Man, have we been working hard! We had some late nights as we rushed to finish the house before move-in day, which was April 29th. We finished ripping up the carpet and removing the 1/4 round from the baseboards, and were finally ready to sand! We decided to make our approach to Home Depot at 6am (the least crazy time of day), where we rented a great sander that is exactly like an orbital sander with 4 sandpaper pads and a vacuum bag that grabs most of the dust (manufacturer says 95%, we say 80%). It went swimmingly, and after 12 solid hours of sanding, we returned to Home Depot at 10pm as they were closing to return the equipment. The next day we returned to apply the 2 coats of varnish, which I am still surprised is applied over the whole floor with brushes. We were at this project until 2:30am, but it was completely worth it!! This whole project only cost us about $300 total in supplies, equipment and varnish to do our own floors! I think we saved a bundle, and we got great experience in a new skill as well as a deeper connection to our house! We love the outcome, and here's some pictures to show it off!
Spencer ripping up the final carpet pad in the living room.
Mara pulling out all the staples they used to attach the carpet pad to the floor.
Mara wheeling in the sander to the office/guest bedroom for the first crack at sanding.
Here you can see the floor with all the scratches, the reason why we decided to refinish. They hadn't been done in over 30 years!
Here we go! The old polyurethane came up easily and revealed a BEAUTIFUL white oak floor.
The newly painted and sanded office!
Finished the office, the bedroom and off into the hallway!
The final section of the living room at 9pm! A long day!!
Spencer happily varnishing the office floor! We used an oil/wax varnish on our floors - all made with plant-based oils and waxes. This was recommended for our floors to harden and protect them. It soaks in and leaves a matte finish, which we love. They will harden over the next 3 weeks, and then we will buff them with a gel wax. We can't believe what a huge difference this has made to how the house looks!
Here's the office now being lived in - we're slowly unpacking.
The finished bedroom! We're having fun shopping for rugs and furniture. Mr. Smeems certainly feels at home!
We applied for a permit to start building our deck, and install a patio door - should begin in mid-late June. If you're in the area in July, come on over for a BBQ! More pics as we get the other rooms finished. Happy warm weather, everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment