Sunday, August 18, 2013

Floors galore and dropping the ball - Reno day 87




Last week was floor week. The builders left and Betsy, for the first time in months, had a little peace and quiet. Well, after the initial noisy sanding process that removed her old floor polish and revealed the true colours of her hoop pine floors.




The old polish was very worn and scratched in many parts of the house and had never felt clean underfoot, despite vigorous moppings. The new hardwood in the Legoroom appears to be an almost perfect match as the true colour is revealed.




Then came the laborious task of hand filling every single one of those holes. The house was very, very quiet for a few days while this happened.




 When I asked the floor polisher if he found it lonely working by himself he replied that no, it was really quite awesome as he could just pop in his earphones and not have to listen to anyone whinging and moaning. 




The fumes however, you never get used to. 





Meanwhile, we took advantage of the peace, quiet and incomplete floors to get some painting done. Have I mentioned that there is a LOT of painting to be done? As the kitchen and laundry cabinetry is arriving soon, we were keen to get the walls in these areas at least undercoated before they went in.




We were lucky to have my mum babysit at night so we could paint after work. Thanks, Nonna! There is nothing like a deadline to motivate the old brush.




 And it was really nice to see Betsy go from this,





 To this, within a week. She's almost looking like a house and not a demolition yard.





And what a treat to be able to sneak up and check out the wintery morning sun falling all over the lounge room floor. We made the ambitious decision to remove the large ugly hood over the lounge room windows to let in more light. By summer, with the sun higher in the sky, we will get all the light without all the direct sun, but in winter there is nothing better than a sunny patch and a cup of tea.




At this stage there is no lounge room furniture in the budget so we may just be rolling around on some vintage blankets. At least the new polished floors will be lovely and smooth. This is a semi gloss finish.




Apparently this is the finish that everyone is getting. We were talked out of going full gloss by both the builder and the floor polisher. Actually, I was busy dealing with real life issues unrelated to the reno and was unavailable to hash out that debate so I gave in.  And unfortunately I am not loving the semi gloss. So, now we will have to pay extra for a final high gloss coat. The motto of this is, even if you are near the end, you cannot stop to drop the ball.

However, the silver lining is that we now can paint to our hearts content, and let electricians and plumbers stomp all over the floors and we don't have to be precious with them. The final sand and last glossy coat will go on at the very end. See, I'm almost chirpy about it all as we are coming down the home stretch.

25 comments:

  1. Wow! Looks amazing! The semi gloss shows a lot less 'stuff' and scratches on the floor! Why aren't you loving it?

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    1. Yes the floor polisher and builder have said the same thing but in my opinion the gloss creates more reflection and shows up less of the grot on the floor. To me the semi gloss just look dull and half done even though they are finished. mel x

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  2. It's looking so gorgeous. I can't wait to see it filled with furniture and op shops finds!

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    1. Could be a long wait for furniture, op shop finds I can do! mel x

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  3. Oh it's looking so fabulous. Such a shame you don't love the semi-gloss but you have to live with it day in and day out, so best to change it now. Ours are full gloss which kind of looks semi-gloss...! xx

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    1. That would be kids I guess. We have to change it now while the house is empty, there is no way I am packing our stuff up again! mel x

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  4. Oh, wow. It's really looking amazing. I have to say, we had full gloss at our last place and it drove us crazy because it scratched so easily. SO, we put semi gloss in when we did Little House and...it doesn't look as good. I think I'll be going back to full gloss in Big House when we get there. Can't wait to see it all finished. xx

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  5. Yes op-shops here you come and all those visits will be justified on finding the perfect furniture for the new space.
    The floors look amazing against the crisp whiteness of the walls. x

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  6. It all looks wonderful, gloss or not. I love the idea of sitting in the sunny patches in the winter and enjoying the sun coming in through those wonderful windows and being able to see out to the garden beyond. Great job!

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  7. Looks fab - can't believe your progress! I love semi gloss, but it's a personal thing, and if you're not happy, then you've got to fix it or it'll bother you forever. Love all the light.. it's going to be a beautiful room to be in xx

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  8. Wow! It really is such a lovely light-filled space! Thanks for the reminder to not let decision fatigue get the better of me! I gave in last week and agreed to change our front door because it was too hard to decide whether I wanted clear or frost glass. I just hope I don't live to regret this! At least, although expensive, you can correct your floors.

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  9. It looks fab!! Good luck for the home stretch!

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  10. Love, love, love all the light and garden vistas from your living room (and I'm looking forward to you sharing your sneaky secret curve in the new kitchen.) And I must take some advice from your floor polisher and get myself a pair of earphones - there has been a lot of whinging and moaning over here lately. I don't think my ears can take any more. xx

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    1. Oh yes, quite envious of his job when he described it that way, lots of W &M going on over here too. mel x

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  11. Hello....I am admiring that beautiful ceiling rose!...

    how amazing that your Betseycan be transformed in a week and it takes me 3 wks to sort my wardrobe???

    You must be so happy to see the end in sight...and who needs furniture??

    bestest weekend wishes to you from the sunny and humid uk...XXX

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    1. I know, amazing what five blokes can do in a few days after you have provided them a slab of beer! mel x

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  12. wow all that glorious sunlight pouring in!!.. ours are full gloss and I love them but they do show dust and fluff and stuff more....but I still love them. the home stretch is a beautiful thing! Al x

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  13. Oh my word....it's looking gorgeous. I can't believe the transformation.
    I keep showing your blog to my hubby in the hope that he'll say...'yes you can knock our house down and start again from scratch'....but no go I'm afraid...lol!!!
    Good luck with the finishing off stage. I shall be watching and drooling.
    Sheila

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  14. Looking gorgeous Mel, it's not the filling the holes that's the painful bit , it's punching the nails down for he who draws the short straw.

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  15. MEL! I have been away from the computer over summer and hadn't been keeping up on blog reading - or anything else for that matter. I've just read through your last 5 (or so) posts, and I am so excited!!!! Sounds dumb but I have got a happy excited butterflies in my chest just looking at how far you have go with the reno... I am sure my feeling of elation is much more easily attained than your own mega months long martathon though! You've done an AMAZING job. Wish I could come over and sit on your beautiful floor on a vintage blanket with you. And can I just say - your pics and description of the laundry set up just may have made me a wee bit envious, too :))

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  16. Maybe I need to become a floor polisher!
    And Betsy really does look like a house now...next step a home!

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  17. Oh wow! your renovations are Huge! It's looking amazing! It must feel so good getting closer to the end.

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  18. wow wow wow! how amazing does it look?! well done lovely. she's a beaut. xx

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  19. I'm with Kit and Nancy, wow wow wow. Love the floors and well, wow. We were advised the semi too, wonder why you don't like it.... ? I cannot wait to see the gloss, I love the way it reflects light. Katie x

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  20. floor polishers
    :-very good content and nice information...

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