Yesterday was CRAZY with a capital CRA.
Seriously.
Want to start at the beginning? Click here.
We did a lot of the prep work for the floors on Thursday and Friday nights. We had to be ready for Saturday morning. And we did it!
After our home builder came in and fixed the imperfections in our concrete floors, Marcos and I got to work and filled the nail holes (from the carpet tacks), and filled in the long, but superficial surface crack. The very nice subcontractors left us some of their magic stuff. [One less expense. Yay!]
After we got all of the cracks and holes filled, I mopped the floor with vinegar. Just a quick mop. We had already swept and vacuumed and swept a gazillion times (concrete and drywall dust are no fun). After that it was time for Kilz primer. THAT STUFF IS STRONG. I think we were high most of the night (even with the windows open and fans going). But we needed to ensure we sealed the concrete and get rid of any odor from Olive (the perpetual pee-er).
That took us up until Friday night. My parents came over with their flooring tools and saw on Saturday morning before 9. I made breakfast (French toast and bacon) and then at about 11am we got started.
Our floors had been in the house for over a week, so we knew they had acclimated. We read the instructions to ensure we weren't missing anything - and then we pretty much got started.
We rolled out the 2-in1 underlayment plus padding. It was $34 a roll for 100 SQFT, we bought four. We could have gone with a more expense product, but this appeared to be exactly what we needed.
Once that was done and while Marcos and Alex ran to Home Depot for a few last minute things, my parents and I did a dry run to see how we were going to stagger the planks. I love how WIDE they are!! Almost 10".
The seams from left to right hardly show, so we didn't have to be exact in our measurements of stagger (at the end of each side of the room).
Here's my dad laying out the first plank... schooling us on how to lay floors.
This was truly a family affair. Here is Nic trying to get his knee pads on.
It took us a good hour or so to get the first couple of planks put down. We had to ensure we had spacers against the wall; the wall to the left isn't perfect. Despite all of the that, we were in good spirits. And we just kept on working, working, working. After awhile, we had dad man the saw while Marcos, Alex and I installed the floors.
I guess while I was working, Nic decided to go around the house and take pictures. I've told you before how much I LOVE finding his pictures on my camera. Look at this one, it's straight out of the camera.
After a quick pizza break at 5, we got to work finishing up the last few rows. I took a ton of pictures last night, but the colors were off, because my camera hates the dark. So here is a picture from this morning.
And here is a reminder of what my formals looked like a few months ago:
Not bad, but not exactly what I want.
Today, I am headed to Home Depot to buy new baseboards, and then I have a new mirror from Hobby Lobby to hang up... and then new drapes from IKEA. I am hoping I can start building my Billy built-ins this week and then loading everything back in (and out of my hallway and office).
I am so sore and tired today - but it feels good to have accomplished something that big. A HUGE shout-out to my parents for being the best. Really. THE BEST.
As a side note, be sure to check out Eighteen25 later on today, where I have some NEW Halloween Printables to show off!!
No comments:
Post a Comment