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This was a large comfort stage. We had major aspects of the
heating system working again. ( almost )...... The electrical
aspects in the ground floor were reworked. Insulation and design
were going to repay 20% plus of 3-4 thousand dollars a year in
heating costs. But it was still ugly. Lets face it, concrete grey
contributes no beauty...... This leads us to a major research task
of mine. Given I knew the red that was originally intended, how do
you make it happen? Color which is poured with the concrete
( colored concrete ) ends up washed out and dull
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Don't quote me. I have no reason to remember the exact formula.
It turns out that you can take a combination of dye, cement, and
masons sand. Once the mixed up, it gets worked into the top surface
of the concrete while it is still wet. I believe the proportions
are 7#s die, 7#s cement, and 7#s of sand to every 100 square feet.
Here you see the buckets of mix awaiting their turn......
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It really worked out nice. I remember being on my hands and knees
with a floor wax with a red dye in it to try to get a red highlight
on the floor. This was rich and made to stonework be very visible.
The old grey floor made the mortar show up. Now on the main floor you
had the stonework, the woodwork, and the floor. It was a wonderful
combination.
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The pool story will continue on. The original design was to define
the curve aspect with the radiant floor. Then we needed to add a
thicker wall with insulation in it along the window wall. Part of
this was due to the insulated curtain system which needed to have
a surface to come down and seal against. The last part of the pool
was to be a floor/bench section. The project was fairly large since
the diameter was about 11 feet.
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A wonderful moment shortly after the floor is done, was my
first hot tub and a book. It was too bad the water was missing......
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The new plumbing was with multiple separate loops. You can
still see the original feed and return pipes here. If you have
not guessed already, there is a toilet under the stairs
all the way back and to the left. Nice place, right!
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