It was pouring rain all day today in the nation's capital. Having been defeated once by inclement weather, I was determined to press on today despite the rain. So, a trip to Canadian Tire was in order to get clamps so that I could cut tiles in the newly cleaned-out garage.
New clamps
I also picked up a new rubber mallet while I was there for tapping in the tiles, which are tongue-and-groove.
I started out trying to cut the tiles with a circular saw, but that did not work out very well. I could keep a straight line for 10 or 12 inches, but then the saw started bind as it tried to veer right. Very frustrating. After ruining 2 floor tiles, I was just about to head out to Home Depot for a table saw, when I thought to try the jigsaw. It worked. In fact, it worked really well.
Cutting floor tiles
Once we were finally able to cut tiles to size, the floor went down very quickly - we achieved our revised goal of covering half the basement floor in only a couple of hours. Good thing too, as Lesley is off to Winnipeg this afternoon for a conference, so I'll be flying solo for a couple of days. Lesley is a measuring genius, and saves me from doing things the hard way when cutting tiles to go around objects. Her presence will be sorely missed, but I will truck along without her.
Pepsi break on the new floor
Now that we've covered half the floor with tiles, it's time to move the couch and tv and other stuff over to the covered side of the basement. Next step will be taking down stud wall #3 and supporting the stairs before continuing on with laying the subfloor.
One side down...
One side to go
For those who may be wondering how the cat is getting along with the renovation, I think it's safe to say that it's providing him with some entertainment. He likes to check out the progress, but generally stays out of the way while we're working, so un-banning him from the basement has thus far worked out just fine.
Checking on the progress
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3 comments:
Actually the old man was snoring. Now he's watching hockey. There'll be more snoring soon. Good on ya for pressing on despite the rain. If you use a shiny new clamp to clamp a guide (the good edge of a tile cut-off will work)to the tile you're cutting, it'll help you get a nice straight cut. Unless you have no jiggle in your free-hand sawing. In which case, you da man.
Mom
xox
Nice for me that the rain stayed away from Sudbury ... while you were working, I was walking, walking, walking ... very impressed by your determination ... good luck!
When are you going Sue? Can we come???
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