Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Refinishing Hardwood Floors

The 'BEFORE' floor
Oh, and that's Bridger, after a brushing of just one side!

This is the only photo I could find of the schoolroom, carpeted. While family was here over my birthday, they wanted to help with a job. What a better job than pulling up that old carpet and cleaning the floors underneath! Simple project, huh!


 Except that both my husband and I had forgotten that there wasn't a beautiful floor under the carpet, there was linoleum that the former owners had put in over their maple floors. Oh yeah... that's why we carpeted it 20 years ago!



And here's the 'lovely' wood-grain linoleum which they had purchased and installed to cover their maple floors. Huh???  Strange but true.


And here's the icky floor after my husband had painstakingly scraped the linoleum backing off! By now the helpers had all gone home. :-(


 Moving all the furniture to one side


Moving the books to the livingroom
The other half is behind the camera.


 The amazing man who ended up doing this all by himself...
and never once complained.


The new maple flooring we purchased from the Amish man near Westby, because he made 8' lengths for us. (Have you tried to purchase 8' lengths of maple at a home-improvement store lately? It only comes in very short pieces.) We needed that additional flooring to patch in where the original walls had been.


 Everything's patched perfectly and ready to be sanded.


 This is the beautiful sanded floor, and that's after my husband had worked with three different sanders, two of which were not adequate. Patience is that man's middle name, possibly because he's a middle child. Oh wait! I'm a middle child too...


The AFTER photo

 ...the photo I took after the floors had been stained and the 5th coat of sealer had been carefully applied. He continued with 3 additional coats after that. So adding the schoolroom to the entry (which we've never yet used as an entry), he refinished a little more than 400 sq. feet!
I love it!

SO much work went into getting from the Before to the After.

Kevin's attitude? 'It's an only-once-in-20 years job.' 

Thank goodness.



Photobucket
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18 comments:

  1. ParsleySeptember 21, 2011 at 8:17 AM

    It's GORGEOUS! Worth the sore bodies and hours I'd say!

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  2. Empty NesterSeptember 21, 2011 at 8:36 AM

    O.M.G. The floor turned out GORGEOUS! Wow! Your hubby is like mine with the ability and the patience. He's also a middle child. My problem is getting him started on something- once he starts it's perfect.

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  3. AngelaSeptember 21, 2011 at 8:59 AM

    AMAZING!! I can't wait to see it! Tell Dad I'm so impressed with everything he knows how to do. :)

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  4. UnknownSeptember 21, 2011 at 9:13 AM

    Oh my, what a HUGE JOB!! Thank goodness you all survived it, because it is stunning! WOW!

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  5. Terri @ A Creative PrincessSeptember 21, 2011 at 9:30 AM

    Oh my gosh, what an undertaking, but so well worth it! The floor is absolutely gorgeous!! Aren't you thrilled?!

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  6. danikaSeptember 21, 2011 at 9:50 AM

    Oh, SO gorgeous!! Dad, you are amazing. :)

    Can't wait to se the floors (and you guys!)

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  7. Bethany NashSeptember 21, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    Um, wow.

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  8. Heide at ApronHistorySeptember 21, 2011 at 12:17 PM

    Beautiful!! He did an amazing job. Simple home improvement projects always seem to grow.

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  9. Carla from The RiverSeptember 21, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    Beautiful! We had the same thing happen to us with our bathroom. The beautiful maple had this tar like stuff stuck to it. YUCK!
    I love the photo! It will be fun to see it all decorated.

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  10. mountainlyonSeptember 21, 2011 at 6:07 PM

    Very pretty! I've done a similar project on my old farmhouse... sadly it will need refinished before 20 years are up...

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  11. CandaceSeptember 21, 2011 at 10:55 PM

    Judy, I know that was a HUGE job; but, they are absolutely gorgeous!!!!!! I'm so happy for you. You are going to love them. What a fantastic husband you have! Give him a pat on the back from me. He did a great job!

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  12. UnknownSeptember 22, 2011 at 6:10 AM

    Beautiful. I keep thinking we should do that with the floors under our twenty-year-old carpet! Stay tuned!

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  13. Ma What's 4 dinnerSeptember 22, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    OH MY!!!! That's a lot of work! But it looks gorgeous. Well done!!!!

    Lots of yummy love,
    Alex aka Ma What's For Dinner
    www.mawhats4dinner.com

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  14. jennyfrecklesSeptember 22, 2011 at 4:24 PM

    That looks fantastic now. What a wonderful husband you have. Make sure you hang on to him!

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  15. laurieSeptember 22, 2011 at 9:16 PM

    That was alot of work, but oh so worth it! Looks great!

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  16. Jean | Delightful RepastSeptember 23, 2011 at 5:07 PM

    I can't imagine the thought process that would lead anyone to cover magnificent floors like that with wood-grain linoleum! Your husband, clearly a man of many talents, did a superb job!

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  17. J_on_tourSeptember 24, 2011 at 12:40 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  18. J_on_tourSeptember 24, 2011 at 12:43 AM

    From a man's point of view, my reaction is ... what an outstanding craftsman.
    (unlike me for my earlier spelling... sorry)

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