So, the ongoing reno project. Current mission: complete the powder room.
Today was baseboard day. I don’t know what it is about me, but I seem to invite disaster, and not always directly related to the actual task at hand. Take today’s experience with the mitre saw for example:
I knew that the blade was dull, but I thought, “it’s only 8 cuts… I should be able to make it.” First cut in, and things were burny and smoky. No good. Went to change the blade, but it needed a special wrench, or so I thought. See, the gap to get at the bolt was narrow. Called my father, from whom I inherited the mitre saw originally, and he confirmed that yes, he still had a special wrench that had never made it to my house. Even offered to drive it over (40 minute round trip) and miss the Sens’ puck drop.
Started cranking off the nut (hee hee) that holds the blade on. Still, the gap was too narrow. I knew that there must be some sort of removable piece that would make my life easier, so I started dismantling the guard. Off comes the guard, and “pwa-taayayayang” away flies some sort of spring. As it turns out, the guard did not need to be removed, but as I was farting around with it, I noticed a small metal shield that comes unscrewed and can flip out of the way. Never did fix the guard (long story short, I have a guard, but it’s not spring-loaded), and it turns out that with the metal shield out of the way I probably didn’t need the special wrench.
Changed the blade, and it was pretty much smooth sailing in terms of cutting. Problem? Walls are not straight. I knew that already, but y’know?
The plan was to use No More Nails construction adhesive (yes, it would make removing in the future a wall-destroying prospect, but that’s OK… better to re-frame that damn room anyhow). Trouble is, you need two relatively flat surfaces against one another for it to work. With all the waves and curves in our walls, the plan was foiled before it even began. However, we stubbornly stuck all the baseboards on with the glue anyhow… and then… nailed it in with finishing nails the way we should have to begin with.
The walls, being NOT STRAIGHT, also required us to put more caulk than I’d really prefer into the top. We’ll see how it looks tomorrow after a paintin’.
Oo oo!
