Weekend progress with one week to go!

Very little work, but big progress this weekend.  With one week and counting (this time next week we have to be MOVED IN) we were determined to get poly on the floor this weekend.  I spent a good part of last week sanding the heck out of the oak to be sure we would get a nice finish.  My dad came by on Sunday to put the first coat of polyurethane down.

Rest assured, the first coat is a gloss and the second coat will be the final satin finish, so it won’t look like a basketball court (however, apparently this is the same stuff they use on the Cleveland Cavalier’s court).  The floor is also wet in these photos.  It’s so nice to see the grain and variation now, something that was totally hidden by the old varnish.  Looking at these photos, it’s hard to believe only a month ago the house looked like this.

I have a little surprise regarding the upstairs.  If you remember, the floor upstairs is not the same beautiful oak.  It’s pine.  Very soft, very worn pine with a gross red stain.  We were really hoping we could save it.  We got as far as pulling out all the staples, pulling up the tack strips and even sanding it once before we realized they weren’t worth saving.  They were not cleaning up well, were going to require a TON of work and time and frankly, they are so soft in a year they would probably be wrecked again.

SO, we have decided to carpet the upstairs.  I know what you’re thinking… carpet is very difficult to make chic.  For the sake of practicality, we are going to take on the challenge.  It will be warmer upstairs, quieter downstairs and look nicer longer than the pine would.  It was a tough decision, but it’s probably for the best.  Hopefully we can make it work.

Saturday was the first day since we bought the house that we did absolutely nothing.  We sat on our butts in our PJs all day and just relaxed.  We even each took long naps on Sunday.  It was amazing.  But now it’s time for me to get packing!  With the floors drying, there is little else we can do at the point.  Tomorrow or Wednesday the floors get their final coat and Saturday is the big day!  Wish us luck!