Project Hardwood: Day 3 and Beyond

Ok, so I realize that I haven't posted an update in quite some time.  I have been a very busy bee at the house.  Here are the updates on the hardwoods and more.

I applied the finish, Minwax Super Fast Dry Gloss Poly for Floor, with a lambs wool cloth seen below.  All seemed well during application. 

Lambs wool cloth used for applying finish.  I didn't take a photo of it while on the pole.  This piece gets attached to a rectangle piece of wood (think a mop head) and then attached to a pole for application.

Look good from afar.

But, the floors bubbled.  This is not good.

My floors bubbled.  Boo. So, I went into Home Depot and spoke with the flooring guy as well as the pro desk people.  They offered a reason that the bubbles formed and told me that this is fairly commonplace.  I wish that someone would have warned me about this sooner if it was so common.  They said that the wood is just breathing and the bubbles could be removed by resanding the top coat with fine grit 220 sandpaper.  So, I picked up a bundle of sandpaper and decided to use my trusty black and decker palm sander to do the job.

Sanding down the finish to see if I can get rid of the bubbles.

I waited until the next day when I knew the floors should be dry.  I tested out the bay window area to see how it would work.  I palm sanded my little heart out and reapplied the finish.  It looked ok.  I also made the decision that it would take ages to sand the floors by hand and decided to go and pick up my friend, The Beast.  My 120lb trusty orbital sander. 

I picked her up and got to work.  Each set of sandpaper was $10.  I went through 3 on the first room alone.  Grrr. It took me a few hours but eventually sanded down the entire area and then spot sanded away any additional bubble areas that I missed with The Beast.  I then said a little prayer to the Saints of the Hardwood Floors and reapplied another not cheap bucket of Minwax poly.  I waited.  Then went home to sleep. 

It bubbled again.  Not as bad, but enough to drive me crazy. 

I went back to Home Depot and this time they said that it bubbled due to humidity and that I should wait to resand and refinish until the 90 degree humid weather breaks and set up a dehumidifier while applying the finish.  So, my date with The Beast will come again soon, but for now I am in a holding pattern with the floors. 

If anyone has any experience with floor bubbles, I would love some advice.  The Beast can only take so much abuse from me. 

Project Hardwood: Day 2

DAY 2

Objective:

• Sand the entire floor with 80 grit sandpaper
• Sand the edges of the floor with 80 grit sandpaper
• Apply stain



First thing upon arrival, I had a little pow wow with my friend the orbital sander and asked her to kindly make sanding today a little easier.  Before I began sanding with the 80 grit, I had to sweep and vacuum the floor.  Luckily, my new Shop Vac arrived the day before. 



cleaned floor with mineral spirits

this shop vac is awesome



I sanded the entire floor with 80 grit, swept and shop vac'd.  Then, pole sanded with 220 grit. Shop vac'd.  Then wiped the floor with a cloth soaked in mineral spirits.  Then got ready for the stain. 

I chose Minwax Dark Walnut.  There are two reasons I went dark - first, I like the contrast that a dark floor gives and how it makes the room feel bigger, and second, I wanted to be sure that the water stains would not show at all.  I rolled the stain on with a roller and then wiped it off with rags made from old t-shirts.  I was so happy to finally be putting down the stain.  This step was tricky and time consuming.  The stain has to stay on for at least 5 minutes to soak in, and the longer you leave it on the darker it will be.  It was really important for me to time it right.  I also wanted to maximize the wait time so I had little 3x5' sections working in differnt spots. 



rolling on the stain



you can see the different sections that I rolled out



I got almost to the end, and I ran out of stain.  ARGH.  I had to make a quick run to Lowes to grab more before the stain dried along the edges which would leave a visible line.  I grabbed my keys and purse, tossed my ventilator mask to the side (which leaves a bright red ring around my mouth and nose), and ran out the door.  Just then, my new neighbor, Rob, came outside to introduce himself.  Quite frankly, I would have ran right back inside with the way I looked -  dripping sweat, hair flying all over, covered in stain, with a bright red ventilator ring on my face.  He didn't though.  We said a few words and I was off.  I came back with a gallon this time, and finished up the first coat by 9:30 that night.

I ran out of stain at this point.  I had to make a speedy trip to Lowes to buy more.  Luckily, you can't tell.

1st coat of stain complete!



Project Hardwood - Day 1

DAY 1 - WEDNESDAY

Wednesday began the hardwood floor project.  There is a reason that this is my first update since Tuesday - I have essentially been  living at the house working on the floors.  Wed morning I stopped at Home Depot to rent the drum sander and edger as well as pick up a few remaining supplies.  I called ahead the day before and was told that they had both available, but of course when I got there ready to tackle the floor they had rented out both drum sanders.  The guy at the desk said that an orbital sander would do the same thing but it might take a little bit longer.  Boy, would those words come back to haunt me, but more on that later. 

I sped to the house couldn't wait to get started.  I lugged the sander (all 120lbs) up the stairs, slapped on some velcro sand paper, picked a spot on the floor and got going at about 11am.  First, I had to fill in the bazillion nail and staple holes in the floor from the old carpet that had been installed.  This took about 2 hours to do.  I used some sandable, stainable wood filler.  Once that was done, I began the sanding process with the orbital sander.  The machine worked well, however, it doesn't take as much wood off as a drum sander.  Therefore, it took forever to sand off enough wood where the stains were.  I worked on sanding the floors until around 9pm and was finally happy with the results. 

Before picture of the dining room.  You can really get a good idea of the water stains that we were dealing with.

Before picture of the living room and dining room.  More water stains.

Prior to sanding, I had to fill in a bunch of staple and nail holes that were made when they had previously laid carpet.

Lots and lots of little holes.  This prep work took me about 2 hours, but was well worth the effort.

My trusty orbital sander which became a dear friend.  Special note, I purchased a window fan that has the in and out feature.  One fan was blowing fresh air in while the other was an exhaust.

This area took me about 4 hours to sand due to the heavy water marks.  When the guy at Home Depot said that the orbital sander would take a little longer, he wasn't kidding.  This spot alone took almost 4 hours to sand the stain away.  The drum sander was probably the way to go with a job like this. 

Finally, done sanding!

My Dremel Multi Max is what I used for the edges that the sander couldn't reach.  Also shown is my gardening knee pad that I got on sale for 70% off at JoAnn's.

I filled an entire garbage bag with the sanding dust.

Close up of the sanded floor - you can still make out a little of the stain.  I eventually got it out.

Things I learned.  Use the correct tools for the job, even if it means going to a different store to get it.  Knee pads are awesome.  Plan on spending double the time you thought it would take.

Question: What is 2041?

Answer:  The year our last mortgage is due.  Whoa.  Eric said to me today, "We have two kids and own a home.  When did we get old?"  We signed on the dotted line today and walked out with some keys and a boat load of paperwork. 

Signing our loan paperwork with our Wells Fargo liason, Laura Weiner

During the signing, our realtor, Jill Connolly of Re/Max (who is fantastic by the way), leaned over and said 38.  It took me a second, but I knew exactly what she was talking about.  38 is the most houses that she has ever showed before for a client house hunting, and yes, we earned the title. 

Here we are with our realto Jill (middle) and the broker Laura (left)

After the signing, Eric went back to work and I ran over to the house.  Tomorrow is when I break ground on the hardwood floors.  First thing in the morning, I am picking up the drum sander and edger from Home Depot.  They are charging $54/day for the drum sander and $35/day for the edger.  Today, I laid out all my supplies, organized myself, hung some plastic to block off the dust from entering other rooms, tried on my awesome ventilator mask, rolled up the carpet that is hiding the stains on the wood and took some before pics.  Those you will have to wait to see until I finish the job.  Hopefully I'll have the project wrapped up by Friday.  I'll keep you posted.

Tomorrow



 Tomorrow is the big day.  We close on our house at 1pm, and then we will officially be home owners.  We already have our laundry list of things that we want to do to the house.  Here are some of the first projects that we are going to tackle in the coming weeks.

1. Refinish the hardwood floors in living room, dining room, 3rd floor.
2. Paint the entire interior
3. Paint kitchen cabinets
4. Lay tile on kitchen floor and backsplash
5. Install powder room on first floor
6. Install bookshelves in living room from Ikea - but doctor them up so they look custom
7. Address mud room ceiling, paint, add storage/countertop

It is going to be a very busy month for our little family. Once we close tomorrow, I will be at the house prepping for the hardwood floor refinishing job that I will be doing on Wed and Thurs this week.  I'll post some before and after pics of the hardwood floors, as well as details on the job.  So far, I have picked up all the materials from Home Depot except for the drum sander and edger which will be rented on the day of.  This is what I have so far...

Minwax stain - Dark Walnut 2 quarts
Polyurathane Fast Drying Gloss 1 gallon
Pole Sander
220 Grade Sand paper for sanding in between poly coats
Mineral Spirits to use after sanding the floor
Roller to apply stain
Paint tray for stain
Rags to wipe up stain (old t shirts)
Lambs wool applicator for Poly
Ventilator mask to wear throughout the process (only $24 at home depot) 
Exhaust fan for the window
Plastic to tape off doorways

I also purchased the Dremel 3 pack which basically has a million uses.  I know that this little tool is going to prove very handy for all of our little projects.  The main purpose I picked it up yesterday was because it has a sanding attachment that will help me reach areas that the edger wont get to.  I also am going to be sanding down some outdoor patio furniture that I picked up at a garage sale a few weeks ago and this will come in handy for that project as well. 

So, the next time I post, we will officially own a home!