Concrete countertop samples, day 1

C and I decided to do a sample run of the concrete countertop before attempting to do the real thing. One thing we're learning about DIY projects is that they take way longer than you think. Try adding at least one zero to however many hours, days, weeks you estimate. A lot of the time is prep - research (lots!), tool research and buying, assembling, and general learning curve time. Our time isn't very efficient either right now due to the general chaos in which we are living. We were aiming to try our first pour on Saturday, and that didn't happen (too much time buying tools and materials at Home Depot). We felt that today was the day!

The prep for this project included about 15 hours of research on DIY sites, several hours on the www.concreteexchange.com site, 2 hours putting together a shopping list, 2 trips to Home Depot of 4 hours each, an hour or so to unload the car and heavy bags of concrete, one trip to the local hardware store, and one trip to the thrift store.

We started today by assembling the table saw we purchased to make our molds. It took 5 hours! The diagram was mislabeled (two number 7 parts, no number 9) and we spent some time looking for scres that according to the instructions was in the hardware bag. The screws turned out to be already attached to the saw. There were parts referenced in the instructions which were not described or defined anywhere. There were numerous adjustments to be made (making the cut angles range from 0 degrees to 45 degrees and making the blade plumb to start). Not only were there no instructions on how to do these critical adjustments, they weren't even mentioned. How do they expect people to be able to do a decent project if the blade isn't even straight? I generally have no trouble assembling things, but this was really poorly designed and there were many mistakes in the instructions.

We finally got the saw assembled, and were ready to make a test cut. We plugged the saw in and flipped the switch and POP! The saw made a loud noise followed by a puff of smoke and a burning smell. Not good! It blew the circuit. We went outside to flip the breaker, and couldn't find the living room breaker. We did figure it out because it was the only one in a different position than the others. We flipped it and nothing happened. Now we're getting worried that we've damaged both the saw and the electric in the house. A call to the electrician went to his voicemail.

We finally got the circuit back on after a phone call to C's dad. The breaker has to be flipped to the "off" position before turning it back on to get it to work again. That's what we didn't know - we were just flipping it from tripped to on. We tried the saw again with the same results, but at least we knew how to get the circuit back on. We decided to try it out in the garage, where eveything worked fine. We still couldn't figure out why the breaker was tripping - the saw was only 13 amps, and the circuit was 20. There was only a few lightbulbs plugged into it. The electrician called back, and explained that the living room is on the same circuit as one of the bedrooms. Code requires bedrooms to have an AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interupter) circuit. This is an especially sensitive circuit that will shut off with any power surge of even a few milliseconds. The saw can have a split-second power surge of 30-40 amps when it powers up. This explains the breaker tripping! The reason it worked in the garage is that the garage has GFCI breakers (Ground Fault Circuit Interupter) which are less sensitive. These are the same type breakers found in bathrooms and kitchens due to being near water. (I know, more than you ever wanted to know!!!)

It was so late in the day by that time we were only able to do 4 cuts before I had to leave for a prior committment. So, no pour today either! But tomorrow for sure, I think.

On another note, the store where we purchased our washer and dryer sent a tech out to look at the leak (see entry for this past Saturday). Turns out their installers used the wrong tool and damaged the connector to the washer. They are handling it at their expense. It is a pleasure to see someone handle something responsibly.