We bought the necessary supplies for the job on Tuesday so that we could get an early start on Wednesday. I jumped into the shower first, and as I was drying off, Rick was getting ready to go in. I reached for my glasses on the dresser, and as I brought my hand back, I knocked a small cup with a candle in it onto the floor. While I love my terrazzo floors, the ARE cement, and cement and fragile glass do not go well together. The cup seemed to explode as it hit the floor, sending shards of glass in all directions. Since I was wearing no shoes and only a towel and since Rick was similarly undressed, we had quite a predicament. I carefully tiptoed to the closet for a pair of clogs; thankfully, I did not cut my feet in doing so. We both must have been a sight wearing shoes and little else as we swept and then vacuumed up the remains of the glass cup. What I bummer! The cup was really pretty, so I hated to waste the glassware as well as the candle.
Thursday was spent washing down most of the rain gutters and the fascia around the house. Although this house is only 1400 square feet, the footprint leaves a lot of gutters and fascia to cover! We worked until noon, getting most of the washing done, and some of the scraping done. We wanted to start on the south side of the house since the intense sun made that fascia peel more than the fascia on the rest of the house. The pictures show the results after that first day.
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| The south fascia on the Florida Room. |
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| The fascia on the south side of the house really got a beating from the sun. |
Today we got up early again to beat the heat. I still had a small section on the west (front) of the house to wash, and while I did that, Rick started patching the fascia on the south side. I remember as a child watching my father scrape and then paint the wooden siding on our house. Some of the siding was original to the house, having been there since 1870. Needless to say, the house had a lot of chipping and repainting. After all of those years, the siding was uneven and pretty rough-looking. I did not want the fascia to look the same on this house. Yes, sanding to blend in the edges helps, but we did not want the chipped off paint to show. The salvation: a product called MH Ready Patch. People use it like a speckling compound on a wall. The result is to blend everything together so the fascia will be smooth and ready to paint.
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| After MH Ready Patch, the fascia needs just a little sanding to be smooth, and then it is ready for primer and paint. |
Yesterday afternoon, we went to Tarpon Springs to pick up a few more sponges to take back to Wisconsin, and then we went to Fred Howard Beach for the afternoon. Our umbrella worked exceptionally well again, keeping us in the shade while the sun burned around us. Since we went on a Thursday afternoon, the beach was not crowded at all, and most of the people were parents with small children, college-age or older people who either had the day off or were working a late shift, and lots of retired folks like us. We sat back, read our Kindles, and enjoyed being able to do that, worry-free, for the afternoon.
This afternoon Rob came from Finish Line Floors to try to get the stain out of our floor. He ground down the floor, and he added a thick poultice that looks like cement. We have to let that sit for 48 hours, and then he will be back to take it up and to add a finish coat on the floor. Hopefully the poultice will draw out the stain and my floor will look beautiful again. We won't know until late on Sunday, so stay tuned...
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| The stain on the floor left from the glue used to attach the large glass doors that used to separate the living room from the Florida room. |
Each job that we tackle and finish brings Gladys one step closer to being the home that we want. Eventually, maybe we will be able to sit on our little shady patio and enjoy the wonderful spring weather in Florida.
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| Someday, we will rebuild our little patio area and enjoy a shady spot in the afternoon. |
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