Singing a duet on new floors

The duette blinds are installed while the floor guy is looking at the floor. Some parts will have to be fixed, but overall it's not bad. We write a check for the wood and we're off to the races once again! Tomorrow Mr. Art of Hardwood will bring the wood to compare the moisture content with the wood in the house. It has to match before he can install. He may even start this week, wow.

The Floor

Another pay day and Furlough Friday rolled around, and we turned our attention to the floor. We set ourselves a deadline of Monday, Oct. 5, to get the carpet up for the final estimate from The Art of Hardwood, which meant we had to finish painting over the weekend.

We had moved and packed somewhat leisurely during the week, thinking we would paint on Saturday. Friday was busy with errands and appts., and John was busy all Saturday morning. Painting got moved to Sunday but at least we managed to prep things pretty well.

Sunday morning I had to have some tea and paper time in the kitchen, figuring it was the last for a while. When we started painting it went faster than we had thought, and we were also running out of paint. Having a large open space with partial walls helped. John had to go back for more while I did the corners.

When he came back, I suggested we push on to finish the hallway. That done, John got ambitious and wanted to paint the ceiling in the family room, to complete the continuity and unify the rooms, even if the family room was not going to get finished for a while. The room looked like granny's attic but we managed to drape everything, including the plants, and then that was done and we wished we could have continued. We decided we could do one wall per furlough weekend, after the living room was back together, and rip up the carpet as well.

But it was time to do the nasty carpet. John cut and rolled it out while I started pulling up staples. The revealed floor was covered with paint and pet stains, but we could see the potential. It was another indication of how shlocky the sellers of the house were - they did the absolute quickest, cheapest cover-up possible, throwing down carpet instead of repairing and finishing the floor. It remains to be seen what the verdict will be. We figure we should stain the floor a darker color anyway, to complement the cabinets, and we're also going to add extra finishing for durability. With three cats, a big dog, two men and assorted friends, the floor needs to be tough.

Is it worth it?

Today begins in a relaxed way as we go to a camera swap and find a vintage light meter for Richard. We stop at Target and shop leisurely for such things as paper towel holders.

Back home we discover that person or dog unknown has stepped on the border in one spot, and since it is not reinforced with anything, two tiles were dislodged. Much fretting as we wonder how to fix it. Eventually we go to the home improvement store for tile adhesive and grout, and John does an excellent job putting the small pieces back. The border tiles are slate and they do crack. We had given our friend all the leftover tiles (in hindsight, should have kept a few) but no problem. John just glued them back together and it's invisible.


Ahead in the next few weeks we must pack the living room, move the furniture, paint, take up the carpet, then figure out how to live without a kitchen and keep animals out of 2/3 of the house for three days.

Is it worth it? A definite YES for the comfort and improvement in quality of life!

Tiling the entrances

Our friend arrives an hour late to work on tiling the entrannces, but that's OK. He's doing us a favor and he will stay until it's done. As it turns out, it takes all day, from noon to 8:30, before the job of tiling the front entrance and the kitchen entrance from the garage.

He did a really pro job, and had good advice about how to make the pieces fit together. John was also a key assistant, and had to go to the store twice.

That evening we marveled at how well it turned out. I did not want the tile to bump up against the desk, so there is one row with enough room for a wood transition. By limiting the border it is consistent with the style at the front door and remains simple but interesting. We have to wait two days, then clean it with vinegar and seal it.

Mr. Fix-It

Ray does the final fix-its and walk-through. There were very few, in my estimate, but it did take several hours, and I appreciated the care he took to make everything right. We reminisced about the transformation. When the floor and living room are done, we will have a party and invite the Simply Kitchens crew to see the finished project.

It was hard to believe that wouldn't see the SK guy again, until the party anyway. They have a new project starting Sept. 28 and I wish them good fortune. I know the design and final kitchen will turn out beautifully.

With a final signature and handshake, Ray was off with the trailer (they had done a very nice job of clean up, taking away everything). Now we were on our own to finish painting and taking up the awful carpet.

While Ray was over the window coverings guy was over. Like Weatherite, the company, Rico's, is one we've done business with before, and we are return customers. Initially, the purpose was to replace the Roman shade in John's office, as it was showing several years of cat rubbings and he wanted one that could go top-down. We went with a duette with a light blocking layer. I was going to wait on the kitchen window but decided to get a top-down duette as well, for privacy. We found a color that is very compatible with the counter and cabinets.

That evening we went back to the store for tile supplies - a friend of ours was going to lay the tile Saturday - and we got the inspiration to get a border set of rectangular slate in place of the squares we chose earlier. When we got home it looked so much better, so it was a fortuitous trip. John laid out the pattern and we looked forward to one more item on the checklist getting done.

A day off

This is the first night we didn't clean, demo, shop, or do anything that had to be done in the kitchen the next day. We've been hanging out at the island; Richard comes in from school and throws all his stuff on the counter, then does his homework while munching a snack.

Tile shopping

Tonight after work we went to buy the tile and small pieces for the border. We went to three stores before we found it. We laid it out and it worked perfectly. We used 17-1/2" squares of porcelein tile that has the look and color of slate; it is less expensive and does not chip like slate, although just handling it we chipped two rather easily!