Nicely, yesterday didn’t fairly go as deliberate. My flooring within the bed room suite nonetheless aren’t utterly completed, however they’re shut! I solely have yet one more step to do, after which they’ll be completed. However let me begin at first and share the great, the dangerous, and the humiliating from yesterday.
Yesterday morning, I confirmed you what our purple oak hardwood flooring regarded like after I spent three days sanding off the darkish end utilizing the drum sander and the sting sander, doing extra element sanding and scraping to take away the end across the door jambs and corners, after which including a coat of Bona NaturalSeal to the flooring.
My plan for yesterday was to do the primary coat of Bona TrafficHD clear coat early within the morning, then do a second coat within the early afternoon (since every coat dries in about two hours). Then I’d take a break and have an early dinner with a pal, and on my method dwelling, I’d cease at Residence Depot to hire a buffer in order that I may buff the ground earlier than including the third and last coat of TrafficHD clear coat. I felt fairly assured that I’d have the ground completed by the point I went to mattress.
The primary coat went as deliberate. The second coat went as deliberate. Renting the buffer went as deliberate.
I obtained dwelling with the buffer round 7:45pm, and I estimated it might take me about an hour to buff the ground, about Half-hour to do a last vacuuming of the ground, and about 40 minutes to use the ultimate coat. I’d be accomplished round 10:00 or 10:30 on the newest. That looks as if an inexpensive plan, proper? Incorrect. 😂
I obtained the buffer inside, obtained it plugged in, and obtained the attachments on and able to go, and that’s when my plan went sideways. Have y’all ever used one these machines? Oh my gosh. How on the earth is it even potential?! I can think about that’s it’s most likely simpler to make use of on a moist software, however how is it even potential to make use of this on a dry software like I wanted to do?
I had watched a YouTube video of somebody utilizing this precise machine (however he was utilizing it on a moist software with water and suds), and so they warned that in the event you’ve by no means used a gradual pace buffer earlier than, you’ll must take a while to get used to it. They warned that it might take a couple of tries earlier than you work it out, and it’s greatest to start out in the midst of a big room. In order that’s what I did. I began proper in the midst of the bed room, pressed the button on the aspect, braced myself as a lot as I may to push again in opposition to the pressure that I used to be anticipating from the spinning pad, after which squeezed the handles to make the buffer begin turning.
Inside what appeared like a cut up second, the buffer had flown from the middle of the room, throughout the ground, and into the aspect wall, dragging me behind it holding on for pricey life and bashing a gap within the drywall.
The loopy factor is that when a giant machine flies uncontrolled like that, your pure intuition and reflex is to carry on even tighter to attempt to management it. However holding on tighter means squeezing the handles even tougher, and that simply makes the buffer go quicker! 😂 It appears utterly counterintuitive to launch the handles and let go utterly when it begins to get away from you, particularly when your reflexes let you know to seize on tighter.
So I attempted once more. And once more. And once more. I attempted it most likely ten instances, and it wasn’t getting any higher. Regardless of how tightly I held on, or how a lot I braced myself, there was no method I may get the buffer to remain in a single place. It was bodily inconceivable for me to maintain the buffer from flying throughout the ground every time I began it.
I lastly gave up after in regards to the tenth attempt when it left this mild curved mark on the ground.
I don’t know in the event you can see it, however I can, and it frustrates the heck out of me. The excellent news is that if that mark reveals after the ultimate clear coat, at the least it’ll be beneath the realm rug.
In whole, it took me about ten minutes to appreciate this simply wasn’t going to occur. There was no method this buffer machine and I had been going to get alongside. I’m a fairly cussed and decided girl, however I used to be battling a machine that was much more cussed and decided that I used to be, and even with all the power I may muster, I used to be no match for it. So about ten minutes after unloading it from the van and wheeling it into the bed room, I used to be rolling up the twine, wheeling it again to the van, and heading again to Residence Depot.
I couldn’t assist however snigger when the person who had simply rented out the buffer to me regarded up and noticed me wheeling that machine again into the rental division. He didn’t even react, nearly like he had been anticipating me. 😀 I simply laughed and mentioned, “I don’t even come near being sturdy sufficient to make use of this machine.” He grinned at me and mentioned, “I believed it is perhaps an issue for you.” Ugh. Why didn’t he warn me? I imply, I do know why he didn’t. He couldn’t. It’s not precisely acceptable nowadays for a person to say to a lady, “I don’t suppose you’ll have the ability to use this.” However I positive want he may have mentioned that to me earlier than I wasted time renting it, dragging it dwelling, bashing holes within the wall, leaving marks on the ground, and dragging that machine again to Residence Depot.
I had it for such a short while that he was sort sufficient to only void the rental contract and refund the rental charge to me. So the entire humiliating expertise solely value me the $10 I wasted on the buffer pad and the hour of time I wasted on two journeys to Residence Depot.
I laughed till I had tears streaming down my face when he handed me the voided contract and I noticed this…
Sure, that’s proper. It was a half day rental. Precise time? 19 minutes. 🤣🤣 Oh my gosh, I’m laughing so arduous once more proper now that I can barely see via my tears. 🤣 I’m fairly positive I had it longer than that as a result of the drive from our home to Residence Depot is about 12-Quarter-hour. So simply driving dwelling with the buffer after which driving again would have taken 25-Half-hour. Perhaps he tweaked it a little bit as a result of it must be beneath a sure time restrict in an effort to void it. I’m undecided. If that’s the case, I’m very grateful that he had pity on me. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless so humorous, an a little bit embarrassing, to see that on the rental contract.
However I nonetheless needed to sand the ground earlier than the ultimate coat as a result of the ground was too tough to place the ultimate coat on with out sanding. So I ended up doing all the factor with my little 5-inch sander and 220-grit sanding discs.
It truly didn’t take that lengthy. I believe I obtained the entire flooring in all three areas sanded in about an hour and Quarter-hour. That’s not too dangerous. However I didn’t have time to do the ultimate coat of clear coat lasts night time. I’ll have to complete up at this time. So yesterday didn’t fairly finish how I had deliberate, however at the least I realized one thing (that lesson being that I CANNOT use a flooring buffer), and I obtained a superb snigger out of the deal.
In different information, I took an opportunity and ordered the fourth closet rod that I wanted from a unique Amazon retailer. It matched completely, and I managed to chop it to the fitting size this time, so at the least that’s accomplished.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
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