Well, folks. This week didn’t end the way I had hoped. I’m almost ashamed to show my virtual “face” on the blog today because I know we’re all eagerly awaiting real progress on the porch baseboard. We all want to see how these faux stones look when attached to the porch and I tried my best to make it happen. But as is often the case, it just didn’t work out.
Yesterday I started my work day by sanding the concrete on the porch base area. As you remember, I had previously painted the entire front area with black paint. I did this when I was planning on designing a skirting board with PVC panels and I knew that tiny shards of the concrete would show through this design so I wanted it to be black.
But now that I’m going to be gluing cinder blocks to the front, not only did I need to remove the black paint (the cinder blocks need to be glued to bare concrete), but I also wanted to smooth out some rough spots on the concrete to make it smooth and flat so that the cinder blocks would be easier to attach.
This was a very dirty job and I couldn’t work for long until the first battery of my hand mill was dead. So I swapped it out for a charged battery and got this far before it ran out of juice. And of course, my other battery hadn’t had nearly enough time to charge at this point, so I couldn’t continue. This is why I have such a love-hate relationship (which leans towards hate) with battery powered power tools. I like corded tools and I can’t lie.
But I was determined to keep going. I haven’t quite gotten to the grinding of the concrete yet, but I figured if I could get at least half of it in place I’d be happy with my progress. Then I did the other prep work I needed to do to get started. I started on the left side of the design and worked my way to the right, arranging the stones so that once I started I didn’t have to waste time trying to figure out which one came next. And I also wanted to be able to predict in advance when I would need to cut a suitable stone.
And of course, it was pretty easy to arrange these since I had already worked out my map of the design. The stones with the white stars need to be cut.
And then I used some scrap 1/2″ plywood and cut those into strips to use as spacers for my 1/2″ mortar lines between the bricks.
I completely cleaned my tile saw, set it up with plenty of water in the basin, and hooked it up so it was ready to use when I got to the stones that needed cutting. And with that I was ready to go! So I got out the glue I chose, cut the top off, put it in my caulking gun and squeezed as hard as I could but nothing came out.
I chose this very specific construction adhesive after doing extensive research and comparing the pros and cons of using construction adhesive and mortar for a project like this. After a comparison, I decided on construction adhesive. And I specifically chose this one because it has the strongest initial adhesion of all the construction adhesives available in hardware stores. On the label you can see that the hold time is “0 seconds”. Most construction adhesives have a hold time of at least 30 seconds, meaning you will need to hold the item in place for at least 30 seconds before it will adhere properly. I wanted a “0 second” hold.
But no matter what I did, I couldn’t squeeze a single bit of glue out of the tube. So I thought maybe I got an old hose that had dried out. I picked up a second copy and tried it out. The same. I literally pulled the trigger with both hands and with as much force as I could muster and the glue didn’t move at all.
So I went online and searched for “Gorilla Ultimate Construction Adhesive Doesn’t Come Out of the Tube.” And of course, Google’s AI told me to make sure I cut off the tip of the tube (duh!) and that I punctured the seal inside. Well, this glue doesn’t have a seal that you can puncture like silicone caulk does. There is a plastic part inside that you have to cut off with a utility knife. Of course I did. This is not the first time I have used construction adhesive.
And then it said: “Gorilla Ultimate is notoriously difficult to use because it is so thick. Try placing the tube of glue in a bowl of hot water for ten minutes before using.” So I tried that. Still… nothing. I’m telling you, no matter how hard I squeezed, the glue didn’t come out of the tube an inch.
So I gave up. At this point I was exhausted and had a bad headache, so I decided to call it a day. I’ll try again this weekend with a different glue. I’m just very disappointed that it didn’t work out here. Maybe I just happened to pick up several tubes from a bad batch. Or maybe the box I took the tubes from sat on the shelf for too long. I don’t know. Maybe I’ll forego the construction bonding plan and go back to the mortar idea. But whatever I use, it needs to have a very strong initial hold. So if you have any ideas, I’m all ears.
Anyway, it’s a disappointing end to the week. I was hoping to see at least some of the bricks installed at the end of my workday yesterday, but sometimes our DIY schedule doesn’t go as we’d like.
