I think I have been doing pretty well. For a few weeks now, I have been exercising like crazy. I like to do some sort of strength training along with cardio every day. It’s funny, because when I sit around and don’t exercise, I feel guilty. I remember that from way back when I was in shape a little more than I am now.
Just to start things off, I want to tell you that I did find a school where I could get more exercise. It’s three times a week and it’s really, really cool. I’ll talk more about that later.
So basically I am doing just a combination of things to keep me entertained. I do the workout DVDs, I use the Bowflex, I play tennis, I now go to the exercise school and I ride my bike. Oh yeah, I also jump rope. Believe it or not, I actually got up to 150 jumped ropes today and could have gone for more. I assume at some point, I will stop counting and just keep going. That’s going to be a rush.
I wanted to tell you about this really awesome workout DVD I got called “The Pit Workout.” It’s serious business for serious people and that’s what I am…serious. It’s a mixed martial arts full body workout taught by trainer John Hackleman (Chuck Liddell’s trainer). I did it for about 15 minutes yesterday when I realized that I had to get some sort of rug for downstairs. My feet were absolutely killing me from the burpies. Tile isn’t any good for the toes. I had to stop and hop on the Bowflex instead.
Here is a video of how to do burpies…
and here is a video of the Pit workout…
I do feel good because my stomach muscles have been hurting for two days. That means I gotta be doing something.
Throughout this winter, I have been putting together a short mental list of things I am going to tackle once the good weather arrives. I thought I might share that list with you, partly to entertain you and partly to remind me what in the world I had on my mental list once I have the urge to do some of these things.
EXTERIOR:
1. Order tons of pine trees from ArborDay.org and plant them all over the place.
2. Get the lawn in order.
3. Begin work on Laura’s garden. Need fencing and shrubs.
4. Clean out under porch. Take nails out of 2×4s and stack somewhere else so they are hidden. Throw out vinyl lattice (unless of course you want it).
5. Order more pellets to restock basement for next year.
6. Repair driveway again from this winter’s damage.
7. Admire mailbox.
8. Order 30 yards of mulch.
9. Mulch front garden and top off last year’s mulch.
10. Enlarge garden in front to include those 3 large rocks. Mulch that too.
INTERIOR:
1. Finish painting upstairs bedroom.
2. Remove carpet and tile from downstairs (main floor) and install tile over the whole area.
3. Paint downstairs (main floor).
4. Continue wondering how difficult it would be to replace suspended ceiling in basement with sheetrock.
5. Continue fantasizing about turning the laundry room into a giant bathroom with a giant bathtub and a giant shower.
6. Finish painting upstairs.
Wow, that’s quite a list. Am I going to get all these things done this spring? Heck no. I think I might be able to get those pine trees though. I am getting tired just looking at that list.
Okay, so listen to this. I received my Home Depot gift cards yesterday. I got a pretty decent amount’s worth. So basically, they have been burning a hole in my pocket ever since. So what did I do about it? Well, I ran over to Home Depot and picked up that RIGID 4 gallon wet/dry vac I was talking about. It’s going to be a big help during those “cleaning out the pellet stove” times.
RIGID 4 gallon wet/dry vac
Actually, I just cleaned out the pellet stove a few minutes ago. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was worried about ruining our regular house vacuum by sucking up ashes from the pellet stove. I mean, it’s not like there is a huge amount of them. I do empty the ash pan first, but there are still some remaining ashes hanging around. Those need to be vacuumed. I tried using the dust pan and brush, but that doesn’t have the best results on the floor tile grout. The ash kind of gets smeared in there.
The reason I got the 4 gallon wet/dry vac is because is was the smallest size RIGID makes. The reason I got RIGID, is because I like the brand. I have had decent luck with their other products. Also, this vac has wheels on it, so I can roll it around when I am vacuuming out the car and stuff like that.
The only thing I am worried about is the ash clumping up in the filter. After I used the vacuum a few minutes ago, I did notice the filter got a bit dirty. I banged it against the side of the vacuum and the dirt pretty much fell off the filter. I figure this is bound to happen with any type of vacuum I use, so I might as well use a wet/dry vac. Also, once the filter has been banged around for its last time, I can always pick up a replacement.
Now that I used up a little less than half of my gift cards, I think I am going to hold on to them until Home Depot starts selling trees and shrubs again. Then, I can head over there and go on a shopping spree.
After I returned the humidifier yesterday, I had planned on picking up a little shop vac. I clean the pellet stove pretty regularly and am currently using the regular house vacuum cleaner to suck up all the stray ashes. I don’t think that’s a great idea, since ash is probably the world’s dirtiest thing. Well, ink is pretty dirty too. Okay, they are both dirty and both are fairly easy to make a serious mess with.
I walked around the Depot and couldn’t seem to locate the vacuum cleaners. I stopped to ask a guy who worked over near the floor tiles and he led me to a wall of various vacuums. I thanked him, walked over to the wall and took a look at what was available. Hmmm…I didn’t see any shop vacs.
I knew they were in the store, but figured that they were hidden over with the regular tools somewhere. After all, shop vacs aren’t really all that pretty and kind of deserve to be with the tools. They are more of a tool than a household appliance.
As I was making my way back to find what I was looking for, I came across a neatly situated aisle of air compressors. Now, I’ll tell you that I actually had two things on my list; a shop vac and an air compressor. I was going to get the shop vac because that would cost around $50, which is what the humidifier cost. My purchase would just cancel out the return. Simple algebra really.
I was going to walk right by the air compressors in an attempt to locate a Home Depot worker. I needed to find the shop vacs. I did almost get past the compressors, really I did. Then, I saw a little sign that said, “NEW LOWER PRICE – Was $149 – Now $89.99.” Wow, $89.99 didn’t really seem too bad for a nifty little Husky 6 gallon, 1.5 Hp, 135psi portable air compressor. I was forced to stop. I himmed and hawwed for a while and decided that it was in my best interest to get one of these cute little air compressors. I mean, there were about six of them in inventory and I knew that people were going to be running down the aisles soon to get one for themselves. I had to get one before they were all out.
I picked the box that I wanted. I usually go for the one way in the back because it’s not picked over by all the looky lous. I like a fresh box. I did notice that the package came with the compressor, an air hose and an attachment connector. I would need one of those joining connectors and a tire filler upper piece if I was going to be able to use the machine. I walked over and got the extra items. They were only a few bucks. I decided not to get the kit because that was around $20 and I didn’t feel that I needed all those extra pieces. I am a simple man with simple needs.
So, here are a few pics. Tell me what you think of her.
Husky portable air compressor – 6 gallon, 1.5 hp, 135 max psi
Husky air compressor control panel
Did anyone notice my new license plate? Thank you Photoshop.
The town inspector came by today to inspect the freshly installed pellet stove. It passed, but with a little story.
When the inspector was reading through the manufacturer’s installation manual, he couldn’t find the part that said exhaust vent clearances only need to be 9″ from windows and doors if a fresh air vent is used. The reason he couldn’t find it is because it wasn’t in there. When I realized this, I began to sweat. Then, I remembered that the updated version of the installation manual was online…that’s where I got those clearances from. I quickly went upstairs to print out the pages I kept telling him about. I ran back downstairs and gave him the paperwork. He approved the install with no more issues.
I really like this installation because we don’t need a protective layer between the stove and the floor, since it’s on the new basement tile. That’s pretty cool, as well as a money saver. Also, we used hardly any exhaust pipe. That’s another money saver.
After the inspection, I called the pellet stove place to complete the order for four tons of pellets. I wanted to make sure the stove would be operable before finishing and paying for the order. They will get delivered in mid September.
I also called the insurance company to inform them of the new appliance. They liked this and added $11 to the homeowner’s policy. Not bad…
On the way home from Home Depot today, I saw a sign that offered a cord of wood for $200. Boy, prices have gone up. Even pellets were about $2.50 a bag a few years ago. Now, they are averaging about $5 per bag. If you were ever thinking about getting into a new business, alternative energy is it. This stuff is HOT right now.
I am rather impressed with myself. A few weeks ago, I was scratching my chin, wondering what to do with this basement. Now, I am standing on brand new tile throughout the entire thing. I think I might be amazing.
So, after five short days, the tile guys completed the job and left. I thought it would take two…and it may have if I was doing it. I tend to work long hours. These guys liked to work for a few hours a day. I will give them credit for doing a really good installation job though. Installing tile is a little weird. The installer is kind of bound by drying time, so they can only do so much.
Here are some photos of the finished job…
The reason I say they did a good installation is because I watched him place each tile very carefully. He didn’t just slap them down. He put a little extra thin-set on the corners and after the tile was down, he made sure it was solid. I am assuming some tile installers might not do that.
So now, all I need to do is seal the grout, paint the base moulding and put it back on the walls. Then, we are going to bring one couch down there and set up the TV and all the electronics.
Today, the tile installers finished laying the full pieces of tile. Now, they have to come back on Monday to make all the cuts for all the edge pieces. I am going down tonight to count all the edge pieces we’ll need, just to make sure we have enough tile.
On Tuesday, they will come back again to do the grout. Well, that’s what I hope will happen anyway. I thought this job would be done in two days, but as time goes on, I am realizing that it is more work than I thought. 450 square feet is a lot of area to cover.
Here are some photos of today’s tile installation.
Also today (it was quite a busy day), the tile guys came over to start the tile installation in the basement.
I have to say, this installer has impressed me on a number of occasions. By nature, I am skeptical. I always think people aren’t going to do a complete job or try to get around doing something. Everything I throw at this guy is answered very satisfactorily (in my opinion).
The job is bigger than I thought. They brought about half the tile because te other half was too heavy for his truck. When he pulled in the driveway, the bed was sagging quite a bit. When they started, everything was going very smoothly, but just slower than I expected. By the time 4PM rolled around, they were about 40% done laying the full pieces.
Tomorrow, they are coming back to lay the rest of the full pieces and some of the cut ones. He kept telling me there were a lot of cuts. I really don’t envy him, because this job is going to take a few days.
Yesterday was pretty fun. I met the tile installer at Tile America in West Hartford. I picked out the tile for the basement and the grout color. I like the grout to match the tile, so the floor doesn’t look like a big checker board. We also ordered up the thinset.
I bought 473.44 square feet of 13″x13″ Classic Wheat commercial grade tile. That’s a lot of tile. I also bought 60lbs of Avalanche colored grout. Lastly, I bought 100 lbs of Ultraflex polymer modified mortar.
The tile guys are coming tomorrow to start the installation. The nice thing is they are going to pick up all the materials before coming here in the morning. They have a truck…I don’t. If I did, trust me…I would be at Home Depot getting the 67 cent per square foot tile. Oh, the price I pay for delivery. I had actually contemplated installing all the tile myself. Then, I thought better of it. I think I would do a good job, but then again, who is going to do my computer work for me that day? I prefer to work at what I do and let others work at what they do. The door installation validated that.
Last night, I had a few small things to take care of in the basement. I had to trim up the bottoms of the door mouldings and apply a crack prevention membrane on parts of the concrete floor.
I used my Dremel and cutting disk to cut through two and a half mouldings. The first two went very well. About half way through the third one the Dremel started sounding like popcorn. I looked down and smoke was pouring out of the motor. The whole thing felt so familiar. Man, it stunk!!! Yeah, I guess I blew up my Dremel. I will have to check my receipt to see if it’s still under warranty. To finish the job, I used my reciprocating saw, which I should’ve used the whole time. It worked great.
After that, I gave the whole floor a nice cleaning. I swept and vacuumed. If there are any cracks in the floor, you need to use some sort of a membrane. I have actually heard of people using tarpaper for this, but I chose to use RedGard. I got two gallons at Home Depot yesterday. The other option was to use Schluter®-DITRA, but I didn’t think I needed that. The only thing that is wrong with the floor is a hairline crack about five feet long. You can hardly notice it. I tried to stay on the safe side.
RedGard is very cool stuff. It has the consistency of yogurt and can be applied with a brush, roller or sprayer. It goes on pink and dries red. After it dries, it’s like a layer of plastic. People use is for a crack membrane and waterproofer. I am sure you can find other uses for it too.
I basically needed to use it for that one crack, but decided to put it around all the concrete expansion joints too. I believe that you aren’t supposed to tile over expansion joints. You tile up to them and keep the joint. From what I am reading, people tile right over everything, while using no preparation and the tile floor lasts for 100 years. It’s only us who analyze the thing to death that have issues. I am going to see what the tile installer’s experience tells me. After all, he is the expert with the picture book of hundreds of jobs.
I’ll take some pictures tomorrow of the installation.
Just a few minutes ago, I finished painting the basement. I feel like this is breaking news or something. Well, with the way I dread painting, I feel like it should be some sort of news.
I have been doing a little bit each day…chipping away at it. Luckily, the walls were in great shape. There were some pin-holes here and there, but no real spackling. I didn’t even have to sand, I just used a wet sponge. That is so sweet.
For this painting project, we bought two gallons of color and one gallon of white. When I began to paint, I noticed that I was going through the color pretty fast. I also noticed that I had no idea how much white I was going to use. We went back to the store and grabbed two more gallons of color and one more gallon of white. Now that the project is done, I have exactly two extra gallons of color and one and a half of white. Isn’t that funny? Not really. Now I have to decide which room gets to be the same color as the basement. I think my office may benefit.
It’s not too much of a change from what was here before. Just a slightly different color. I also changed the trim and doors to white. I love that contrast. It looks soooo HGTV.
The door guy is coming (hopefully) this week to replace the basement door. Also, the tile guy is coming out on Wednesday to give me a price on doing the floor. If everything goes smoothly, we should have a brand new basement in a few weeks. Then, I can call the pellet stove place and have that whole thing set up.
I wonder if I am the only guy on the planet thinking of a pellet stove when it’s 94 degrees outside.
