The blog is back after quite a hiatus. With Jason moving in, the renovations are in full swing!
I never anticipated that my next post would be about the floors on the house’s main level; in fact, I hardly had any intentions of tackling hardwood floors again after completing the upstairs, and the newer hardwood on the main floor wasn’t unbearable. Alas, I was convinced otherwise. And glad I was. These floors were so much easier than the four-week disaster on the top floor.
We used the same stain that was used on the main staircase and upstairs floors, so there is finally some consistency throughout the house. It also feels really satisfying to get all the gunk and scratches out with the sander: it really highlights my O.C.D. tendencies.
We started the resurrection on Good Friday. I made sure to lift the quarter-rounds enough to get under them instead of removing them completely and tossing them into a closet without labeling them (I still have piles of quarter-rounds scattered throughout the upstairs rooms because I never labeled them or kept track of them. Putting them back is like solving the world's largest jigsaw puzzle. Anyone up for the task?) Since these floors were not covered in glue, gunk and asbestos like the upstairs (see below), it quickly became apparent that stripping the floors was unnecessary and actually impossible. We watched nothing happen to a strip of flooring with vanish remover on it for 30 minutes (this remover will burn your skin very quickly. It's a hostile and bold substance). So, this turned into a day of rest and movie watching.
Saturday was sanding. This was a delight - with such an open space, it was so easy to go with the grain and not leave any markings. It's hard on the body, but the results are satisfying to say the least.
Easter Sunday was for staining. It didn't take long, but may have caused some hives on one of my legs - lets leave that for a different blog altogether. The stain changed the room completely. Finally, we put down the varnish (which may result in either hallucinations or a splitting headache). The floors look fantastic, and I hope the pictures do it justice. Otherwise, stop by and see for yourself!
Here are the floors before:
We have one more coat of varnish to go. Fresh paint and new furnishing happening soon. Next on the agenda is the upstairs bathroom and the final touches on the new deck.
