Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Learning the hard way can be fun!!!

So I decided I was tired of the white tile at the house and needed to replace it with something a little more modern and also more convenient, that doesn’t stain within seconds from cleaning it out. And, yes, you guessed right. I decided I would do it myself. That's where the fun starts...
First, the old tile has to come out. I took an old hammer and a 4-inch wide chisel I had in the garage and, after setting myself in comfortable shorts, short-sleeve shirt and sandals, I started chiseling away. It didn’t take me too long to realize I needed safety goggles (nothing got into my eyes luckily)
Second, I learned that YOU NEVER RUN YOUR FINGERS ALONG SHARP EDGES OF TILE. Some of those tile pieces do get really sharp. I realized this after seeing some blood drops on the floor and seeing my left index finger dripping. Not a bad cut, but enough to make it bleed. Deduction: it's better to wear gloves!
Third, a little after getting the gloves on, I noticed another dripping of blood. I looked and saw another cut, this time on the inner side of my left knee, about a quarter of an inch wide and deep enough to cut through the skin and cause more bleeding. Conclusion: better to wear pants!
This time I went ahead of the incidents and put on some shoes as well. I was covered. Ah, and good thing that the chisel has a hand-guard!!!
The next thing I learned was that a hammer-drill paired up with a tile chisel bit works wonders!!! Especially when having to take out the mortar underneath the tiles. That thing is hard and extremely difficult and extremely slow to take out.
The next two things are piece of cake: laying down the new tile (including the cutting, provided a wet tile saw is available of course) and then the application of the grout and its corresponding cleaning.
I ended up with calluses and busted blisters in my hands, cuts and scratches in hands and arms, and of course a cut on my left knee. I also got me a brand new hammer drill, wet tile saw, tile chisel bit, and a new floor that doesn’t stain as quickly as white ones. Ah, and a few hundred-dollar credit card debt. But it’s definitely worth it after all I learned and the satisfaction of having done this work all by myself. Now I only need to do the entry way, kitchen and two bathrooms!!!
Thank The Lord for power tools!!!

2 comments:

Cindy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cindy said...

If you aren't careful......your wife will have a long list for you to perfect your handyman skills on!!