Day 11:
As predicted, I needed to get up early to return the various rentals. So, I got up at 7:00 (after setting the alarm for 6:30) and made it to United Rentals out Avon Extd. with 10 minutes to spare. I dropped off the floor machine and told them what a mess I’d left the brush in. They thanked me for my honesty and said “Don’t worry about it.” I was thrilled. That was the best response I’d thought possible. I came back to return the wet/dry vac to Sunbelt (up 29N) also with no difficulty. Then I went back and started to do other clean up/prep. I called Joe at 9:00 who came by immediately. We went and picked up some tools at his house and went to Lowes to get the shoe molding, carpet borders and a “reducer” for the parquet. In talking to the people there, we decided it would be best to go to Eways Fine Floors across the way. But we needed to pick up a new floor outlet because we were going to break one of them when we tried to lower it. We went to Eways, and they had the right size carpet border, but in the wrong color. Their shoe molding was too expensive, but we got the reducer there. ($50! for 2 6-foot strips) So, we went back to Lowes and got 8 10-foot strips of shoe molding ($47) and then headed back home. That’s right, we forgot the carpet edging.
We first hack at the outlets. They were sticking up carpet height, so they are about 1/2 of an inch out of the floor. So, Joe uses his “sawsall” (sp?) to cut it down. It works out just fine, though it’s not a very clean cut. I didn’t think to suggest anything different until we were long done, and I look in the packet containing the outlet which suggests using a handsaw to essentially slice across the whole top of the container instead of working our way around the border. Oh well. The only people who will notice will be whomever pulls them up for some reason in the future.
Then it’s moulding time. Joe brought his miter saw and started whipping out the various cuts of moulding pieces. I was impressed. He measured and cut them as quickly as I could put polyurethane on them. When all was said and done, we were about 4 feet short. So I went back to Lowes (third time today!) and got one more stick of shoe and a carpet border. Getting the border back, we found that it was even smaller than we’d predicted. Certainly not a match for what is already there in other places. At this point, I think it’ll do though. We finish cutting and coating, and need to wait until the poly’s dry. So, tomorrow, we nail the shoe on (Joe’s got a nail gun), glue the carpet edging down and attach the carpet, and we’re done done? The baseboards could use painting, but not that much more than the walls themselves, and I’m sure I’m not up for that job right now. Maybe in the spring.
Joe’s coming over at 9:00 tomorrow morning to work on that. So, bk, I won’t be able to geek in the morning, but the afternoon’s still a possibility. If nothing else, I’m sure we can fit in a Blue Ridge Cafe trip. I was also hopeful to fit in a Blue Ridge Mountain hike too, and I’ve got other C’ville stuff to do. Bills have come that I’ve ignored while working on the floor, and I’m sure there’s something else that’s just on the forefront of my mind at the moment.