As many of you know we are currently in the middle of major renovation projects at our home. If you know me well, you know that I'm pulling my hair out about all the dirt and dust building up in my house as we speak. So, we moved the kids and I to my parents home and have been there over 3 weeks. (We originally thought this would take 4-7 days to complete. Oh were we wrong)
Parts of our farmhouse are over 100 years old so when we decide to renovate a room you never know what you are going to encounter or what suprises you will find. In our livingroom we took down the 1960's panel ceiling to discover a cracked an crumbling plaster ceiling which we had to take down only to discover beautiful wood beams throughout the room so we cleaned them up and it will eventually add character to the room. (this "project" added 5 days to our originally time crunch)
So as if all that wasn't enough for these "do it yourselfers" we decided to add hardwood flooring in the livingroom and refinish our kitchen floor since the clear coat topping was not hard enough when we originally did the floor. This was one of our dumbest decisions. (this "project" took two day but brought tears to both Arlan and I's eyes while we were sanding the floors at 3am in the morning.) The sanders weren't working for us and every time we ran it, it put more scratches in the floor that we couldn't get out. The only thing that semi-worked was sitting on the sander. Finally after about 12 hours of sitting on that darn sander we gave up, got out the little hand sander and spent the remaining 8 hours doing it on our hands and knees till it got smooth.
We also decided to replace the carpet in the livingroom and up the stairs since it was destroyed during the demo of our ceiling and our drywallers did a doosey on it as well. When we tore out the carpet on the steps we discovered finished steps that we decided to strip down, sand and stain. Little did we know that getting 40+ years of glue and varnish off those steps would take 100 years. (this "project" added, like I said, 100 years to the time crunch)
So as if all that wasn't enough for these "do it yourselfers" we decided to add hardwood flooring in the livingroom and refinish our kitchen floor since the clear coat topping was not hard enough when we originally did the floor. This was one of our dumbest decisions. (this "project" took two day but brought tears to both Arlan and I's eyes while we were sanding the floors at 3am in the morning.) The sanders weren't working for us and every time we ran it, it put more scratches in the floor that we couldn't get out. The only thing that semi-worked was sitting on the sander. Finally after about 12 hours of sitting on that darn sander we gave up, got out the little hand sander and spent the remaining 8 hours doing it on our hands and knees till it got smooth.
I must say I think we got in over our heads a bit this time but thanks to my dad and the Beiler clan we were able to get the project done and hopefully move back home by the end of the week.
Be sure to check in for the final results!!
5 comments:
Hi Dana, that picture of Arlan sitting on the sander is hilarious. He looks so sad and worn out. I hope you guys are doing well. I look forward to new posts on your blog. Wanda Miller
dana,
i can sorta get a picture for the finished project and it's going to look lovely, just amazing. oh, i can't wait to see it. wow. it'll be worth all the hard work.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!! I totally understand the whole sanding until your hands/arms are numb! (although I've never experienced a numb butt!!) We refinished ourliving room floor. I am soooo pleased w/ the way that red color turned out for you! PERFECT!! Like Kara said, it WILL be worth it in the end. I'm thankful for you guys that you've had a place to live these past few weeks, and not too shabby either! The exposed beams looks amazing! WHY??? would someone cover them? I suppose I'm in the wallpaper removal business now. Jake & I helped some other friends take down some old wallpaper last Saturday. Thankfully it was only 1 layer and came off really easily! See you in a few weeks @ Heidi's. Until then, stay dirty!
Sounds like you guys could start a remodel business. I'm sure after this experience, it will be a while until you tackle that next big project. Don't you have a better appreciation of all that Arlan does after you have to help him in the projects? I know I do after helping Jason time and time again. Sounds like it will be an amazing place. You're a great decorator to boot! Love ya guys
oh dana-
i can relate too!!!! we sanded our hard wood floors & ripped out plaster walls & gutted our only bathroom (at that time) with a shower & just about everything else under the sun WHILE WE WERE LIVING HERE!!! the dirt----it is JUST about unbearable. & the hidden projects that just keep unfolding as you go---& you suddenly realize there is no turning back as much as you decide that you would have been just fine with the ceiling the way that it was.....or the off-colored carpet or etc. etc.
i cannot wait to see the finished project though. i'm sure it will be amazing & you guys will appreciate every single minute detail because you did it with your own hands, legs, sweat, tears & energy! It is very rewarding!
WOW---i didn't mean to give you a "renovation sermon." but i can relate. =)
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