Round 2, Day 3 [floors are finished...]

Day 3 

So after they finished the first coat of the living room it was to sand down and do the final coat that covered the dining room and living room so that it would all have a continuous finish. In the end, I know I'm bias, I must say it turned out pretty nice!

After sanding, before the final coat of varnish. 

 

These photos were all taken when the varnish was still drying, I'm hoping to do a final post of the dining room and living room once we get new window coverings, furniture, etc. Since my family is very slow moving and mostly indecisive, it may be a while. But regardless; it feels really good to finally have the floors done, no carpet, no old stain.

....the room will continue to be a work in progress...

Round 2, Day 2 [refinishing original hard wood floors]

Day 2 from beginning to end.

 

 

 

Day 2 was the longest day, so luckily my youngest brother was able to take off work and chip in and be an extra help. After sanding, because not all of the previous stain came off very easily since it had been on their so long, so it came down to handy work of my dad, mom's cousin, and Zach. I say they did a pretty good job!

 

     

I was impressed seeing as I spent the majority of the day out of the house to leave in the morning to floors that still needed significant sanding to come back to freshly varnished finish (of the first layer) was impressive. Unfortunately, even with getting done at 7:30pm it still wasn't dry the next morning so once again a late start to be had. More on that in the next post!

Round 2, Day 1 [refinishing original hard wood floors]

 

Day 1

So after the setback of us losing our electricity for 72 hours, my dad and mom's cousin were ready to rock and roll. They spent the first day using the machine sander and sanding down the first layer of varnish and stain that was on from the previous owner. You can see {before} photos if you are interested in the progress. Luckily with the power outage it just set us back one day. In addition to dealing with the obvious, the cats had to remain in closed rooms and separated which made for interesting living conditions. 

 

   

 Left - previously refinished dining room floor Right - newly sanded living room floor.

Slowly but surely it is starting to look so much better, it's fun to see my dad work. I'm so happy that I have a hard-working, do-it-himself dad like him. I think sometimes he feels like it goes unnoticed, but I am here to say DAD. You're hard work is definitely noticed!

All posts in regards to this project are labeled "wood floors":

family house project 2012

2013 ed.

starting where we left off [sanding, sealing, and varnish] before.

family summer house project 2012 - 2013

2013 ed.

Let me take you back to {this post}, last summer in August. My childhood/ parents home was built in 1915 where all the original hard wood floors have been covered with a very unique green carpet up until last summer. Originally the plan was to strip, sand, and refinish two bedrooms, the dining room, and living room in one week last summer. However, after one days work it became evident that the quality of work we wanted was not going to get done with just my dad, and mom's cousin working on it in a course of 5 days. Fast forward to this summer where all we have left is our front living room floors, and an additional final coat on the dining room for good measure.

  

Before. There is an original stain on them as well, however we are stripping it down and just putting a glossy finish. (We also plan on getting brand new window coverings, rugs, etc.)

Sassy (the newest member of our family) snuck in on a few of these photos!

   

All of the main floor of our home is hard oak {same as the dining room}, the upstairs bedroom floors are a not. One thing that I think is so amazing about wood floors is that even no matter how worn-down they are, after taking off a few of the top layers and time to clean them up how truly beautiful they are. It's projects like these that make me excited at the thought of owning my own home one day. My dad has taken such good care of this house, and truly prioritized quality over quantity. No, every part of this house isn't brand new and up-to-date with the newest trend but it has been taken care of every step of the way. Every upgrade made has been thought out, researched, and intentional.
You can see the transformation of our floors last summer {here}.

end of day 5 [refinishing original wood floors]

day 5 - the end is here....well for now

 

 

   

The final coat is finished for our dining room! Well it has been a long week of a messy, strong smells, and stuff everywhere in the house that there isn't carpet. The best part of this being over; our four-legged member of our family is home again. 

   

I really won't miss this pile of stuff in my room (and this wasn't it at its worst!)

 

who couldn't love this cute furry face! She definitely lost a few pounds in protest for being boarded and not eating..poor thing.

Past posts that got us here!

{original} post

{day 1} post 

{day 2} post 

{day 3} post 

day 1 of my summer vacation/ family reunion celebration! Over the river & through the woods!

end of day 4 [refinishing original wood floors]

day 4 - the beginning of the end

 

dining room after first coat of poly. (bottom is the floor of the living room which is going to be done at a later date) 

 

   

as our family likes to say, "looks pretty nice"

   

oh look at that...ryley must have missed having his own room or something (sorry about the variety in color...like i've said before my camera isn't some fancy nice one...in my dreams)

...zach too.

 

...and yes pain & blood was shed to make these floors as beautiful as they are..thanks ryley ;)

Things are starting to shape up quite nicely. I will try to create a nice finishing post with everything all set up...we'll see how adventurous I get in this blog world. 

Look back from the beginning...

{before} post

{day 1} post 

{day 2} post 

{day 3} post

T-minus 1 day until family reunion/ celebration...not to mention first day off in weeks (literally)!

end of day 3 [refinishing original wood floors]

day 3 - starting to see the light!

 

         

above is the finished product of Zach my youngest brothers room. now, hurry up and wait...until it dries.

 

          

reveal of brother #2, Ryley's room. They both turned out fantastic! Awesome job Zach & Dad & Ron!!

As for the end of day 3 and the dining room it looked more like how the bedrooms looked on day 1/ 2, still progress! 

 

   

So as it stands on Wednesday night; two empty but completed bedrooms in the process of drying. One dining room finally sanded down and prepared for the first coat of poly. Lots of hard work, but progress is being made, and we have much to thank to good bones of the house, and the original wood that has stayed around long enough for us to bring out the beauty!

Stay tuned until tomorrow for the end of day 4 results!! 

If you're curious what got us to this point...

{before} post

{day 1} post

{day 2} post

 T-minus 2 days until family reunion celebration!!