NEW FLOORS!

So the title of this post is NEW FLOORS. However, at this point, they're not exactly new. They were installed relatively quickly considering the amount of work it took. I just have been slack about posting. Chris and I were so lucky to have so much help from friends and family during this whole process. We couldn't be happier with the end result.

 The floors we chose were called Toasted Chestnut by Allen + Roth from Lowe's. For the price, they feel and look like a great quality.

Our first step was to remove all of the baseboards and lay a vapor barrier to prevent moisture from getting to the flooring. We then began the process of laying out the floors to make sure the seams varied. The hardest part of the whole process was cutting around cabinets and corners, trimming door jambs and making sure there was enough of an expansion gap for the floors to "breathe". We used spacers to help with this. 

I actually got in and got my hands dirty cutting the floors where need be and tapping them into place. I have a new respect for people who do this for a living. It is seriously hard on your body! After the floors were in we had to put the baseboards back on, patch and paint them and add the matching quarter round.

 I could seriously kick myself because I took photos of the entire process of installing the floors. They stayed on my phone for a month and then I mistakenly deleted them. Do not fret, I DO have "after" photos.

I am so happy this project is complete. In my opinion the floors alone have transformed the entire house. Thanks again to everyone who helped us mark this big item off the "to do" list. We couldn't have done it without you!

Tore Up From The Floor Up

Holy hardwoods batman! 

As you know one of the items on our home to do list was to replace our damaged hardwoods with a more durable and attractive laminate. After looking at many different floor samples for the past couple months Chris and I finally chose one. So on Sunday we bit the bullet, ordered the flooring and decided to start removing our current hardwoods.

As soon as we started, we knew we were in for quite a task. The hardwoods were heavily glued to the cement underneath, and were VERY, very stubborn. 

After cutting sections with a circular saw, both Chris and I used pry bars and hammers to remove the existing wood. 2 hours and all our blood sweat and tears (not from crying, but from a wood chip flying in my eye), we had only removed a small portion of the dining area. 

Before starting this project Chris told me that if we had to hire someone to remove and install the floors we couldnt go on a cruise next year, so believe you me, we were determined to make this DIY project work. 

So Chris did a little research, talked to some friends and family who've done similar projects in the past and decided to rent a floor scraper from Home Depot. The hope was that it would help remove the hardwoods as well as scrape up the remaining glue and wood remnants. Some reviews online said the machine didn't help at all, but we had our fingers tightly crossed.

Chris rented the scraper, and with the help of our good friend Justin they demoed the rest of the hardwoods in the dining area, kitchen and living room as well as removed all the adhesive in half a day. The cost of the machine was around $85 plus $15 on pizza to feed the hard workers, but that $100 saved us thousands (plus a vacay) since we didn't have to hire help. 

Here are some before and during photos of the demo. (sorry for the bad iphone photos)

Before

During but after  using scraper

During but before using scraper on glue and stuck on hardwoods. (Sneak peak of new curtains)

After removing wood and scraping glue - looks ugly but is so much better!

Currently our new flooring is stacked in the corner acclimating to room temperature per manufacturers instructions. The plan is to install these bad boys this weekend. I Will keep you posted on any DIY drama and of course "after" pics. Wish us (and by us, I mean Chris and handy friends) luck!