Up the Creek Column - 12
15
15. Flooring installers lay linoleum or tiles using
notched trowels to apply just the right amount of mas-
tic to the floor. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good
enough for me. My home-made trowel leaves little
ridges of caulk behind, enough to hold the track, but not
so much that the track floats in the stuff.
ME track’s ability to hold its shape really helps. That, coupled
with the caulk’s tackiness, makes precise final alignment and
curve smoothing fairly easy. I easily get more than 10 or 15
minutes of working time, more than ample.
In places where the track is straight, I hold an 18” metal
straightedge against one of the rails as a guide, and use a fin-
ger on the other side to press the rail against the straightedge.
Afterward I sight along the rails looking for wiggles and make
adjustments, repeating the process until no wiggles are visible.
MRH-Sep 2014
