Working on the floor...
I spent another six hours or more working on the floor in the living room today. It's about 85% complete now, and I should be able to finish it with another three or four hours of work. I'm certain that a professional could do it a lot faster, and likely would have finished the job a long time ago. I'm no professional though, so it gets done as I have time (and motivation) to do it. There will be no TV or movie-watching until it's done now though, so there's a little more motivation! The hardest part today was having to work around the fire-place, staircase, and hallway closet. All of these required some custom cutting, making use not only of the compound mitre saw, but also of my band saw. At least I'm finally starting to get some use of all the tools I own! :)
As I expected, John didn't show up today. It seems that unless I catch him the day before and remind him, he won't show up. It's not that important anymore anyway; I seem to have a pretty good grasp on what I need to do, and how to do it. Again, I'm going a lot more slowly, but I think my slowness will be a benefit in the long run. When we were laying the first few rows and John was helping, we were cutting the last boards on just about every row. When I started doing it by myself, I didn't have to make any cuts! I just took the time to sort through the assorted lengths of wood until I found pieces that fit properly. It's a lot like doing an enormous jigsaw puzzle.
The customer with the roto-tiller and string-trimmer came today to pick up her machines; There's another $160+ in the bank! :) I also called the customer with the Sears garden tractor, since he'd been wanting an update. I had to tell him I hadn't ordered the belts yet, and it was obvious that he was rather upset about that. It's not as simple as just calling Sears for the belts though; It's more involved than that, and I also wanted to get a better look at the machine to see what else might be wrong with it. Like many people, his biggest worry right now is that his lawn (and weeds) are growing out of control, and he needs to machine back ASAP. Mind, unless he's got another property somewhere, I have no idea why he even has a riding-mower. His yard certainly isn't big enough to warrant such a machine. I'm pondering the idea of having "Loaners" that people can use while their machines are in the shop. It might not be a riding-mower, but at least he'd have something to keep his weeds in check. :/
That's pretty much it for today; Made bread, maked pot-roast in the slow-cooker, took care of the critters, and worked on the floor. It's been a long day, and I'm sore and tired. At least there's an obvious result for all my work though, and the floor is looking pretty good if I do say so myself! :)
As I expected, John didn't show up today. It seems that unless I catch him the day before and remind him, he won't show up. It's not that important anymore anyway; I seem to have a pretty good grasp on what I need to do, and how to do it. Again, I'm going a lot more slowly, but I think my slowness will be a benefit in the long run. When we were laying the first few rows and John was helping, we were cutting the last boards on just about every row. When I started doing it by myself, I didn't have to make any cuts! I just took the time to sort through the assorted lengths of wood until I found pieces that fit properly. It's a lot like doing an enormous jigsaw puzzle.
The customer with the roto-tiller and string-trimmer came today to pick up her machines; There's another $160+ in the bank! :) I also called the customer with the Sears garden tractor, since he'd been wanting an update. I had to tell him I hadn't ordered the belts yet, and it was obvious that he was rather upset about that. It's not as simple as just calling Sears for the belts though; It's more involved than that, and I also wanted to get a better look at the machine to see what else might be wrong with it. Like many people, his biggest worry right now is that his lawn (and weeds) are growing out of control, and he needs to machine back ASAP. Mind, unless he's got another property somewhere, I have no idea why he even has a riding-mower. His yard certainly isn't big enough to warrant such a machine. I'm pondering the idea of having "Loaners" that people can use while their machines are in the shop. It might not be a riding-mower, but at least he'd have something to keep his weeds in check. :/
That's pretty much it for today; Made bread, maked pot-roast in the slow-cooker, took care of the critters, and worked on the floor. It's been a long day, and I'm sore and tired. At least there's an obvious result for all my work though, and the floor is looking pretty good if I do say so myself! :)