This has been a great resource for us. Thank you! Mike in Blacksburg, VA

Smooth as a...

Posted by Mary in PA on 11/28/2010

After some research and cost comparisons, John decided to use a two-part process to seal the slab. In Part One, the slab was allowed to dry out (finally) and swept very clean.  Then the first sealing product was sprayed on, spread with broom until it gelled and then finally the excess squeegeed off. John taped a four-pound sledge hammer to the squeegee for a bit of added weight. It took a lot of steps back and forth across the slab, and by the time I arrived at the property, he had all but finished. John pointed out a few spots where the application was a little too thick and left a white cast in the finish. No big deal though, and overall I think he was well pleased with his day’s effort.

As John finished up with the slab, I painted the shop’s main door. I didn’t like the look of the white door at all and I’ve been wanting to do this for awhile. But one thing after another kept getting priority over this mundane task so it was nice to finally get it done. I like that the newly-painted main door matches the trim color and seems to say, “Enter here”. This is in contrast to the back door, painted months ago, in a color matching the building siding so that it fades into the gable wall. My idea was that when you drive up the long driveway and see the gable side of the building at the edge of the bowl-shaped pasture, what you notice is the iconic farm building shape and not so much the trim details. It’s just a subtle detail thing. John sometimes teases me that I fret too much over such details. I prefer to think of my effort as ‘thoughtfully considered’ rather than fretting. But at any rate, I’ve now got ample ammunition to give as good as I get. You see, John spent a good deal of time “considering” how he wanted to seal the slab. And in the fading light of the afternoon I found him admiring the newly-sealed slab’s glossy finish. “Smooth as a baby’s bottom.” he remarked with pride. Now really, who is going to notice that?  ;-)

Photos

Squeegee plus sledgehammer	Smooth as a baby's bottom.	Ugly white door
After painting, better.	Man door fades into building color. I like the simple shapes of farm buildings.