The floor that tried to kill me…almost did! 1200ft condo unit , glue down over concrete, Bruce Brazilion Cherry 5/16th inch thickX 2/1/4 wide T & G plank. Border is Oshkosh something er other 4 1/2 wide. Also ran the quarter round shoe. Jeff
…….Sometimes on the toll road of life…..a handful of change is good…….
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Replies
here's some of the border.....Jeff
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.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
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Edited 9/21/2007 11:58 pm ET by JeffBuck
Edited 9/21/2007 11:59 pm ET by JeffBuck
Edited 9/21/2007 11:59 pm ET by JeffBuck
Edited 9/22/2007 12:00 am ET by JeffBuck
And......a closet(so that's where all the short pieces go!)
a change of direction.....an entry.....Jeff
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.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Edited 9/22/2007 12:00 am ET by JeffBuck
Edited 9/22/2007 12:01 am ET by JeffBuck
Edited 9/22/2007 12:01 am ET by JeffBuck
and a nice tight miter at the LR/DR corner from the main hall. Jeff
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.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Edited 9/22/2007 12:01 am ET by JeffBuck
I would say something but I can't talk right now. Seems my bottom jaw won't close.Half of good living is staying out of bad situations.
Jeff,
You owe me dinner at the Log cabin. During dinner I will occasionally bow down and worship you....kiss your hand like you're the Pope!!
Ditch
That's a deal! Any excuse to get there...even if I do gotta pick up the check! Thinking Bob's outta town last week.....still waiting for the semi final payment...and he's real good about paying....so just gotta wait and let the bills stack up! How about a weekend real soon? Getting hungry just thinking about it! Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
NICE!
mmmm.....shiny.Close enough for government work
Real nice job Jeff. Real nice. When you describe it as "The floor that tried to kill me" what do you mean? What was it that almost killed you on this project. Slab not flat? Rooms not square? Glad you made it out alive.
"Architecture is the
handwriting of Man." - Bernard
Maybeck.
Jerrald..and everyone else.......U kids are way too kind! Trust me...there are a few flaws hidden in there...but the customes is very happy given what we had to work with.
The concrete was just barely passable as a workable surface. Lotsa bad spots that had been previously patched...some patches worked...some had lifted under years of carpet. Being in a picky..picky...condo building.....having any real concrete work done was a no-go. Even grinding the high spots wasn't gonna fly......really anything that made any amount of dust was looked down upon.
Given that..and tha fact I didn't like the idea of a big patched floor...which the adhesive could lift...we pretty much agreed to make the best of it. Low spots were filled as best as possible with heavy doses of adhesive........high ridges were chipped away in small sections with the hammer drill set on chipping. Just a bit of floor leveler in real bad corners......big cracks filled. Tried to keep as solid a surface as possible.
Of course....none of the rooms were squares...but that was expected going in.....the condo unit was slapped up in the late 60's or early 70's...and even the exterior shows way more signs of wear and tear than it should...so that wasn't a surprise....just a day of layout with a helper made for perfectly square...uh..squares in outta square rooms. OK..make that a long day.
But where it almost killed me......when my back went out after the second week into what I'd bid as a 5 week project with work waiting for me impaitently to be started as soon as I was done here!
That's also about the time we found that the exterior patio leaked like a seive into the living room! That is still waiting for a concensus in the fix..and no one else wants to touch it...so looks like I'll be doing the fix myself...then laying in the foot or so of floor I've left out against the leaky wall........then I'll be able to get around to laying the ceramic tile he wants on the patio.
I was outta commission for a good 10 days.....then working slowly and gingerly after that. So...the floor almost go the best of me......but it turned out very nice....so I can say I won!
I hear alot of bad things about Bruce...but the boards were mostly usable.....not many scrapped at all......the finish was real nice......held up well to installation scrapes and bruises....and the urathane adhesive was very pricy....very messy...but worked very well. Stuff sticks to anything....nice thick consistency....and sets firm by the next day....yet still adds a little cushion over the hard concrete.
In areas where the borders were.....I set the borders on the chalk lines first..then gave them 2 days to cure......then could push against and work away from them with no need for screwing down a straight end that'd get removed later. Down side to borders everywhere was the fact it's all gotta fit nice and tight.....every edge is a seen edge.
The change direction pic I posted was the "tongue" end of the board I "re-grooved".....didn't have the van with me.....so all my clamps were no where to be found...so I rigged up a "groover"...with safety, speed and accuracy in mind.......used a few scraps of board and duct tape! Worked great....will attach.
Thanks, Jeff
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.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Edited 9/22/2007 12:03 am ET by JeffBuck
Edited 9/22/2007 12:03 am ET by JeffBuck
Jeff,
Groovy groover!! Looks like the blade took a little bite on the sacrificial.
Ditch
I like that table saw jig too! So this is a Bruce Natural reflections brazilian cherry? Jeff, you are to be commended for a fine job. Prefinished gluedowns with border work is one of the hardest types of hardwood flooring installations out there. Personally, I always hate them as any site finished floor can be sanded flush if you have any overwood problems.
Mind if I snag some pics for my prefinished photo gallery? You need recognition! Let me know. Where was the job located?
Ken Fisher
http://www.floridawoodfloors.net/prefinish.htm
Jeff:
Nice floor work...by the way...I saw your post in the latest FH magazine about your granddads utility knife...good story
Ken...snag away. Just tell them I said not bad for a trim guy!
In the real world I'm Buck Const./ Pgh. PA...the job was in Fox Chapel, PA
Thanks for the compliment, Jeff
You guys notice how I spaced the "groover" so the tongue on the jig fit the groove of the work piece? Pretty nifty, huh! If I was really thinking......I'da had the other side piece with the groove side in.....so the work piece tongue would slip in for a tighter fit! Maybe next time. Remember...even without the van.....have a roll of duct tape on hand! Jeff
.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Jeff:
Consider it done! Your work is far better than I've seen with other "flooring professionals."
Ken Fisher
Ditch...that mark happened about a week after I got the saw.......been a coupla years now......left the brand new saw out in the driveway of a customers house...went to lunch.......and almost had a heart attack when I pulled the van into the driveway!
It was the second week of a pretty big basement remodel.......and I didn't want any ill will between me and the customer that early on........ended up being a nice job..and he was a really nice guy...but ya know, he never fessed up to it!
I even had drilled the holes thru so I could attach a wood fence to it......I was even pretty sure he'd seen me using it that way too.....
I just leave it to remind me no one uses my stuff unless they have something I'll take with me to replace the damaged tool! I'm still bitter...but the saw's got over it years ago! Jeff.......Sometimes on the toll road of life.....a handful of change is good.......
Jeff, You've taken my breathe away! Thanks for the inspiration.
I noticed the saw fence grooves right off too. Funny how craftsmen see the same things ain't it?
Homey,
I thought I left a nice post hear earlier. Do you mean in person? No, too busy. Will fire you oof an email.
Beautiful floor!!!
Ditch
A Blast from the past.
Great looking work!
Chuck Slive, work, build, ...better with wood
Jeff,
I'm glad this old thread made it's way to the front.
Now if you wouldn't mind helping me with a little question about copper pipe sizing that's been nagging me & my buddy Steve for several years...
Jon Blakemore
RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
easy ...
just search for anything else!
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
That is one feakin nice looking floor Jeff, Kudos!
Same thing happened to my fence, I made a U shaped block out of ply and slip it over.
Gord