Jay Gaulard

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Archives for June 2008

Laying More Tile on Concrete

Today, the tile installers finished laying the full pieces of tile. Now, they have to come back on Monday to make all the cuts for all the edge pieces. I am going down tonight to count all the edge pieces we’ll need, just to make sure we have enough tile.

On Tuesday, they will come back again to do the grout. Well, that’s what I hope will happen anyway. I thought this job would be done in two days, but as time goes on, I am realizing that it is more work than I thought. 450 square feet is a lot of area to cover.

Here are some photos of today’s tile installation.

Tile Installation with Redgard

Laying Tile with No Grout

Laying Tile in Basement


The Gutter Covers Are Installed

It feels good to get some things checked off my list.

Today, the gutter guys came over to clean the gutters and install the rest of the gutter covers. I felt a little bad having a gutter cleaning company install the covers, but they didn’t seem to mind. The owner told me that I could call him any time (or when) they fail. He would be happy to come back and clean the gutters.

From what I have already experienced, these gutter covers work very well. We have had a few heavy rains since I installed the sections I could reach and there were no issues with anything.

I also felt like a caged rat today watching these guys climb the ladders. I really enjoyed installing what I did and wanted to do the rest. I just don’t know how I would feel laying on my back on the lawn after falling off the 40 foot one.

Here, this is what I am talking about…

Gutter Guard Installation

Installing Gutter Covers

I would like to go back to the point in my life when I began worrying about falling off of ladders.


The Tile Installation Begins

Also today (it was quite a busy day), the tile guys came over to start the tile installation in the basement.

I have to say, this installer has impressed me on a number of occasions. By nature, I am skeptical. I always think people aren’t going to do a complete job or try to get around doing something. Everything I throw at this guy is answered very satisfactorily (in my opinion).

The job is bigger than I thought. They brought about half the tile because te other half was too heavy for his truck. When he pulled in the driveway, the bed was sagging quite a bit. When they started, everything was going very smoothly, but just slower than I expected. By the time 4PM rolled around, they were about 40% done laying the full pieces.

Tomorrow, they are coming back to lay the rest of the full pieces and some of the cut ones. He kept telling me there were a lot of cuts. I really don’t envy him, because this job is going to take a few days.

Here is what they have done so far…

Tile Installation

Installing Tile in Basement Hallway

Installing Tile in Basement Room

Tile Spacers


Using RedGard as a Crack Prevention Membrane

Yesterday was pretty fun. I met the tile installer at Tile America in West Hartford. I picked out the tile for the basement and the grout color. I like the grout to match the tile, so the floor doesn’t look like a big checker board. We also ordered up the thinset.

I bought 473.44 square feet of 13″x13″ Classic Wheat commercial grade tile. That’s a lot of tile. I also bought 60lbs of Avalanche colored grout. Lastly, I bought 100 lbs of Ultraflex polymer modified mortar.

The tile guys are coming tomorrow to start the installation. The nice thing is they are going to pick up all the materials before coming here in the morning. They have a truck…I don’t. If I did, trust me…I would be at Home Depot getting the 67 cent per square foot tile. Oh, the price I pay for delivery. I had actually contemplated installing all the tile myself. Then, I thought better of it. I think I would do a good job, but then again, who is going to do my computer work for me that day? I prefer to work at what I do and let others work at what they do. The door installation validated that.

Last night, I had a few small things to take care of in the basement. I had to trim up the bottoms of the door mouldings and apply a crack prevention membrane on parts of the concrete floor.

I used my Dremel and cutting disk to cut through two and a half mouldings. The first two went very well. About half way through the third one the Dremel started sounding like popcorn. I looked down and smoke was pouring out of the motor. The whole thing felt so familiar. Man, it stunk!!! Yeah, I guess I blew up my Dremel. I will have to check my receipt to see if it’s still under warranty. To finish the job, I used my reciprocating saw, which I should’ve used the whole time. It worked great.

After that, I gave the whole floor a nice cleaning. I swept and vacuumed. If there are any cracks in the floor, you need to use some sort of a membrane. I have actually heard of people using tarpaper for this, but I chose to use RedGard. I got two gallons at Home Depot yesterday. The other option was to use Schluter-DITRA, but I didn’t think I needed that. The only thing that is wrong with the floor is a hairline crack about five feet long. You can hardly notice it. I tried to stay on the safe side.

Painting Redgard on Cement Floor

Redgard Crack Prevention

Redgard on Floor

Apllying Redgard Over Cracks on Cement Floor

RedGard is very cool stuff. It has the consistency of yogurt and can be applied with a brush, roller or sprayer. It goes on pink and dries red. After it dries, it’s like a layer of plastic. People use is for a crack membrane and waterproofer. I am sure you can find other uses for it too.

I basically needed to use it for that one crack, but decided to put it around all the concrete expansion joints too. I believe that you aren’t supposed to tile over expansion joints. You tile up to them and keep the joint. From what I am reading, people tile right over everything, while using no preparation and the tile floor lasts for 100 years. It’s only us who analyze the thing to death that have issues. I am going to see what the tile installer’s experience tells me. After all, he is the expert with the picture book of hundreds of jobs.

I’ll take some pictures tomorrow of the installation.


New Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Computer Speakers

Boy, that title is pretty long.

Yesterday, Laura and I went shopping. We first went up to Home Depot in Enfield, CT. I got a bunch of stuff, most of which I can hardly remember right now. I am sure I’ll write about it when I start using it.

Then, we went to Circuit City and got some stuff. After that, we went to Costco for food shopping. Just to let you know, Costco in Enfield has a gas station for members. Gas around here is $4.39 per gallon. I paid $4.05 yesterday at the Costco gas station. It averages about 30 cents less per gallon than regular gas stations.

Back to Circuit City. While there, I picked up some Sony bookshelf speakers that I am going to use for the new downstairs. I also picked up some new computer speakers. The computer speakers I was using up until yesterday were Altec Lansing and getting pretty old. I gave them to Laura as a hand-me-down. I got a hand-me-up to the new Bose Companion 2 Series II Multimedia Computer Speakers.

Bose Computer Speakers

When I was looking at them in the store, I kept asking the guy (kid) if they had an amp in them. I was worried that they might be like those cheap Dell speakers you get with a new computer. You should probably have someone standing next to you hitting two pans together than using those Dell speakers. Man, if I had a nickle for every pair of them I threw away.

He never gave me an answer. He just kept saying that these Bose speakers were the best brand they had in the store. Since I never quite got an answer out of him, I just bought them and decided that I would return them if they were horrible.

I got home and hooked them up. Right after that, I hooked up the Altec Lansings to Laura’s computer, which made her very happy. Now she can pump the bass. Back to my speakers. I turned on Media Player and was quite impressed. All that stuff Bose says about themselves is pretty true. The speakers are very clear and I can now hear sounds I never heard out of my old speakers. It’s pretty amazing what they can do with half the size and weight of something.


Stihl BR 550 Backpack Blower

Today was another day of running around. I had to head up to Tile America in West Hartford to meet the tile installer. After that, I had to go over to Pat’s Power Equipment in Tolland for a new backpack blower.

I am sure I will write all about the tile in another post. Now, I would like to share an awesome new tool I got today…the backpack blower. When I bought the pressure washer, I wasn’t too enthused. I mean, yeah, I’ll use it when I need it. The backpack blower on the other hand, is something I will actually enjoy using when I need it.

Take a look…

Stihl BR 550 Backpack Blower

This is the Stihl BR 550 backpack blower. It’s the second most powerful one they have. I just used it on the driveway and the walkway and am very happy I got one so powerful. I have recently heard good things about those hand-held ones, but was skeptical. I used to use a commercial backpack blower and knew what it was capable of. I couldn’t imagine me trying to blow leaves out of the gardens, come Fall, and me not getting wicked mad at one of those hand-held machines.

Here are the specs:

DISPLACEMENT: 64.8 cc (3.95 cu. in.)
ENGINE POWER: 3.0 kW (4.0 bhp)
WEIGHT: 9.7 kg (21.4 Ibs.)
FUEL CAPACITY: 1400 cc (47.3 oz.)
AIR VOLUME:
With tube: 900 m3/h (530 cfm)
Without tube: 1490 m3/h (877 cfm)
AIR VELOCITY: 89 m/sec. (199 mph)

I think the things people look at are the “air volume” and the “air velocity.” Those are the two things that actually move stuff.

I like getting Stihl power equipment. When I do so, I never have to worry about if I just bought junk or not. I know it’s not.


Introducing the Tiger Lily

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I discovered what that mystery flower is…a Tiger Lily.

If you remember back a few posts, I couldn’t figure out what a certain flower was. It’s the one around the mailbox. The flowers are all over the place and now I know what they are.

Tiger Lilies

Beautiful Tiger Lily

Growing Tiger Lilies

Tiger Lilies in Garden

Aren’t they nice? They are really tall. I heard somewhere a long time ago that you can eat Tiger Lilies. Is that true?


The Flowers Have Taken Over – Pink Roses

When we first moved here, I really didn’t give the hillside on the property too much thought. I just said to myself that I was going to plant some pine trees there. At the time, there were some “unbloomed” bushes waiting for leaves. Some of them were those ever growing pricker bushes.

When I was a kid, we had this huge pricker bush in between our property and the neighbor’s. It was large and really needed to be taken care of because it was taking up so much room. I can’t really ever remember any flowers growing on that pricker bush. Oh, how times have changed.

A few weeks ago, I took some pictures of some half bloomed flowers in the front. I really didn’t know what I was in store for and to be honest, I am quite impressed.

Here, I’ll show you what I am talking about…

Pink Roses

This is just a random shot in one of the more clustered parts of th flowers. As you can see, there are some pink roses in there.

Pink Rose

Here is a better picture of those pink roses.

Wild Flowers

Beautiful Wild Flowers

Wild Flowers on Hill Side

Here are a few photos of the whole area of flowers. Pretty neat, huh?

Flower Boquet

On my way back, I decided to pick Laura a bouquet of flowers. I think this is the nicest one yet.


Somerset Square in Glastonbury, CT

Last night was pretty fun. My brother, Jeff, came over and we went out to dinner.

Lately, you pretty much have to drag me out of my chair to get me to do anything. I have my head stuck staring at this horrible computer screen 24 hours a day. It really is unattractive. Jeff told me that I have to get out more often. I explained to him that it’s not like it used to be.

When I was younger, I had no responsibilities. I was also bored a lot. Now, I am always busy and running a business takes a lot out of me. There is no one else to handle things if something needs to get done. I mean, I have help, but the majority of things rest right on my shoulders. Good thing they are so muscular.

It was good to get out. I decided that we would go up to Applebees in Glastonbury, CT. We drove up there and when we passed by the restaurant, I realized it wasn’t an Applebees, but a Chilis. Jeff told me that he always goes to Chilis and would rather not go there. I really didn’t want to go there either. I made a left from Main Street onto Glastonbury Boulevard. Glastonbury Boulevard is really cool. It is tree lined and there is a lot going on. I basically just wanted to show him the road and then turn around to find somewhere to eat. We drove down the road a little and noticed a Houlihan’s on the left. We pulled in and parked.

Since the restaurant was so close to Somerset Square, I thought it would be nice to show Jeff where people do some shopping. So, we got out of the car and walked.

Tree Line and Sidewalk in Glastonbury, CT

I gotta tell you, I really love sidewalks. I also have to tell you that it did feel a little foreign to me to be walking. I am so used to driving every little place I need to go that walking felt very out of the ordinary.

Right before we began our walk, I ran back to the car to grab the camera. I could see that Jeff was wondering what the heck I was doing. I mean, what in the world is there to take pictures of during a little 15 minute walk to no where? I explained to him that this is what blogging is all about. I told him that I searched for photos of the different things in different towns a lot before we moved here. I thought people would appreciate it if I posted some of my own. I think he got a kick out of the camera thing because he jumped on board.

Anyway, the photo above is of the tree lines and sidewalk I was talking about earlier.

Max Amore in Glastonbury, CT

Max Fish in Glastonbury, CT

Restaurant in Glastonbury, CT

Before we got to the enterance of Somerset Square, we passed the backside of a few restaurants. I didn’t think the photos would come out so blurry, but because it was getting dark, I guess that’s what happens. The photo are of Max Fish, Max Amore and some other one. Perhaps we will eat at one of these next time. I have heard good things.

Somerset Square in Glastonbury, CT

Entrance to Somerset Square

Cold Stone Creamery

We walked a bit more and made it to the enterance of Somerset Square. The lighting of this place was really cool and it felt like I was on vacation. We walked through a little bit and took a picture of Cold Stone Creamery. Jeff told me that I had to get a picture of that.

We did our thing and walked back to Houlihan’s, which I forgot to get a picture of. We went in a sat down to eat. When we did finally eat, I have to tell you, I was really very pleased. I mean, the food was really great. I could believe it. Even Jeff told me that his potato soup was the best he ever had.

I had my usual Guinness. He likes to drink sweeter drinks, and mentioned that he didn’t really like beer. He took a sip of the Guinness and I think he might have changed his mind.

What’s the moral of this long story? Try Guinness, you might like it.


Can You Identify This Tree?

I hadn’t taken much notice of it until a friend mentioned it to me a few days ago. He said, “You might want to do yourself a favor and take that Tulip tree down while it’s still small.” Upon later reflection, we noticed it wasn’t a Tulip tree, but most likely a fast growing softwood.

I don’t know about you, but I am not interested in having a fast growing softwood tree about 30 feet away from the house. I remember in my past life, we removed a 20 year old Tulip tree that was about 80 feet tall. I couldn’t believe it when the homeowner told me that.

Since I haven’t figured out what kind of tree it is, I thought I would put it out to you. I know it’s not a Tulip…the leaves are nothing like them. I was thinking it could be a Poplar or an Aspen, but the leaves don’t quite fit. Thereare over 40 different types of Poplars, so it could be one of them.

If you know what kind of tree this is, please let me know while it’s small enough to cut down and drag into the woods. I can always replant an Oak in its spot. They seem to be springing up all over the place.

Cottonwood Tree

Quaking Aspen Leaves

Poplar Tree Bark