Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Tiling the office floor

I haven't talked much about the new office because our builder has been doing most the work. Now that it's time for the finishing touches, though, we are taking over. We have decided to tile much of the space, and so Saturday I began tiling floors for the first time. I've done backsplashes and showers, so I figured I could handle the floors. It ends up that they are easier. While I'm working, though, the rooms get bigger and bigger in my head! I think the hardest thing about the job is worrying about my kids, especially the baby. G stayed home with them Saturday. I needed his help Sunday, so my mom hung out here at the house with them. For some reason, I just can't use the tile cutter, and it helped my back and knees to have someone there to hand me the tiles as I worked. Otherwise, you are getting up and down constantly.

That would be the second hardest part: the back and knee pain. If I'm careful, it isn't too bad. I am in my thirty's now, and I notice many more aches and pains.

The experience make me appreciate, again, that I am able to stay home with my children. It is very stressful to me when I don't have access to them. Even though I know they are being well cared for, I miss them.

Anyway, here is a picture of the work I had done after day two. I have MUCH more to do. I won't promise that I'll finish. I may end up hiring someone to do the other two rooms, but I really do want to try to do it myself. It depends on how much my mom can help with the kids because it really is easier when my husband is there to help me.

Yes, that's all I have done after two days! My husband says I couldn't be any slower at spreading the thin set. I feel like it has to be perfect to make the tiles level, and I want to maintain a clean working environment. We've all seen tile jobs where there is dry thin set all over the tiles.

As I was working, he said, "this isn't like icing a cake." I exclaimed, "that's exactly how I was gonna describe it!" It is like making icing (mixing the thin set) and icing a cake. G say's " that's the problem!" Apparently I'm slow at decorating a cake too.

2 comments:

christensen crew said...

Wow, you are amazing! What can't you do? read through your last couple of posts and I must say that I am very impressed! You are Supermom with the Yoga, the tile work, and toting those three boys to museums! You manage to do it all, and I can testify to how hard it is with three boys! How do you do it?

Johnna said...

You really know how to make a girl feel good about herself! Thank you. There are days that I really need to hear that. I can assure you that I don't manage to do it all. You know that's impossible. I'm gonna keep your comment for those days when everything goes wrong! Maybe I should blog about those more to show you the other side.