Good Morning All. 75° and clear skies to start the day. The bathroom remodel continues. I have learned a few new Spanish phrases to describe unfortunate situations. Thankfully none resulted in any bodily harm, well major harm. He did whack his head pretty good on a joist while under the house. I was able to pick up the cursed tile yesterday without incident. He's expecting to start laying it this afternoon or tomorrow. Since this is an all cash transaction, no overtime premium is necessary. I'm paying $45/hour for him and his helper who speaks no English at all. Not a problem since I speak some Spanish. I also returned the towel rack that my wife changed her mind on, and looked for the one that she found on the HD website. None currently in stock, so I took a chance and bought a similar one from a different manufacturer. Guess what? She liked it better than the one she sent me after!
Surprised that she admitted it.
Due to the rain Wednesday night, I took a day off from mowing yesterday and went back to trimming some more long neglected trees. Many are getting difficult to mow/walk under due to the downward growth of lower limbs. Today, I am going to pick up a "pole chainsaw", so I no longer have to balance on a ladder with chainsaw in hand any more. It has a 9' pole so with my height and outstretched arms, I believe 14' will be safely and ergonomically possible.
I spent no time in the train shed yesterday, a rare day. Too much else going on and the pool was rather inviting. Contractor left for two hours in the middle of the day to retrieve a forgotten tool from home and purchase an unexpected plumbing part, so that presented an extra opportunity to enjoy.
Ken (D&J) - You posted that the SD70Ace was a MTH product which I have never owned. I have also read that their products are subpar to many others. Is that possibly part of your issue with it? I am just looking for your opinion.
Justin - Here is a little guidance regarding painting structures. First, an airbrush is not necessary, it is convenient but many times I use rattle cans of paint available at Walmart or Hobby Lobby, Michael's etc. The brick color on the court house that I posted is Testor's gloss brown, followed by an over-spray of dull coat. For brushes, I am still using many "hand me downs" from cheap paintbrush sets (under $2) that my kids used thirty years ago. They can still be gotten for that price at Walmart. For the fine detail work I trimmed up to 2/3rds of the bristles off one and shaped the remaining ones to a fine point. Has to be re-dipped into the paint often, but so what. Another thing that I do is periodically wipe the brush clean and rinse it off when painting windows and other details. I guesstimate that I do it every 5-6 windows. Keeps paint from drying and clumping up on the few bristles that are there. Take one of the structures that you set away, and spray it with white primer and use it to practice on. Invest in a pair of Optivisors. If you already have good lighting, they're available at Amazon for under $30. If that's currently out of reach, a pair of 2.0 reading glasses from the dollar store might work.
Garry - You (and
Curt) are the only ones that I have seen that can take a great scene and reconstruct it into something better. Looking forward to your progress.
Louis - Thanks for the update on the LL. Follow your doctor's advice and stay alive.
See everyone later. Have a great day.