Monday, September 30, 2013

Renovation Report: Floors

The past week has been challenging.  Monday they started stripping and sanding the floors.  Then they added a light oil to bring out the character of the wood.  Last they added three coats of sealant.  The entire process lasted all week.  We were not allowed into the house until after 8:00 at night.  All the furniture from the kitchen, dining room and great room was outside.  We were able to hop skip into the office for the hour or so before we hop skipped to the stairs and went up to bed.

The house stunk of stain and sealant.  All the windows were open to help dry the floor and air things out.  It got down to the high 30s at night.  I sat on the couch with a hoodie sweatshirt on under my denim jacket and a fleecy blanket (from Sheila) pulled across my lap.  It was REALLY cold in the house.  Yes, my nose turned red.

But the floor is stunning.  The red oak is just gorgeous and far exceeds our expectations.  Who knew that there was so much beauty lurking underneath the old, dark wood!

Friday, installation started on the carpet upstairs and tile in the laundry room.  Hopefully, the furniture will all be back inside the house soon.

It's an adventure, right?

Brett put up a sign he found at a local winery.  I think its a self portrait...


5 comments:

  1. the floor looks great! i'd be high on fumes - no need for the wines :)

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  2. Ooooh, the floors are GORGEOUS! I will have to keep this in mind when we get around to refinishing the floors in our house. They are much abused over the past 50 years but we want to bring them back. Would you believe someone put paint, then carpet, then two layers of linoleum over the wood floors in the kitchen?!?! That's going to be quite the project to remove!

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  3. Oh those floors... GORGEOUS!!! its almost a shame to have to cover them with furniture ;) !But we know with your tastes it will be wonderful after youre done decorating...

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  4. That floor is SO worth all the work! WHere the heck do you guys get the energy from....
    and yeah I know you weren't stripping and sanding and sealing, but still you had to suffer through it all

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  5. The floors turned out beautifully Annette - well worth it! The new header is stunning. (and I'd like to have one of those responsible farming signs :D)

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Thanks so much for commenting!