From Jet Lag to Brain Lag

After a good nap yesterday we woke up ready to get some work done.  Since getting home we haven't really gotten back in gear.  So I went upstairs and spread out the glue to put down 12' x 12" Armstrong vinyl composition tiles... you know... those never-wear-out kind you see in some department stores.

Before our holiday I had watched several different "Do-it-Yourself" YouTube videos on how to lay vinyl floor tile and was surprised to learn that you can put the adhesive down one day and then install the tiles the next day. 

So with that in mind, at 4:00 pm yesterday I spread the adhesive and later went about doing other chores thinking tomorrow I will set the tiles in place.

After a wonderful smoothie and a shower I was ready for bed.  Then I remembered the adhesive I had spread on the floor, and went up to check on it.  No longer wet, it seemed just right for setting the tile.  When I touched it lightly it was very tacky, but nothing stuck to my finger.

It got me wondering... what if this adhesive goes hard overnight... I would have a real problem.  So I went back to Google to look for answers and learned that not all glue is equal... and with some you can set tiles within 30 minutes... others are longer... with some next day is fine.  

Maybe sniffing that glue had given me "brain lag." Better check the label on the pail of adhesive. It said, in normal conditions tiles should be placed between 6-12 hours after for optimum results.  It was about 6 hours... and since it was a pretty warm day with lower humidity things were setting up a little faster.

Who wanted to go to bed anyway?  (Shirley did.)  It was now 10 pm.

By 12:45 pm. we had set the last tile and finished the storage room.  Shirley worked with me thru the night, sanding the edges of each tile and handing them to me. I appreciated not only the help but also the company.

It definitely isn't the Doge's Palace.  Good grief, it's a storage room.  It came out pretty nice, considering  I didn't have all the tools I would have liked.

I didn't have a tile cutter or 100 pound tile roller... but with a box knife,  square and a tape measure we got the job done.

Do you think we learn from our mistakes?  Sometimes, but not often enough.

If that were true I would be quite smart.

"We do not learn from our experiences: we learn by reflecting on our experiences." 

-John Dewey

So, I have a lot of reflecting to do tonight!  

An old friend in the Real Estate business used to say to me...

"Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

Thank you Shirley, for your willingness to help last night.