All over the place and basement work

A run around day is what today turned out to be.  First it was to run over to the storage place to park the utility trailer, but it had to be unloaded first.  Then it was over to a fast food stand for some breakfast.

Then it was to the hospital for the supplies for a test I had to take.    Next it was to Home Depot to decide what kind of tile we would be using in the office/bedroom in the basement.  Then it was to Sam's Club to purchase some gasoline for the pickup.

At the Home Depot, I decided to try something new on the floor.  They have vinyl tile, that look exactly like ceramic tile.  But..... you can stick them down with the adhesive on the back once the paper is peeled off.  Oh, and they cut with a razor knife, not a tile saw.  That makes them much easier to install.

Also you have to option to space them out with the little plastic spacers and grout in between them.  So, they really do look the same as ceramic tile.  Well with a little imagination anyway.  So what the heck, lets give these things a try.

But I headed up to the help desk to learn any secrets about them that I didn't have figured out.  And there was one little thing.  On a bare concrete floor, you need to seal the floor first.  They guy said it wasn't any big deal, just paint it with the primer stuff, or Kilz.....

I just happen to have about 4 gallons of Kilz in a 5 gallon pail......  So I went with the vinyl tile product.  Its not really any cheaper, because the tiles are $1.08 each, and you still have to buy the grout and go thru that step with the sponge for cleaning the tiles off after spreading the grout.

I spent the afternoon painting that floor, and then deciding that the saw cracks where they scored the concrete floor, needed to be filled.  Back to Lowe's this time for floor patch filler.  Lowe's is much closer, and I took the scooter.

After supper tonight it was mix up the patch stuff and trowel it out.  The patch sets up really quickly, so you only mix about a pint or so and then spread it.  Even then it was hardening before I was done troweling.

The biggest area that needed filled was in the bathroom where the floor was broken to put in the under floor plumbing and then re concreted.  Of course it isn't even close to level in there.  I'm not certain that we will use the vinyl tile in the bathroom but rather may go ahead and do the ceramic in there.  It is much smaller, and I think the thinset installation will be more forgiving on the unlevel floor.  Time will tell about that.

And I don't do tile very well, so I am out of my comfort zone on this one.  

Retired Rod