Caveat emptor
No free lunch – there is none. We recently did a home improvement. We updated our kitchen. I decided to do the backsplash. Home Depot sells Simple Mat. It is a double sided glue sheet to hold glass tile in place on your wall. I did not read the reviews. The tiles fall down. And yes, indeed they do – fall!! Damn!! Sheets of tile sfell in the night as we slept. Colleen tossed restlessly all night as she dreamt of broken tiles as she heard glass crash to the stone counter. I repaired everything – so far. Tile sheets loosen from the wall. It is a work in progress. There is no free lunch. Do not buy this product! I sure got fooled.
Otherwise, it sure looks good. If it stays…. Putting the tile up requires glass cutting skill. You get a tile cutter for that. The tile sheets come as one foot squares and fit together interlocking like a puzzle. Cutting around the outlet boxes was a royal (unavoidable) pain. It was fun and stunning looking when complete. I cannot say the job is complete. It was our first night so far where the tinkle of falling glass (tile) did not haunt my dreams. Solution? So far, I heated the tile with my wife’s hair dryer to make the glue soften and make the tile stick more stubbornly. Maybe????…it will work?
It’s easy
Installing 3/4 inch hardwood flooring? Simple… only a few tools required. Hey! It ain’t brain surgery! I do not know any carpenters who would work in a room full of furniture much less sleep in it while it was under construction. Ummm… you just push the furniture around as you go. I even got vent covers fit for ¾ inch wood. We are not inventing the wheel here. Someone already thought of everything. Stupid? Yes, there is a way to make stupid mistakes. I could not load the nail gun. Yes, yes , I finally figured it out. So far everything looks promising. The hardest part is cutting and installing around the door frames. The transition is critical. Mine is seamless. Easy? I have learned much about flooring. I consider it a satisfying accomplishment. If you are thinking of doing it? …don’t.
Click…
… lock flooring. I’ve been itching to try it. How hard can it be? Oh boy! Was I sore! Then I kinda sorta got the hang of it. Perfect? Far from it! Do I care? Colleen does! Hey! It beats the rug that was there. I have replaced three of four areas. I learned a lot along the way. I broke lotsa rules! Such as… take all the furniture out of the rooms. Or, how about running a chop saw in the bathroom? … and a table saw in the very room you are flooring? It’s chaos! Absolutely! Colleen is a good sport. We got a lot of stuff that’s gotta get tossed. A single shot? We’re gonna need a wider angle lens!
Ha ha! And you thought it was click, as in photography. Why! Why, why? Shhh… my cats have been peeing the carpet in the hall. Ewww! Then… I discovered it was not limited to the hall and included the rug in each and every room. Why!! … dunno. Sometimes life ain’t all fine photography.
photobackstory 