we decided that since we're expecting our first baby now, we should get moving on the list of home improvements we've been making since we moved in in october 2009.
first on the list was our hardwood floors. we ripped up the carpet a few months ago because our crazy (but adorable) dog ripped a hole in the middle of it -from her cage! so we lived with all those ugly old stains on the hardwoods for a few months.
before:
soo many spots....
we rented a random orbit sander from home depot ($45 for 4 hours + sand paper-take home more than you think you'll need, they won't charge you for what you bring back unused) and sanded away any old finish that was on there:
it took 3 different sandpapers: 24, 40, and 80 grain
the random orbit didnt get all the way to the wall so we had to go around with a hand sander too:
this is how we lived for 6 days....everything but the couches were in the kitchen, thank goodness for my mama's dinners all week!
we obviously weren't getting any cooking done!
this is after it was all sanded and ready for the next step. looks better already:
there was so much dust in the air-you can see it in the picture! i was finally allowed to "help" and i got to clean the floors before he stained them
he is ALL ready to stain!
i was only allowed to stay to see the test spot then i had to leave for the day (not good for the 6 week old fetus!-but nice relaxing day on my parent's couch!)
the stain had to go on in small sections and then wiped off after about 5 minutes-longer if you want it to be darker.
looking good! it ended up perfectly matching the baseboards
all done-from the kitchen:
after the stain dried overnight we sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to make the polyurethane stick. three coats of poly, one a night, and our floors were finally done!
total cost: around $150 (max!)
$100 for sander and pads
$30-50 for other supplies (some we already had, like the hand sander)
total time: 8 hours of actual labor, 6 days total with drying time
1 hour to sand
5 hours to stain (we really underestimated that-thought it would take an hour and he'd be done in time for the football game, not so much!)
about 20 minutes a night per coat of poly
lessons learned:
1. listen to your wife and don't drag the heavy floor sander up the steps; it's really heavy and you'll end up fixing the deck steps next!
2. you don't have to apply the stain with a brush; you can use an attachment on an extender so it's not so bad on your back and knees.
3. even though it smells worse, use oil based primer. we used water based because the smell wasn't as bad since i was pregnant and our floor scratches easier than it should (like when the dog slides across i and stops herself with her nails....)
this wasn't a difficult or expensive project and it totally changed the look of our room! we love it so much we're planning to do it again in the nursery!
