Today the contractor and his helper showed up at 7am. Like I knew he would, he remeasured the area of the floor that needed to be tiled and then figured in a couple extra square feet before he and the Beast headed off to pick up the tile and other stuff needed. I had no idea that the tile would have a cushioned subflooring. It had to be put down and then screwed to the floor. All the screws had to be tightened down below the level of the subflooring so that none of the screws would act like a stone or other imperfection that will cause a tile (or three) to crack. They must have checked and rechecked that three or four times.
I thought that was pretty cool because it also acts as an insulation and I'm all for anything that helps keep the floor warmer during the winter. We decided (after the contractor laid it out to show us) to stagger the tile rows like brickwork. It looks really neat and we found out that Tara did that, too, on her kitchen floor. I really have to take a run up and see all the work she had done on the house. I saw a picture the contractor had on his cell phone of her counter-top and splash back area. Really nice!
You will be glad to hear that my knee seems to be getting better. This morning I could barely walk on that leg and was using my cane to help keep pressure off it. This evening...no cane and just a little pain. My knee feels funny, however, and makes a crack sound every once in a while. Since I have to see my regular doctor on Wednesday, I figure I will let him take a look at it and tell him what happened. He may order an MRI or Xray or may just send me over to my orthopedic doctor to make sure everything is okay. When I fell, I was more worried about my hip area than anything else even though I heard (and felt) that knee *crack*.
Back to the floor.....the subflooring is about 90% completed and he says that it will be finished and the tile down by the end of the day tomorrow. He'll grout it on Wednesday and then we can start putting all the stuff back that is shoved into the living room area. That includes the refrigerator but at least we could plug it in so it's keeping everything cold. It just can't make any ice because the water line is disconnected. The stove was just moved from the spot it usually sits and put in the area where the fridge usually goes once the subflooring was installed there. But we can't use it because the cord won't reach the right plug. Oh well. At least we can use the microwave.
There's not much room to move around the living room area with the dining table, the four chairs, the etagere, the bookcase, the corner lamp we keep by the solar gauges and the fridge all pushed into the area. I feel like an ant in an ant hill crawling through little tunnels....LOL!
The Beast has been sick now for a couple days but he's still trying to do that *macho* thing men do....at least until tonight because he had a horrible headache. He also was suffering from some gerd from his stomach. Lunch wasn't cooperating with his digestion. I made him some beef noodle soup and he said that helped. He mostly drank the broth but that was fine with me as long as he keeps everything down.
It's still staying cold out. Going down into the 20's again tonight and probably won't get higher than 40 tomorrow. That will be a repeat of today although it was windy and felt much colder because the humidity is kind of high. We haven't had any real rain, just showers, but I guess that's enough to do it. By showers, I mean enough to wet the pavement but not enough for any big puddles to form.
Chewlee's bus got here early so she was able to eat a couple hot dogs and two popsicles before her mother got here. She's upset that I haven't gotten more pickles yet but neither the Beast or I have gotten to the store in the past two days. I'll make the trip tomorrow since the Beast isn't feeling well and he won't want to leave during the critical laying of the tile. The stuff the contractor bought for cementing it dries in just two hours he told us. The grout we picked out is like the brown streaks in the tile we selected. I think it's going to look great even next to the wood in the living room. The tile is light because the area it's going to be put down in is on the small side so we needed to brighten it up. Our cabinets are a medium oak color. That made the area seem darker with the wood flooring we had down there. What a waste of money that was. But the Beast has to find out those things on his own. He's always so sure he's right.
Time to get this posted since I will be going to bed earlier than normal. I need to get up early and get dressed with the guys coming so early. Love you all and I hope your week got off to a good start. Stay warm and dry. **Wink**
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