded the ceilings in Lupine. The Tile Team was lead by C2 who gave us the strong impression that he had done this before. He taught us all how to tile. We first laid out all the tiles that we could.
Then we measured what we would need to cut. Our contractor, Jim, left us a wet saw, which was super nice of him. However, it didn't work. It would try to spin but it was seized up. C2 took it apart, oiled it, and did numerous other McGyveresque things to it, but the front bearing wouldn't do its thing. So, instead of giving up, he made a homemade wet saw.
He took the blade from the wet saw that Jim had left us and put it in his circular saw. Semi stood next to him with a garden hose, and they cut all the tiles. Two
members joined our Tile Team, Adam and Abbie. Abbie dried each tile and
Adam helped me to bring them inside. We placed them down and put the
spacers in between each tile. Adam was very helpful counting out the
number of spacers that I would need to put down each tile.
We were down to the last tile: 
Here are C2 and Semi measuring out the last tile. 
It fit! 
There were 14 tiles that needed to be cut and they did it with a homemade wet saw! It was incredible. We all celebrated. 
Then things went wrong. I had purchased what was labeled as "Tile Floor Adhesive" and I had read the directions carefully to determine how much to purchase. However, I clearly bought the wrong stuff. 
It wasn't even close to the volume that we needed. My best guess is that I bought something for vinyl tile not ceramic tile. However, I think the name of the product should be a little clearer! C2 and Semi volunteered to take a road trip to the Lowe's in Thomaston. Jeremy and I tried to talk them out of it, but after all that they had gone through to get the tile cut, they were determined to get this tile laid tonight. I love them for that, and we are deeply and eternally grateful for their hard work and commitment. When they arrived
back with the proper adhesive, it was around 8:30 PM so the atmosphere
had a party feel to it. Jeremy showing up with growlers of Sheepscot Valley Brewing's new Wheat Beer certainly didn't hurt the mood! (I can't believe how good this wheat beer is, it's absolutely incredible.)
Abbie, Dan and Jane were playing board games in the living room: 
C2 jumped in and showed us how it's done. 
Jeremy helped from outside, but didn't forget to bring his beer. 
The finished product! 
What a day. Sunday, Dan, Jane and Abbie sanded down the skim coating in Equinox. Jeremy and I painted the ceilings up Lupine. 
It took most of the day, but boy does it look good now that it's done. 
Next week is our last weekend to work on Lupine as it's rented beginning June 28th. It will be ready in time! We have to Penofin the floors, the sink cabinet and all the trim. Then we have to move the kitchen stuff down and take an inventory so we know what we still need to purchase for the renters. Oh, and there's still some sanding left to do in Equinox and then we'll be able to begin getting primer on the walls. Phew. Posted by Laura
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