on laminate and patience (and a project)

I'll start with this: I thought this project was coming to a close when I made my last post.

LAMINATE

I was asked to search for two 4'x8' sheets of laminate, which seemed easy enough.  Practically every hardware store carries laminate tiles, so they should have laminate sheets, right?

I started out at Lowe's, which had hardly any laminate to begin with. After spending a couple minutes in their single bay of laminate, I left.  Next was Home Depot, which had vinyl sheets, but they didn't have two rolls of darker colors.  They did have a wide variety of laminate sheets online, but it's best to see it in person and shipping sounded like it would take almost two weeks.  I called Western Building Center the next day (surprise, they don't have anything either), but they sent me to Cost Less Carpet, which is a local flooring store.  They had 4'x8' sheets of laminate at their Spokane store, so the product still had to be shipped, but it only took a few days instead of a few weeks.  We also picked up a gallon of contact cement to adhere the laminate to the ulay.

I chose a darker color in order to hide stains (lookin at you, silver nitrate).

 

 

PATIENCE

Everything seemed to be going well.  We picked up the laminate and the adhesive today, which were both placed in the back of the truck.  Fast forward a few hours.  I happened to pass by the truck, and I noticed that something odd was oozing out of it.  Lo and behold, the lid on the contact adhesive either popped off or the can burst, causing it to slop an entire gallon on the truck bed and drip down to the driveway below.  I would like to say that there's a moral to all of this, but there isn't.  Also, if you happen to spill a small amount of contact cement, mineral spirits on a rag will clean it up.  We're still in the process of figuring out how you clean up a gallon's worth.

The adhesive managed to get on three tie-downs, a mattress pad, a chain, and the laminate box.

Note the smashed lip of the can, which could be why the lid popped off.

To put it simply, it works.

 

and A PROJECT

After calling the warehouse where we got the adhesive from and attempting to clean up the mess (which is currently rendered impossible), my mom and I switched to something less troublesome. This is where more of my DIY side comes in– this process has made me realize that my version of DIY might be closer to 'design it yourself.'  My mom spotted this chair at a vintage sale for $15, and while neon 70s orange isn't my favorite color, it looked like it was practically brand new.  The best part of this project is that it didn't cost anything in materials, but I did snap a screwdriver in half in the process of removing staples.

So, I don't have counters quite yet and there's a pool of cement adhesive in the bed of the truck, but I have a place to sit and imagine the completed darkroom and a clean truck.

1973 orange, complete with pink duct tape and various faded stamps on the seat.

A significantly more subtle nod to the 70s.