Remodeling/renovating my house

[MoodyBlues]

I've been pretty much MIA around here lately, mostly because I just don't use Android much any more at all. NO! Heaven forbid, I did not switch to the dark side! I just mean I use my [Linux] laptop all day and barely touch my [Android] phone any more. So there's not a lot to talk about--I can't really offer help any more, as I'm just out of the loop!

Anyway, I know I've mentioned having work done at my house. It's still not finished--we started months ago!--but we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have a million pics but for right now just want to share one. These are comparison shots of my dining room, before and after its floor refinishing and new baseboards (ignore the furniture, which is all out of place):

What do you think?! I LOVE it. I'm so happy I decided to do this, I can't even tell you.

My mom always said that there were beautiful [original, from 1946] hardwood floors under the wall-to-wall carpet. I don't like w-t-w carpet and decided to have it yanked out a while back. I figured if Mom was right, then a little sprucing up should make it usable and if she was wrong, well, I'd take it from there, either get new wood or whatever--just not carpet. But she was right! The floor refinishing people I had come out to give quotes said it was basically in pristine condition, it just needed to be refinished. There were a few boards that needed to be replaced, but the vast majority of the house just needed sanding, staining, and three coats of polyurethane sealant I had them replace the ugly old baseboards with taller ones, stained to match the floor.

Work started last Wednesday and will wrap up on Monday, so almost a 2-week project. The interior painting is being done right now and that should be finished by next week.

I think the changes I've made really do justice to the house in terms of its age and history and everything. It's been very expensive, but very worth it. My cousin actually convinced me to go for it. She's always saying, "if you don't spend money NOW to make yourself happy, then WHEN?!" And she's right. I worked my ass off my whole life; if fate hadn't intervened, I'd STILL be working my ass off (because I loved my profession), but it did, so here we are. I love all the changes I've made and think my mom would, too.

 

[Milo Williamson]

 

[MoodyBlues]

Love it!

 

[ocnbrze]

wow, that's beautiful. don't put any furniture. it will ruin your floors

 

[Milo Williamson]

So beautiful floor you have, we have our old fashion ones like that, but be warn though, you better learn how to super clean it, otherwise it will have pure black dots everywhere though My friend, Chris, who does work in a wood company like that, told me at one time

 

[rootabaga]

You made very wise decisions! That looks gorgeous and you will likely enjoy that immensely for the rest of your days!

(BTW, the only inexpensive remodeling is to get a new towel rod for the bathroom and put new towels on it!

We’re looking forward to some more choice pics, Moody!

 

[Dannydet]

Looks great!!!
Thats going to look good for years to come.
Now I bet you made the right choice.

 

[olbriar]

Very nice Moody, very nice indeed!

 

[ozonetrooper]

Very nice !

 

[MoodyBlues]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I'm very pleased with it. I realized at some point that subconsciously I had chosen the color I grew up with. Yep, it looks just like the hardwood floors in the house I grew up in--one of the two houses I grew up in, which are both history now, thanks to Caltech (for the first) and McMansion fever (for the second). I know it's going to take some effort to keep it looking its best, but between that new robotic vacuum and my live-in helper, it should be fine.

We wanted to make sure that with the houseful of pets we have, various mishaps--like random vomiting... --wouldn't be a problem. The three coats of sealant they applied should keep it safe. But what about human mishaps? Like spilling a cup of coffee on the floor? I guess we'll find out eventually.

The worst part of all this has been the disruptions caused by various work. For example, when the bathroom was being remodeled, it was lacking a sink for about three weeks! The kitchen has been almost unusable since the floor project started--it's being used to store all the knickknacks and little things from some other rooms. Once the painting is done, everything will be done, then we can put stuff back where it belongs and sit back and enjoy the new look.

 

[rootabaga]

^^^In retrospect, the preplanning before a significant project often turns out to have been more important, perhaps, than the project itself.

 

[MoodyBlues]

^^^In retrospect, the preplanning before a significant project often turns out to have been more important, perhaps, than the project itself.

We were woefully unprepared for the floor refinishing! I don't know why, exactly, but somehow we just never thought it out and then ended up with the crew here ready to work... Oh well, live and learn, right?

 

[ozonetrooper]

I have done many things in past lives.

Did a project once where we installed hardwood flooring in a house, the flooring was from an old school gymnasium and we sanded it and poly coated it, looked just like your pictures !

I have the laminate plank looking stuff in this residence and it looks good but is more durable than real wood.

 

[olbriar]

When I first bought my house I had wall to wall carpeting installed over the old hardwood flooring. I had the main area redone once. Now that wood flooring is all the rave and I have no little ones crawling on the floor, I pulled up all of the carpet and refinished the old oak flooring. I must say that my finished product falls short of your flooring but we like it.
It's about time to redo the high traffic areas after a decade of use. I'm not looking forward to that.

 

[MoodyBlues]

When I first bought my house I had wall to wall carpeting installed over the old hardwood flooring. I had the main area redone once. Now that wood flooring is all the rave and I have no little ones crawling on the floor, I pulled up all of the carpet and refinished the old oak flooring. I must say that my finished product falls short of your flooring but we like it.
It's about time to redo the high traffic areas after a decade of use. I'm not looking forward to that.

The trick to making it easy-peasy? Hire a professional!

Seriously, they had equipment and manpower and knowledge that I can only dream of, but it was still hard work. There were four or five guys here working all day for most of the project, and they worked hard. I wouldn't want to tackle that myself. Of course, you're way ahead of me when it comes to wood-related projects like this, so your experience and mine would be vastly different.

 

[olbriar]

The trick to making it easy-peasy? Hire a professional!

Seriously, they had equipment and manpower and knowledge that I can only dream of, but it was still hard work. There were four or five guys here working all day for most of the project, and they worked hard. I wouldn't want to tackle that myself. Of course, you're way ahead of me when it comes to wood-related projects like this, so your experience and mine would be vastly different.

I have sanders but not a floor sander. I had to rent the sander. I don't recall the expense but it wasn't a deal breaker. My biggest problem was only doing half of the main room at a time. It is the connecting room between kitchen and laundry room and the bedrooms and baths. I had to allow traffic while I was doing the job. My only other option was to get a motel room for a week while I did that room. The bedrooms were a hassle just moving the furniture etc but at least I could do an entire room at a time. I will likely redo the living area and hall while I'm still able to do the job. I very rarely call in the professionals if I can do the job. I'm too old school and stubborn.
I must say that your finished product trumped mine. I went satin instead of high gloss but I didn't get that sort of sealing on the flooring. It cries out to be redone in the traffic pattern areas.

 

[MoodyBlues]

I have sanders but not a floor sander. I had to rent the sander. I don't recall the expense but it wasn't a deal breaker. My biggest problem was only doing half of the main room at a time. It is the connecting room between kitchen and laundry room and the bedrooms and baths. I had to allow traffic while I was doing the job. My only other option was to get a motel room for a week while I did that room. The bedrooms were a hassle just moving the furniture etc but at least I could do an entire room at a time. I will likely redo the living area and hall while I'm still able to do the job. I very rarely call in the professionals if I can do the job. I'm too old school and stubborn.

Yeah, I hear you! I was kind of apprehensive when the floor guy laid out his plan for doing the house, and four areas all had to be cleared out so they could be done at the same time. He showed me how NOT doing it that way, like only doing the dining room, for example, but not the living room which flows into it and the den and the hallway, which are all connected, would not guarantee an exact match all around. So we accepted it for what it was and plunged in. Luckily, my patio is covered--and large--and this is SoCal after all, so the odds of inclement weather are remote. They moved most stuff out to the patio, but also used the kitchen, which was a real pain. We were unable to access ANYTHING in the kitchen for several days--that's when the owner came back and I told him; he was completely unaware that they had done that! So he got the big stuff cleared out, but the counters are still filled with knickknacks and lamps and stuff.

Also, he had initially told me that he would do the two bedrooms at the same time. I agreed to that, but later changed my mind. I had to be in my room with our four pets, door safely closed, the WHOLE TIME they were working on the other rooms. As every regular here knows, my cats do not go outside--I don't want them eaten by coyotes or any of the other horrible things that happen to loose pets--and the dog only goes out in the back to potty and play. They were leaving all the doors wide open while they were working--one mishap and we'd be missing a pet. The first day, when they were clearing out the living room, they did SOMETHING to the DirecTV equipment, because all of our TVs lost their connection to the satellite dish. Thank goodness I could still watch things I'd recorded [on my DVR], but I wanted it fixed. I had to have DirecTV come out--and guess what they found? The guys had *CUT* the cable that comes up through the living room floor! And they had removed the main adapter. He showed me the cut ends; he had to repair the end and put a new cap on it, then he supplied a new adapter, plugged the now-working cable back in, and we were in business.

During this time, the owner was in and out. At one point I told him that I had rethought the 'all bedrooms at once' idea and it was not going to work, because of the pets. There is nowhere else in the house that we could keep them where there would be NO chance of accidentally getting out. He scoffed at that idea, but I said, "you know, we've been GREATLY inconvenienced considering that we were without a usable kitchen for FIVE days and had to order out every day, and--did you know this? your guys CUT the DirecTV cable so we couldn't even watch TV at first, So I think you can make a concession and do one at a time." He bitched about it but did end up doing it that way. He also didn't think his guys had cut the cable, but I told him I SAW it with my own eyes, and no one ELSE would've done that! I said DirecTV was here fixing it while his crew was here, so they could vouch for the fact that it had to be fixed--and that I told them afterward not to TOUCH the adapter or cable, or unplug them, etc.

I must say that your finished product trumped mine. I went satin instead of high gloss but I didn't get that sort of sealing on the flooring. It cries out to be redone in the traffic pattern areas.

I'm really beyond happy with the way it turned out. I know that *I* could never have done such an amazing job, but as noted earlier I have neither the equipment nor the knowledge, experience, expertise, etc. I don't know if this will be useful to you, but the way they did mine was sand it first (and replace the few boards that needed it), then stain it with one color (Golden Oak), wait for it to dry and stain it with another color (Golden Brown), then finally applied three coats of polyurethane sealant. (BTW, I've since found out what happens when a human drops something on the floor: it cleans up real easily!) The result, my beautiful new flooring!

 

[olbriar]

I was a one man crew so it was easy for me to do a room and half a hall way etc to accommodate traffic. It was still a huge hassle for everyone and took much longer than anyone imagined. The pain was worth the gain just as your project has proved.

When my father-in-law passed we inherited his home. It had ancient wall to wall carpeting over oak floors everywhere except the kitchen, utility room, and a single bath. We had sold off all of the furniture so the house was empty. Empty of everything including pets and people.
I spent a day removing the carpet and sanding all of the wood floors.
I left the wood natural but did apply a sanding sealer for oak is an open grain wood. Then I put two finish coats of polly on it, a day at a time. It was an easy project with an empty house and my finish product was far superior to what I achieved at my own home.

 

[MoodyBlues]

Here are some more pics. These are the bathroom which was basically gutted--the ONLY things I left were the bathtub and the mid-century tile that's on the walls above the bathtub. EVERYTHING else is gone, from an ugly old wall heater (that I've never turned on) to an ugly old recessed medicine chest, the old vanity and sink and toilet and....everything!

These are loosely in order of deciding how to end up with the bathroom arranged. I had bought a nice new rug for it, but after putting the rug down--and covering up some of the tile I love so much--it was outta there! Naturally, Joy Noelle had to check everything out and give it her approval; that bowl on the floor is her water bowl--she's always liked to have multiple water bowls around the house, so she does! By far my favorite part of this whole remodel is the tile going up the side of the bathtub. That was something I dreamed up, and asked my contractor if he could do it (so it would be secure and permanent) and I love how it turned out. The tile is onyx.

All the wall plates in the house have been changed to what you see here, i.e., all the light switches and electrical outlets look like the one above. I've tried to give the house an old-fashioned, comfortable look.

 

[Milo Williamson]

Here are some more pics. These are the bathroom which was basically gutted--the ONLY things I left were the bathtub and the mid-century tile that's on the walls above the bathtub. EVERYTHING else is gone, from an ugly old wall heater (that I've never turned on) to an ugly old recessed medicine chest, the old vanity and sink and toilet and....everything!

These are loosely in order of deciding how to end up with the bathroom arranged. I had bought a nice new rug for it, but after putting the rug down--and covering up some of the tile I love so much--it was outta there! Naturally, Joy Noelle had to check everything out and give it her approval; that bowl on the floor is her water bowl--she's always liked to have multiple water bowls around the house, so she does! By far my favorite part of this whole remodel is the tile going up the side of the bathtub. That was something I dreamed up, and asked my contractor if he could do it (so it would be secure and permanent) and I love how it turned out. The tile is onyx.

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All the wall plates in the house have been changed to what you see here, i.e., all the light switches and electrical outlets look like the one above. I've tried to give the house an old-fashioned, comfortable look.

You nailed it on the head, really adore your tiles, wow, and seagulls curtians too!!
I too had wanna rechange my bathroom tiles to that color at one point, but eh.. soonish I might give it a try, it is yucky cream color.

 

[MoodyBlues]

You nailed it on the head, really adore your tiles, wow, and seagulls curtians too!!
I too had wanna rechange my bathroom tiles to that color at one point, but eh.. soonish I might give it a try, it is yucky cream color.

Thanks! What's funny is that NO ONE thought I'd ever go with tile of that color. It actually came up in my search when I added 'orange' to my filters. Wow! There it was. Everyone expected me to go with some sort of blue....but, no! Not this time.

There's a long story about the shower curtain. Before Mom died, she asked for a new shower curtain and she was very specific--she wanted a beach scene, with birds and the ocean and sand. This was the first result and it was perfect--especially since it also has a lighthouse, which was one of her favorite things. Some time back, when the previous [ceramic] waste basket got broken, I ordered the one you see now. I honestly did not realize--for years--that it exactly matches the shower curtain! My helper got something reddish/brown on the curtain, and since it's cloth it never came out. I was pissed. Then she recently presented me with a new one! And I found the whole collection online, and added the shower curtain hooks, the soap dish, and the tumbler. As for the 'beach' plaque, the whole time I lived in landlocked Dallas, I dreamed and longed for the beautiful Pacific ocean. I LOVE the beach, the ocean, the sea life, the seaweed and shells.... So, yeah, when I saw that, I had to add it.

 

[Milo Williamson]

Thanks! What's funny is that NO ONE thought I'd ever go with tile of that color. It actually came up in my search when I added 'orange' to my filters. Wow! There it was. Everyone expected me to go with some sort of blue....but, no! Not this time.

There's a long story about the shower curtain. Before Mom died, she asked for a new shower curtain and she was very specific--she wanted a beach scene, with birds and the ocean and sand. This was the first result and it was perfect--especially since it also has a lighthouse, which was one of her favorite things. Some time back, when the previous [ceramic] waste basket got broken, I ordered the one you see now. I honestly did not realize--for years--that it exactly matches the shower curtain! My helper got something reddish/brown on the curtain, and since it's cloth it never came out. I was pissed. Then she recently presented me with a new one! And I found the whole collection online, and added the shower curtain hooks, the soap dish, and the tumbler. As for the 'beach' plaque, the whole time I lived in landlocked Dallas, I dreamed and longed for the beautiful Pacific ocean. I LOVE the beach, the ocean, the sea life, the seaweed and shells.... So, yeah, when I saw that, I had to add it.

My mother grew up on the beach in Plymouth, pratically up until my father got married twenty eight years ago. Before he passed on around twenty years ago, her side of the family all eggshelled around Mass. Until my Aunt's kids decided to stay in P.A., both whom are married off and just continued to walk into that adventure of everything underneath the roof. Right now she is on vacation.

I kind of vouched out of going on vacation up there this time around, been helping out at my sister's place, her basement got flooded last week, so had to stay over there for a spell and just went back with my side occupation on that following weekend. I too have adventure on the beach several times since I was a wee little tyke with my sister.