Around Waynos house

[wayno]

OK, the toilet flange was kinda counter sunk into the floor around 3/8 of an inch, I test fit the wax ring and toilet and it was not touching the ring, so I shimmed the flange top surface up to floor level, then I test fit the ring and toilet again and it was resting on the wax ring with about a 1/4 inch for toilet base to settle to the floor, I also did what the person before me did where the wax ring plastic bottom funnel part is that settles into the flange, I caulked it so when the bottom of the ring settles into position it also make a seal there, if the wax ring makes the seal then that was unneeded, but it was done before, I did it this time also.

That does look like a nice job. One comment I will make is in general the toilet flange is supposed to sit on top of the finished floor. May want to check the measurement from the bottom of the commode to the area where the wax ring sits and compare that with the thickness of whatever type of ring you have and the flange in the floor. They sell double thick rings but in my opinion it’s better to use a spacer to get the flange surface to the correct height. Don’t need waste water leaking all over (or under) your new floor, especially since it’s wood.

I have my bathroom back again, all that is left is the towel rack which I ordered and it should be here this coming week, I also need to make a base board trim piece, I would kinda like to find a 4" tall wood grain plastic piece that I can silicone into position for a water tight seal so water cannot get into the edges, but I suppose I can make what I need out of oak, but I need it to be as Wayno proof as I can get it, I have to keep the water on the surface, I have had no issues at all in front of the bathroom sink where I stand and dry off and soak the floor, then I put the towel on the floor to soak up the water, that area is soaked everyday and I have never had an issue even when I forgot to pick up the wet towel, that floor is sealed(3 coats) and has been for over 10 years.

I need to do the main bathroom now as it appears that the fitting for that toilet has been seeping water for years and I didn't know it and the particle board has turned to mush, I never use this bathroom except for guests and it needs to be torn apart and repaired, I will tear into it in the next few days, get the toilet out and then turn off the water and remove that valve and find a replacement if it needs replaced, it is seeping between the pipe and the valve(in the threads).

[DRIVEN]

I think I'd generally agree. Over here they just spray everything the same, ceiling and all. Looks satin to my untrained eye.

[wayno]

I suppose I could use white vinyl trim molding around the base, the walls are white.

[wayno]

Well it appears the toilet I bought had this very small crack on the base right near the second water trap this kind of toilet had, it was a very slow leak but the crack appeared to go all the way thru and it was leaking under the toilet also, I could hardly get a photo of the crack, but water seeped thru it as you can see in the photos, it was very hard to get photos of the crack as the toilet is white and the camera was getting confused until I put the tape measure near it.









I took it back and got another one, they didn't have any more of the type I bought, so I got another type with only one water trap, hopefully this one will not have any issues, it appears to be good right now, but I didn't notice the leak till I installed the vinyl molding around the base of the wall/floor.

I put vinyl around the base of the floor, not impressed with it, likely will get some Oak trim, seal it, and install it.

[wayno]

I forgot, I am also getting closer to expanding the garden to double its existing size, it will likely take slightly over 20 yards of dirt to fill the area, I will likely order the 20 yards by Friday.

[wayno]

The Tommylift was picked up today, so them things are out of my driveway/life now, I have my whole driveway again.

I started the automatic watering today, it has been way too wet the last month or so, summer appears to be here.

The strawberries are winding down and the blueberries and raspberries are here(starting to ripen), about when they are all eaten the tomatoes should be ready, I enjoy grazing in my garden, need to plant more strawberries, although next year the new rows should produce way more, I don't know what I was expecting when I rototilled down the center of that wide row of strawberries to make 2 regular rows, I guess I was hoping for more strawberries than I got, I want to be so full that I forget to make dinner a few times at least, it used to be that way.

[Taterhead]

Just FYI, that vinyl base you put up is typically used in commercial applications, i.e. office buildings and such.
If you used the specified glue for it it will likely tear the sheet rock paper when you take it off if it is already cured.

[wayno]

It is ready for the 3 way soil which 13 yards is supposed to be delivered tomorrow, I actually rototilled it after I took the first photo.




I made myself a small blade to level the dirt out in the pile I made that has been decomposing for a few years now, it was mostly dirt which kinda surprised me, I expected less than half to be dirt, so it does work, it would likely work faster if I turned the debris over a few times a year.


That vinyl base had self-stick adhesive already on it, and it doesn't really stick all that well, if it looks like it is going to lift the paper on the wall I will cut just above the vinyl and make sure I have trim that is taller than the vinyl, I already had vinyl in both bathrooms and the kitchen, this is the same stuff except clean.
I tore into the main bathroom yesterday, there is a lot of work to be done.

[wayno]

I received the 13 yards of 3 way soil this morning, I forgot to take a photo of the whole pile, you can see where the dirt was on the concrete.



It took a while to get to this point.



I was getting tired and starting to hurt all over, so I came in and looked at the weather forecast, then I went back out and finished getting it in the back yard, as they were calling for a chance of rain.



I piled it high near where the railroad ties will be, I am tired and my joints hurt, I will put the railroad ties in position tomorrow if it is not raining, I believe I started this morning at 10am and I finished up at 7pm, I had to wheel barrow all of it as the trailer would not dump the dirt out properly, it just doesn't tilt enough before it hits the ground, it needs to be higher which is not going to happen.

This was a lot of work, I am happy I don't have to start moving dirt in the morning, I wanted 20 yards but the truck would only hold 13 yards, and 13 yards was just right, I guess I don't understand how to measure when ordering, I thought it would take 22 yards.

[DRIVEN]

Looks good

[Taterhead]

That’s a long day but the hard part’s over. Looking good Wayno

[wayno]

This part is done.



Would corn grow fast enough to plant now?

[Taterhead]

Doubtful, but the ground looks good

[wayno]

So I have been working on the main bathroom lately, was a lot more work but getting closer.


It's not perfect but good enough for me, I will be putting in a new toilet also, the sink will also be like my kitchen counter tops, hardwood flooring, more on that later.

[wayno]

Well the main bathroom is close to being done, I think I have the sink done and leak free, but only time will tell, I put butter containers under all the places that it can drip, hopefully they will stay dry.



I still need to clean the bath tub, it went unused for several years and is really dirty.

[wayno]

So today I did the master bedroom bathroom sink counter, it had a crusty Formica top that you will see in one of the photos.
First I recessed 3/4" plywood into the top of the 3 counter sections, the plywood is level with the top of counters not sitting on top, I have to do this so the flooring has something to attach to, I install it the same way I installed the oak flooring on the floors(flooring stapler).


Next I put the old Formica top over what I did to trace the sink hole so it would be in exactly the same spot.


Then I cut the sink hole in the center section.




Then I put the oak flooring on top of the counter tops cutting each piece to match the sink hole, I also filled the holes along the face piece with oak color putty, then I went to the hardware store and bought everything I need to install a new sink like I did in the main bathroom.


I just now put the first coat of wood sealer on, I will get another coat on in 3 hours or so.


Tomorrow I have a job I have to do if it is dry, then I will install the sink and plumb everything, I expect no surprises as it appears to be exactly the same sink I had in the other bathroom, so I bought everything I needed when I did that one.
I also installed new valves, the old ones were hard to turn and didn't completely shut off the water when I closed them, it dripped pretty bad on one side, the other side quit dripping when I used big pliers to close the valve.

[wayno]

OK, I have been thinking about this since yesterday, I can likely make some kind of oak trim pieces to do the 3 sides around the sink counter, but I am starting to think it might be better with 4" square white tiles all the way around, same color as the sink, what do you guys think?

[wayno]

This is what I came up with, I went to Lowes, Home Depot and I could find only one 5" tall tile and it was a weird color, I could get 5" tall using a 3" and 2" tiles stacked one on top of the other but the measurements didn't work out without cutting tiles, so I spent over 4 hours making this and the top caps had to be one piece on each of the 3 sides and the back piece had to be perfect, I only had one more piece that long if I screwed up the first try.








I will likely seal it tomorrow afternoon as I need to have time for it to dry and air out the bedroom so I can sleep although I might sleep better breathing in them fumes.


When I started this I thought no big deal, but after I made the first piece I realized not one of the walls was flat across, not one!!!!, so I thought about it and remembered I had a stack of warped/bowed boards that were likely going to be burned, well they worked great on the sides, the wall under the mirror was a different story, I had to use smaller/shorter boards to follow the wall and the one piece cap was so thin it bent/bowed with the boards below it so everything worked out, if you guys remember I mentioned doing the entryway also, well I don't have enough wood to do that anymore, I will just live with the tile that is there now.

[Taterhead]

Personally I like the wood. My wife would say tile.

[wayno]

I finished that up last night, it is all sealed, I could not find white tile in 5" squares let alone 5" square with the top edge rounded, the issue is that giant mirror, I was not going to try and remove the mirror and raise it an inch so I could use 6" square tiles, it would likely get broken, and 4" was not high enough to cover the damage done removing the Formica splash guard that was on there 15/20 years ago when I removed the counter when I installed the hardwood floors in every room back then except the bathrooms, if I had done them then there would have been way fewer repairs.
They are done now, I suppose I should have just bought all new vanities but they would just get ruined by me, this way if the house ever goes up for sale new vanities can be bought, and I can use the hardwood floor top in the meantime, my kitchen tops still look fine.




Now I need some sort of space saver shelving for in back/above the tank of the toilets and for my master bathroom counter top, I use the floor and counter tops right now, I have found nothing I like so far and when I drove by Walmart there was a policeman standing at the entrance forcing the use of face masks, I just kept on driving, I believe he seen me shaking my head when I seen him.
I have a handkerchief I use but was not interested in arguing with anyone on if that was an accepted form of mask.