From the Ground Up » Blog Archive

Classic Sitcom

Posted on January 13th, 2008 – 11:09 AM
By Jason Hammond

We’ve all seen it, it’s like a staple of American sitcoms, the shows character has rented a large sander or floor cleaner and as they attempt to use the machine it spins out of control resulting in a series of “hilarious” moments as it damaging everything in sight. Saturday morning I found myself renting the vary machine that has resulted in so many hours of laughter.

The preflight instructions from the rental placed seemed pretty clear. You pull up on this button, squeeze this handle and rest the machine up against your hip — it sounds pretty easy.

As you turn the machine on the spinning motion pulls it hard in one direction. This causes an instinctual reaction to grip tighter and fight against the machine, resulting in a violent counter assault, usually won by the machine.

After a few attempts you quickly learn that to successfully control the machine you need touch, not torque. By holding the machine firmly and slightly adjusting the pressure you place on each handle the machine gently glides across the floor. After I got the hang of running the machine we put a system together to clean and polish our concrete floors. Today we plan to seal one side of the floors with a high gloss water based sealer so we can actually begin to move our furniture in this week. I can’t tell you how good it will feel to put our stuff into the house and start “living” here.

Whoa!

Trying to use my hip.

Gaining a little control.

Finally, I am master of the floor cleaner.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 13th, 2008 at 11:09 am and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to "Classic Sitcom"

Kory says:

January 14th, 2008 at 1:50 pm

Does a floor cleaner like this work on linoleum or tile? If so, where would you go to get one?

Jason Hammond says:

January 14th, 2008 at 9:16 pm

Kory,

Are you testing my mastery of the floor cleaner with a difficult question? Seriously, I don’t know for sure but I would imagine that you could use a floor cleaner like this on linoleum or tile, it would probably come down to the finish pad that you used. I don’t know where you live but I contacted Hejny Rentals and they were very helpful to me. Most major metro areas have rental places like this and they would be able to advise you on the best tool four your specific need.

Jason

Kory says:

January 15th, 2008 at 1:51 pm

Thanks, Jason! I enjoy your blog and hope the house is starting to feel more and more like home.

From left to right: Builder Corey Benedict, homeowner Jason Hammond and architect Michael Huber

"From the Ground Up" is an interactive journal tracking Jason Hammond and his family as they plan, design and build a unique modern contemporary home in the Twin Cities.

Along the way, he'll consider the balance between his family's needs, the project costs and the environmental considerations that go along with new home building. You're invited to join the process, too, by asking questions and offering your opinions, of course.

The Homeowner: Jason Hammond

As a kid growing up in western Wisconsin, art was always a big part of family life. My parents were always quick to encourage my creativity. I'd be inside drawing as often as I was outside playing sports. Today I am a husband, father of two, and designer by trade. I work for a small creative firm in St. Paul called Mojo Solo.

Whether it's the clothes I buy or the magazines I read, I believe that by making good design decisions, you can influence and improve the lives of people while having a positive impact on the world. Read more...

The Architect: Michael Huber

Based in Hudson, Wis., Michael Huber graduated from the University of Minnesota and is a registered architect. After college, he was hired by his former design professor and eventually became an Associate with the firm. In 2000, he struck out on his own and founded Michael Huber Architects. He insists his team is more creative with its projects than in coming up with a name for the firm.

He aspires to someday have his own television show like his childhood idol, Mike Brady. His website is mhuberarchitects.com. Read more...

The Builder: Corey Benedict

Corey Benedict owns a construction company that builds homes based on environmentally conscious decisions. Corey focuses on building a limited number of homes every year, which enables him to work closely with each client and help them make choices that reflect their vision, while using green building practices. Read more...