Renovation Update #5

We're crawling to the Moving Line, folks. The Finish Line is still too far away to talk about, but the Moving Line is fast approaching...we hope!!

First, I want to introduce you to our amazing new floors.  We are so thrilled by how they turned out.  When we first discussed putting down plywood as a flooring option, it sounded a little goofy.  However, we love how it turned out. It took more work than we expected and gave David some challenges, but we are loving the final result!

Let's walk through the process:

The family room and playroom as they were when we bought the house:

The family room and playroom after the carpets were removed:

The trick to the plywood that make it difficult to work was that we wanted it cut in square "tiles".  Getting those "tiles" to be cut exactly straight was a huge challenge. We started by having Home Depot cut them for us, since their machine should be able to cut the wood straight. Unfortunately, when they laid them out on the floor, it was obvious immediately that the wood wasn't cut perpendicular. 

David's Dad then built a great table complete with a "fence" that allowed us to push the plywood through the saw while keeping the edge straight. It worked perfectly!

The family room and play room once the plywood was laid:

Once it was put in place and the toe molding was installed, we used a rented sander to smooth the floors and ready it for the polyurethane coatings.  A slight scuff between coats and we have two rooms with gorgeous, unique, and very practical flooring for a busy family. :)

Some other progress this week:

One trailer full of packed items unloaded

Laundry room painted (3 coats!) and floors prepped for vinyl

Upstairs bathroom final coats of mud, painted, and vinyl flooring installed

And in the midst of it all, plenty of time for playing in the dirt and having fun.