My Home: I'm back....

Ok I’m back in business… Well not necessary 100% back, but I feel that I’m close enough. It's more like 90% back. My doctor has instructed me not to return to the gym for another 4 weeks, which sucks although he did say that I could start running again, starting tomorrow. Basically I should not do any sit-ups and/or any weight training for my down period… But that’s ok. I have to take it slow…

Since my last entry, I’ve done nothing around the house. Until today, I mean I was recovering after my surgery and having a relaxing time in Tampa, Florida…. Oh yeah, I might have left that bit of information out. I had stayed at a friend’s house in Clearwater Florida over the Super Bowl weekend. I didn’t go to the game. I mean, who is going to spend $1900 dollars for one scalp ticket? That’s not including the flight or even the hotel room… Wait, Cardinal and Steelers fans actually did spend that money… Plus it wasn’t the Patriots. Regardless, it was a relaxing and exciting trip…

Here I am at a friend’s house… Hanging out by the dock…

Ok back to reality…The apartment upstairs…
I walked upstairs and assess the situation… I still have some minor hurdles that need to be accomplish before I can rent the apartment. One of the major things that need to be accomplished is the damaged floor. In the last episode, I just need to put peal and stick flooring down. Luckily I was able to find some replacement tile. The color of the new peal and stick tiles are not 100% perfect, but close enough. However, the patterns are certainly the same. I needed to first remove the previous adhesive before installing the new tiles.

Here is a picture of the adhesive remover that I used. While that was penetrating the adhesive, I decide to install the mirror and put silicone caulk in the bathroom. Here is a picture of the mirror…

Oops!!! Looks kind of crooked… Regardless it looks good.

Ok here is a small instructional description in how to apply the caulk like a professional. Well not really professional, but better then we normally do it. The equipment you will need is as followed:

Silicone,

Painters tape

And your finger… Yes your finger...

Place the painters tape around the area that you may want to apply the silicone.

There is no real required length or width of the tape to be applied…But I usually eye ball a distance and try to make it consistent throughout… After the tape is installed, I then apply the silicone caulk between the two pieces of tape….

After applying the silicone, I take my finger and just work it through the silicone and in one direction. I try to make a smooth look throughout the process. After completing the entire length of the tape. I instantly remove and discard the painters tape. Partly because once the silicone is completely dried, it would be extremely difficult to remove the tape…

Here are a couple of tips and cautions. I usually use paper towels to clean my fingers after spreading the caulking material in place. Slowly remove the tape after applying the caulking material, you don’t want to create a larger mess when removing it… Also insure you have a bag or something to discard the tape without getting the excess caulking material all over the place… Most importantly, double check with the ingredients and warnings notes of the caulking material. I know a couple of people who may be allergic to the chemicals. So use with caution!!!! Also follow the direction of the caulking material for drying times…

Here is a picture of the finish result...
After installing the silicone, I installed the new shower curtain rod… I’m really a big fan of the curved rods…

Once the adhesive remover was dry, I used a scrapping tool to remove the adhesive residue. After that was completed, I then applied the adhesive primer and then installed the peal and stick tiles… Here is a photo showing the finish result...