Chuck Banshee wrote:
It's a good thing I'm not getting paid by the hour - but at least I'm
learning how to make mistakes in my first alt.home.repair sandstone tile
& flagstone walkways:
First lesson learned was to wear better gloves!
The tips of the middle & pointer fingers of both hands are worn through
the skin already!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493829.jpg
I like the ugly blue ones-
http://www.amazon.com/Rubber-Coated-.../dp/B000PHIHQM
[I haven't used *those*- It seems like I pay $5-6 each at the hardware
store - I might get a dozen of those for $15] That style seems to
wear pretty well and are just the right balance of easy to put on and
still tight enough to let you feel what you're doing.
Another lesson learned was that 5-gallon buckets are just too small to
mix mortar well! I will go to Home Depot tomorrow to buy a concrete pan!
Get 2 they are worth their weight.
Keep your eyes open at garage sale for hoes with holes in them. You'll
think you died and gone to heaven using a real mixing hoe.
I've considered altering a garden hoe-- but the steel is usually
pretty tough stuff, and the hoe itself isn't as sturdy as the real
thing.
What I did learn was that buckets are still needed. Lots and lots of
buckets!
http://www1.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493849.jpg
Always. I'm always amazed when I see empty buckets lying around a
jobsite. When my stack gets shorter than me I get nervous.
Another lesson learned is that I made the mortar far too wet! And, I put
That is probably *the* most common mistake-- mortar or concrete-- keep
it dry.
-snip-
In addition, forms are MANDATORY! I tried doing it without a form, but,
For us mere mortals, yes--- but you've got to watch a pro one day.
slap-slice-butter-place. . . over and over. every so often god
whispers in his ear and he'll go back and trim things up-- but overall
it is an un-interrupted dance.
-snip-
I'll leave it with those of my lessons, for now. I'm sure tomorrow will
bring more!
the morning will bring you an anatomy lesson. How many new muscles
did you discover you had? All that bending can kill you.
The most painful of all the lessons was that these leather gloves, while
fantastic for outside work, stink for working with wet concrete!
http://www4.picturepush.com/photo/a/...mg/7493902.jpg
-snip-
You want to get some Cornhusker's Lotion for those hands. And some
sturdy rubber gloves. The alkali in the mortar will eat your hands.
Jim