Who Needs A CAD Program

There is something to be said about building a life sized mock up of what you want to do in the space you are working and be able to walk around in it to see if it will work. Computer Aided Design programs for kitchens might be nice to be able change things around and see a more finished product, but if you can't walk in the space I don't believe you get a realistic feeling of what you want and if it will work or not. Best do it now then when all the walls are up and the electrical has been run.

Looking at the main cooking area and sink from the hallway, with
the pantry in the corner.

A look at the island and were the fridge will
go in the corner.

The right side is were we want to put the oven and a
counter for the coffee pot.

Looking in from the dining room, still room to move around.

Round Two

The second coat of poly went on very well and it looks great. The others should go on just as well. They are still wet but you can see how nice they look once again.

The spare room.

The dressing room.

The master bedroom, nice sunshine coming in.

My office.

Looking south down the hall.

Top of the stairs.

Take Away The Shine

After the floors dried with the first coat of poly on them it was time to give it a light sanding. This is because the wood fibres raise a bit when the poly is applied. The sanding knocks this down and smooths out the wood once again. I have to do this when I apply poly to any of my wood working projects, just this project is a bit bigger. I then sweep the floors, used a crude duster, then a damp mop to pick up the last of the dust created from the sanding. Tomorrow I'll put down the second coat and they'll look great again, until then this is what they look like.

The spare room, looking dull now.

The dressing room.

Master bedroom.

My office.

Top of the stairs.

South end of the hallway.

Looking back down the hall.

Make It Shine

Well making it shine isn't quite accurate, all I want to do is protect it some what. This is the first of 4 coats of poly I'll be applying. The weather isn't too bad right now so it should dry overnight, as the humidity is low. Hopefully I can do one coat a day and then I'll let it sit for a few day's before walking on it. Here are a few pictures of the rooms, remember, the floors are still wet and look brighter than they appear.

The spare room.

The dressing room looking in from the master bedroom.

The master bedroom.

My office.

South end of the hallway.

Looking south down the hall.

Top of the stairs.

Who needs Tyvek booties to protect the floors from your shoes.

Exposing The Beam

This beam is in the living room and was covered by drywall. We could see the original beam and ReBecca wanted to see if we could leave it exposed. Well after pulling off the drywall the beam was beefed up with a few extra boards, it looks like this was done to provide additional support because it appears to have been a load bearing location. I try to dress it up later to give it that old look. When it's done there will be pictures.

Beam with drywall.

Exposed beam, with lots of nails.

Working On The Next Step

I haven't posted any pictures of what I did over the past few days because you wouldn't be able to tell that I added some wood fill to a few locations or that I used a floor sander. They look the same, that is until this morning, the stain went down and they look fantastic. Some pictures have a different look, that is because of the lighting and the camera flash. It is Minwax Provincial, it goes down with a lambs skin applicator. It took a few passes to get the hang of it and once I did, it didn't take long. The best part is ReBecca likes it. After a good dry time I'll be putting down a few coats of Poly for protection.

This is the spare room.



The dressing room.

Master bedroom.

My office.

South end of the hallway.

Top of the stairs.

The Floors Are In

Today was a good day and a long one, for me anyway, I finished putting down the last of the floor boards up starirs. Next step; sanding, then staining, and a few coats of poly for protection.

The hall looks great with the boards running this way.


 

The spare room.


















The dressing room.

 

The closet in the guess room.

The closet in my office.

Small Space - Lots Of Work

This section of the hall way is only 40 inches wide but it's over 22 feet long and with each row requiring more than one board, it takes a few trips up and down the stairs to make it right. And to add to this, I have to make sure the joints are spaced properly, and that they don't line up, because I didn't cut tongue or groves in them. Anyway this section is done and the rest are all one piece boards that should go down a little quicker.



A look from the top of the stairs.




Looking back down the hallway
from the south window.

A Busy Few Days

The old pine floors are going back down. I have two rooms done, two others partially done and the hall to do. It takes a bit of time because ReBecca wants the hall to have all old floor boards and as I mentioned in an earlier post, run the length of the hall, so I have to make sure I have enough old floor boards to do the job. I still have to cut in the tongue and groves in the new pine boards but that won't be a problem. Like ReBecca said, knotty pine is not our first choice of flooring, its soft, even when we apply 3 - 4 coats of poly, but they are the original floors and they are not in heavy traffic areas.

The master bedroom, there are new boards in the room but will be hidden under the bed. Besides once they are all stained you won't be able to tell.

My office, it looks great and the floors fell very solid.

The dressing room started.

The spare room.

Another Look

Here is another possible look at what our kitchen window will be. It is 36 x 55 and of course it has an arch. This will be a little challenging to install but it will give us lots of light, and it does look good.