Adventures in Flooring

Ok....I have to admit, my husband and I are a bit of the "do-it-yourself"ers. We like to try and get-er done all by ourselves. We are not afraid to ask for help or pay someone to do it if we aren't too sure on how to do it, but for the most part, we don't mind figuring it out and completing a project by ourselves. For example, we just purchased our home in WF. The house is in awesome shape for a home build in the 1920s. But there were 2 rooms we wanted to tackle right away. The boys bedrooms. We found there was wallpaper on the walls. It wasn't until we closed on the house and started removing the wallpaper, that we realized how much there was and how hard it was to remove. After removing 4 coats of wallpaper off the walls and 3 on the ceiling (yes, the ceiling), we primed, painted and removed the carpet to find some wonderful hardwood floors. Yes! What an feeling.

So, with that in mind, we decided to remove the carpet in the dining/living room. both rooms are connected. After ripping up the carpet, we realized that the rooms weren't always connected. There was some good looking hardwood floors throughout, but when you get to the 1/2 mark of the rooms, there is plywood where the hardwood floor should be. Which leads us to the conclusion that there were walls (probably built ins like there are on the other side of the living room) in that section of the room. And when the previous homeowner took the walls out, the put in carpet. Thus, we were left with the decision. "What do we do?"

After much thinking and then just moving into the house, we decided that refinishing the dining room area would be best and putting new carpet in the living room, entryway, stairs, and upstairs hallway. All would look great! Since we went and started the order process a few weeks ago, we started thinking and realized that refinishing the hardwood floors this weekend would be best (since we have 2 baptisms, family gatherings, and my husband works another weekend) before the carpet comes. Get it all done now approach. So after a few chats with friends and family, my husband and I felt confident enough to do it ourselves. Here is where the adventure begins.

My father-in-law came to help my husband with the sanding. We rented a sander w/tools to clean up the floor. What started as a few hour project, became an entire day of sanding project. And during this work, we realized that the boys and I should stay with Grandpa and Grandma J. So, I took the boys to the farm while the men kept working their magic on the floor.

They worked very hard and by around 9 pm, they were ready to put on the first of the stain. So, I came into town (to check on the progress) and ended up helping them put on the first coat of stain. We let it dry, then we went into town the next morning to check the progress. It was sticky. STICKY? It had all night to dry....what's going on? Silly us, you are supposed to keep the fans blowing to circulate air and get the dehumidifier up here so the stain can dry. No problem, fix the stain and put more on and all will be good. I applied the next coat of stain and after having all the fans and dehumidifier set up and running, we ran errands and then off to the farm for a bit.

Back later in the day, YES, the stain was still sticky. So, we let it set....checking on it 3-4 more times throughout Friday and Saturday. Finally, we decided that Sunday morning, it should be dry. (this is after many melt downs by me.....I just want to live in my house.....I'm sure my in-laws want the same thing for us too). So, after church this morning, we walked over to the house and YES, OH YES.....THE FLOOR IS DRY!!! So, I applied the polyurethane. We are not as optomistic of the varnish layer drying as quick as the lable says, but we do see the downside of the mountain on this project. Even though I would attempt this project again....I don't think my husband is as willing. And, we did learn a few things.

1. Plan ahead. Next project like this....I'm heading to South Dakota for a few days to avoid the project

2. Make sure you get all the facts about the project. Don't always agree with the container. If it says only 5-6 hours drying time....give it 48 hours.

3. Remember the amount of patience you have will make or break the projcet.

4. If all else seems too much....call in a professional to do the project. Yes, it will cost more, but with the mood swings I had and my family has had to endoure.....it might be worth it in the end.