The final process of my foyer floor. I know. You're getting sick of it. Well imagine how I feel.
The new threshold I built with antique barn board against the very orange living room floor pre-refinishing.
To recap. A couple of weeks ago I completely lost my mind, the result of which was ripping out my foyer floor. On a whim. On a Saturday morning when any sane person would be eating their weight in bacon. The foyer floor was relatively new (in my 180 year old house), had a horrible finish and I've never liked it.
So I pulled up one little piece of it out of curiosity. Then, like a possessed Chucky doll, I whirled around the room with a prybar ripping floor boards out, splitered remnants of wood flying through the air in my wake.
Beneath was a lovely, glowing maple slat floor. I was satisfied for exactly one minute and 37 seconds, at which point I started considering what might be under that floor.
So I ripped it up too.
Which brings us to the original(ish) pine floor which was revealed. When last we met it was Sunday night and I had just finished hammering down the boards on the area I patched with nails I had to steal from my sister.
MONDAY
8:00 a.m.
My floor refinisher shows up, refers to me as Mighty Mouse and says he knew I'd get it done.
I point out the horrifying difference between some of the boards I've laid and how without sanding down the joists, I couldn't get them to lay flush with the rest of the floor.
Nooooooo problem he said.
O.K. I wish I'd known that last night because instead of crying myself to sleep I could have counted Kardashians like I normally do.
9:00 a.m.
Sanding guys arrive and start sanding floors.
2:30
Sanding is finished realize the hemlock is a totally different colour than my other foyer floor.
9:00 p.m.
Fret over colour of patch job. I'm not sure why I'm fretting. It's an old house with a billion different types of old original flooring, none of which matches perfectly.
Decide to try bleaching it.
TUESDAY
8:00 a.m.
Check flooring and discover bleaching changes tone of wood but does lighten it.
2:57
Bleach floor by simply soaking a cotton rag with a bit of bleach and wiping it on to the wood, making sure to push it into the grain.
Let dry.
Repeat.
Wish I had lots of visually impaired friends to invite over because they would walk in and declare my house cleaner than they'd ever smelled it.
WEDNESDAY
Got my hair done because that's what one does whilst in the middle of a disaster.
7:00 p.m.
Scraped out dirt from boards. Need to get my hair done again. Estimate 72 pounds of dirt found in boards plus 1,894 straight pins. This area must have been the home to a sewing circle of very drunk pioneer women.
9:00 p.m.
Applied first coat of sealer.
4:00 a.m.
Woke up to look at floor. Stared at it through blinking, sleepy eyes. Realized sealer made floor darker which it wasn't supposed to. In fact was guaranteed not to. Had FIT. Decided now (4:00 a.m.) was as good a time as any to continue on with the next step. Sanding.
Grabbed sandpaper and started sanding. Once both the living room and foyer were sanded I contemplated going back to bed for a while.
Because I was now wide awake I decided going back to bed was stupid. Since stupid is my new normal ...
5:00 a.m.
Went back to bed.
THURSDAY
9:00 a.m.
Woke up, vacuumed, went over floor with damp cloth. Did first coat of my actual floor finish. Sequestered to kitchen for 2 hours while finish dries enough to sand.
4:00 p.m.
Apply final coat of matte finish.
Does not appear matte. I'm starting to feel a bit, um, nauseous. So far the floor is darker, yellower and shinier than I wanted.
Apply another coat of matte finish to see if that makes it mattier.
7:00 p.m.
Go to bed because what the hell else am I going to do? Watch tv online for a bit, fall asleep snuggled up with my toasty warm laptop and hairy cat.
FRIDAY
Either I, or my floors have calmed down. Love them.
The end.
This weekend I'll reinstall the quarter round I had to remove and fix some areas that are now a bit curious because my foyer floor is almost 2" lower than it was a couple of weeks ago.
So I'm going to have to fix some trim work.
All of this, the sweat, the tears the tearing up. All a smaller price to pay for being able to have a 2" taller Christmas tree every year.
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Kari in Dallas
Oh. My, Gawd, Karen!
I’m glad you love them, but holy freaking shit, what an ordeal. Can’t wait to see the, finished!
Karen
Yeah. Tiny bit of an ordeal, lol. Just a tiny bit. It's making me rethink EVER getting any sort of addition. ~ karen!
Heather
Mighty Mouse is a good nickname for you. Then again, maybe not. You're certainly mighty but I would never ever think of you as mousy. Way to go, Karen. Your energy is supernatural! Love it! Nice floors too! Makes me wonder why I don't just get on with painting my bathroom ceiling.
Karen
You're spending way more time and energy *thinking* about painting your bathroom floor than you ever would by just painting it. I know this because I do the same thing every year with my taxes. :) ~ karen!
Teri on the Wet Coast
Awaiting the reveal with bated breath.
You are amazing! I’m 'handy' and own real tools but I want to be you when I grow up.
billy sharpstick
So, what happens to that two inch step, to keep from tripping over it?
Karen
The only place other than the trim work where there's a 2" transition is into the dining room (and actually it isn't 2" it's quite a bit lower) and that floor being pulled out to get to the pine below too. Yep. ~ karen!
Emily R
So exciting!
But what about the dining room floors?
I’m also excited to see how you addresss the trim. I have a similar issue from an old settling house.
Patricia Dejean
I am happy to know that I'm not the only one who scrapes out the cracks in their floors. I cannot tell you how much fun it is to get the rice grains out of the kitchen floor. Or the spaghetti. My cracks range from cappellini to fettucini sized. There are days I dream of a smooth linoleoum surface. But then it would have to be old lino with big roses around the border! I keep thinking perhaps I should fill all the
cracks with various sizes of pasta and varnish over them in order to create a sweepable surface. The straight lines of the pasta might blend well with the straight grain of the Douglas fir. I'm happy to hear your floor is coming along. Been there, done that. And still have more rooms to do.... Pat
Ann Brookens
Wait! Where's the picture of a finished floorboard? YOU'RE MAKING US WAIT????
Also, how much dirt did you vacuum out of those cracks, anyway? Inquiring minds want to know.
Karen
A lot. It was a LOT of dirt. I probably should have left it in case it was helping to hold the house together. ~ karen!
Eileen
it was probably at least insulating against cold basement...and keeping the centipedes down there??!!?
TucsonPatty
I am having a hard time cleaning my kitchen table right now. I am still up at 3:00 a.m. - if that helps. Busy NOT clearing the kitchen table, or cleaning the rest of the house... You are amazeballs, Karen.
Brian Campbell
You have a great sense of humor. I too, am going to tackle my foyer. House was built in 1950.... wish me luck.
Your admirer, Brian Campbell
Fort Wayne Indiana.
Karen
Good luck Brian! ~ karen
Valerie
Ok-it’s “your”. Not “you’re”. It’s late. I’ve had a really hard day. But obviously not as hard as yours-so no idea what my excuse is.
But actually, now that I mention it, I’d like to itemize what I did today and what went wrong-just to introduce an additional bit of humility to your process. But I’m too tired to go over it.
Karen
I do get a lot done but my house is in a perpetual state of disaster either inside or out because of it. I don't think I've gone more than a couple of weeks without something being ripped apart and eating peanut butter out of the jar for dinner. Your, you're, yore friend karen!
Valerie
Your process reminds me of the time when I had to take massive does of steroids and suddenly found myself painting the basement at 2am. Difference is...you’re project is huge, disruptive, and you’ve kept up this manic work pace for how may days? And I thought I got the award for cra cra. Regardless, can’t wait to see finished product. You are a warrior princess and I would marry you if I would marry anyone.
judy
I am exhausted and speechless,at a loss for words and just wondering what it is about you that makes you like a hurricane or tornado or a mystical perpetual motion machine. I am so impressed with your brilliance and accomplishments that I am going to bed even though I have to sleep with the dog with bugs. Bugs that love me. Can't keep her off the bed because she launches into howling like a banshee and will not stop. I have never ever given a pet back that I adopted but this 15 lb monster is pushing her luck. Gnite
Laura
Can't wait to see the finished floors. My new house (closing tomorrow) has old splitting oak floors that likely cannot be refinished again. I decided I would try to whitewash them, and my handyperson almost threw something at me. I did point out that if I was planning on replacing them anyway, might as well be creative. But now you're inspiring me to patch the damn things. Sigh. Either way, can't wait to see YOUR floors.
Karen
If they can't be refinished again but are smooth you could always paint them. Painted floors in old houses also look great. ~ karen!
Catt-in-Kentucky
I'm exhausted! How are you doing?😘
Laura
I love your process & a happy ending. Not loving the delayed gratification!!
Liz
Hi Karen
Have you decided not to leave the pine floor naked -you know nothing on it?
I sanded my dining room pine floor and just left it. I love the look and the feel of it. I can't wait for the reveal!!
Kippy
You are amazing. I would have curled up into a ball, sobbed and then called flooring professionals to do the work. Mighty Mouse? More like Wonder Woman.
Julie
Amazing! You're going to love the fact that you decided to "go all the way" with the floors and take them all up. Even tho' there were tears and (I'm assuming a little liquor) the result will be just as you had hoped. Congratulations on the bouncing baby floor!
Karen
Thank you very much. ~ karen!
Suzanne
Whoa Nelly, did I miss a photo of the finished floor? The suspense is killing me!!!
Wendi
Seriously, me too!! I even scrolled back up because I thought I’d missed it! lol
Karen
Nope, you didn't miss a thing. Finished floor coming up on Friday. ~ karen!
Jody
Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn--Friday???????????????
Karen
Heh. Yes indeed. Mainly just to annoy you. ;) ~ karen!
kirsten hunsaker
Seriously unfair! I want to see the floors! Willing to wait to see how you solve the extra inches... do we send kleenex boxes preemptively?
Sandy
Whew!! So glad you love the floors. Can't wait to see the final results. Sure they're going to be gorgeous. Off to bed whilst awaiting the arrival of Hurricane Michael in The Villages, FL...former Stoney Creek/Hamilton resident.
Karen
Awaiting the hurricane? Aren't you supposed to get out?? Get out! ~ karen!
billy sharpstick
Nah, she's down by Disney World. They're protected by a magic bubble.
Sandy
Magic bubble?...lol...that's what we call it here. Funny story, we were on our way to Pensacola Beach from Memphis (on a road trip) when I called the condo & was told emphatically DO NOT COME HERE. Bad idea, so we came home...to the magic bubble.
Karen
Oh that's true! I didn't think of that. ;) ~ karen!