Let me start the blog with "Oh, what a week." We have a job that is a 5/16 T&G hand-nailed floor that we were asked to resand. Well, this floor has been sanded so many times that the nails are showing. It is 2,000 feet of an old, ugly, beat-up floor that they want to look old and beat-up but clean and smooth.
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Let me start the blog with "Oh, what a week." We have a job that is a 5/16 T&G hand-nailed floor that we were asked to resand. Well, this floor has been sanded so many times that the nails are showing. It is 2,000 feet of an old, ugly, beat-up floor that they want to look old and beat-up but clean and smooth.
What to do? Well, we took the buffer with 2/0 steel wool and sprits to clean the floor. Then 100-grit paper with the thin white pad to flatten the floor, then a 120-grit on a thick red pad to remove the scratch. We hand-worked the wall lines and door jambs (with care not to remove too much color during this entire task). It looks like a 100-year-old floor. I coated the floor with universal sealer before I left, or I should say I did one room so that in the morning the GC can see if it will pass for the homeowner, who lives in Florida at the moment. They will be moving here after the 4th of July, so time matters, and man, do I hope they will like the floor. The GC is going to take photos to e-mail so they have an "idea" of what it looks like.
The next worry for the week ... I got a call from a job we installed about 5 months ago. It was a 4-inch maple sand & finish. Got a call that is cupping bad and buckling only in the bedroom and front foyer. So I went to the house and to see what "we" did wrong?????
Turns out they placed the garden hose to water the new plants in the front of the house… and it's hitting the front door. And, the water leak from the master bath sink has been… leaking. What did we do wrong? Nothing. The front door leaks and the master bath is the plumber's deal, not mine.
So the plan now is to fix the water leak and stop the garden hose from flooding the front door. I think the floor will lay down in a few weeks, but thank God we did our task right. I just know they were ready to blame us, but rather than say, "It has been five months, so you own it, not me" I took the high road and went in and found the reasons why. They are not happy, but they understand and know we did the install, sand & finish right.
So onto something less stressful: We are on this job site and the restrooms are not in working order, so the site has a "Blue John," as we call it. Now let's set the record straight: Blue John guidelines must be followed.
1) Do not tip or push on it while in use.
2) Do not hook it to the truck and tug on it while in use.
3) Do not park the truck in front of the door while in use.
4) Do not shoot bottles rockets at it while in use.
5) Do not wrap bungee cords around it while in use.
6) Do not toss rocks or bricks at it while in use. And, very important...
7) DO leave the door ajar if you have made it unfriendly inside. This will give advance warning that it may be unfriendly.
Now how did I come up with the Blue John rules? My guys have done them all to me and other trades on the site. The bottle rockets will scare the poop out of you folks; dang, that is not funny!
Anyway, I needed a stress release, sorry with the Blue John story but it has been a rough week, and it just made me laugh.
Joey is working with me on this job during some down time for him with the railroad. I have got to say it is nice to have him back; we do work well together. He made me stop and think awhile as I needed to use ol' Blue-thinking about all the stuff we have pulled on each other over the years. If I tried, I bet we could get a top 10 for Letterman's Late Show… Blue John Top 10 Things Not to Do While in Use.
So the stress is all gone; funny how a simple thing can help you laugh a bit. Blue John, thank you for a few laughs.