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Update on the floors

Yesterday I promised a floor update, so let me see:

When last I left you, I just figured out the stain recipe and custom mixed the shade I wanted for the feature strip. After that, I decided to go with Home Care Contractors advice and started taping at the earliest.

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Taping began and staining began and everything was going beautifully. I even had thought of seeking Thermalchem’s services to give the floors a good finish.

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This is the entrance hall to my house and now you can see the Craftsman design and the stain. I love it, but I sometimes get wistful thinking about the bamboo flooring in my mother’s house.

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So taping continued until just in front of the fireplace. And then:

The second feature strip on the right side of the fireplace is separated by the correct two floor planks, but the left side is separated by only one plank!

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Here’s a closer photo.

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WHAT THE HELL!!!???!!! How hard can this be?

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Considering that the sanding took at least two centimetres of floor off, they could have followed the inlay with a sharpie, or their painter’s tape, hell, even fuchsia spray paint!

So back to the Russian crew who came in Sunday morning and pulled up the floor and re-laid the planks.

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Good thing I was looking over their shoulder because all of a sudden completely different wood, cut across the grain and completely not the kind of wood my floor is made up suddenly was in the pile ready to be installed.

I made them pull up two more planks and re-lay the kind of grain the rest of the floor is made of.

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Phew! Another two disasters undisastered, and polishing taking place.

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More sanding and polishing, vacuuming and polishing, polishing and vacuuming.

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I feel like the floor police! I feel like I always have to be vigilant and on the ball. I feel like I can’t trust any of the trades to do a proper job.

At this point I briefly thought that possibly taking up a habit of drinking coffee might been a good idea. (Very briefly and then it went away. It always sounds like such a good idea but I can’t stand the taste.) Besides which, I’m already not sleeping. This is why people start drinking the scotch!

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And then, this morning, the first coat of varnish dried and I had a good look:

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Things are looking better. There are still a few issues to address. One is the high gloss finish I want is not there, and the second are a couple unacceptably proud corners which need to be sanded down flat and re-varnished. But I’m hopeful that there won’t be any more disasters to undisaster.

This floor is taking years off my life!

Comments: 7

  • July 4, 2013
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    This may be taking a year off your life, but with all your due diligence it’s turning out fantastic! Love it!

  • July 5, 2013
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    Wow those are gorgeous! Totally worth taking that year off your life 🙂

  • July 5, 2013
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    i think i would have killed someone by now … but whats been done well, properly, looks fabulous … so are you now considering a job as a project manager? ;D

  • July 5, 2013
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    You have definitely shown your Dunkirk Spirit and it has paid off. Despite the trials and tribulations, it looks gorgeous.

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