Renovation Update

This weekend I was thinking I didn't have much of an update, but after downloading photos from my camera, I saw how wrong I was.  Many photos of many little projects to come...and I ordered seeds for the garden last week!

In the meantime, Byron has been working on installing new heart pine flooring in the room that originally was  the kitchen/dining room, but what we will use as the study.  I'd like to say that we installed reclaimed flooring, but let's just say sometimes it's not easy being green unless you have pretty deep pockets.  So although we salvaged the flooring that wasn't damaged by termites and reinstalled that, we will have to use newer growth wood in the rest of the house.  Only about 1,000 s.f. to go, but here's an exciting start:

When we first got the wood, it seeemed a little damp.  Weird, since hardwood flooring is typically kiln-dried, but Byron decided to sticker (builder speak for stacking flooring)  it for a few days to let it acclimate to the temperature of the house.  A good idea anyway, since wood expands and contracts.

The hardest part is getting the first row straight.  From there it's not bad, especially if the boards are wide.  Although the original flooring is about 3", the new flooring will be a bit over 5".  We chose to get a different width to differentiate between old and new.

Thanks to Byron's dad for letting us borrow the saw!

Byron installs the last board.  Kinda like the golden spike in the Transcontinental Railroad...or not.

We have a long way to go, but this looks great to us given that less than a year ago we could step right into the crawlspace here!  And oh yeah, I painted.

An updated photo of the fireplace in the parlor.  This is a reclaimed mantel I painted from an 1840s house...and it has a twin that will go in the study!  More pics and details to come, but since we got a great deal on these, maybe I need to take back that bit about being green = deep pockets? 

After a lot of research on polyurethane versus tung oil versus Waterlox, we decided to go with Waterlox to finish our floors.  The downside of poly is evidenced by the bubbled-up plastic coating on the older floors in the house, and while pure tung oil is old school, the price was comparable to Waterlox and it may need to be "freshened" every couple years (no, thanks).  I'll be finishing the floors myself, and Waterlox is supposed to be easy to apply, self-leveling, and easy to repair...with no sanding between coats.  I'll let you know how it goes!

We have lots more indoor and outdoor projects to tackle this spring, and frankly not enough time...so bear with me if this blog gets a bit schizophrenic in topics in the very near future!