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Jay's Floor Remodel - 1 of 8 - A Floor By Any Other Name

It's that time of year again. Every year my wife and daughter go to Maine to visit a friend. They stay a couple of weeks eating blueberry pancakes and lobstah. I stay home.

There is a purpose in staying home - it is my time to improve the house. Over the years, I have done many home improvements while they are away. It is the best time to do them. My deadline is pretty specific. I have to get done before they come back. Why? Because my wife has no idea how torn up the house gets while I work. It is best she not know. Ignorance is bliss. She comes home to a finished project and all is well.

This year my project is putting hardwood flooring in the living and dining room. Why do I do it myself and not pay somebody else? One, because I can. And I am real good. Two, I am never happy with someone else's work. I prefer not to deal with that disappointment. I will include you in on my project.

Here is my palette:

That is the view of the living room.  This is my palette.  This photo was taken very early this morning.  The furniture was removed yesterday and is in the dining room, basement and family room. 

And yes, the walls are bubble gum pink.  Why?  You would have to ask that.  Well, many years ago we bought an antique Persian carpet.  The living room - its colors, furniture, everything - was built around that carpet.  Everything in the room was purchased or selected to complement its colors.  The room is all antiques, except for a grandfather clock, which imprint you can see in the corner.  It has taken a long time to find just the right thing(s) for the room.  It involved many decisions.  And those are executive decisions.  They are not for me to make.  I am the grunt, not the decorator.

This won't be easy.  I do this in addition to the 15 or so hours daily I devote to my occupation.  My wife doesn't care about that.  All she cares about is the deadline. 

The clock is ticking... wish me luck!

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Comments

Thanks for commenting
jay | Sun, 09/05/2010 - 02:17


Thanks for commenting Debbie!

Well, sorry to do that to you but my humor is silly sometimes. Of course I didn't install the floor over the pad! That was a joke.

Yes, the entry floor is a different width.

Wow, I did not realize until seeing your comment that blog 2 cannot be commented on. I will have to see what to do about that.

Pythagoras was pretty cool. The Greek "chi" is not an X although it looks like it. It has hooks on the ends of each arm. My college fraternity was GBX - Gamma Beta Chi, and yes, you spelled it right!

I didn't want to do diagonal! Too much work, and a lot of waste too. The side to side looks good though. I do like diagonal on a deck because it strengthens the overall deck structure.

Your tile installer and I would probably get along!

I'm guessing those walls won't get repainted until the house gets sold and the Realtor says to neutralize!

3rd part. Oh, I see, you
Debbie (not verified) | Sat, 09/04/2010 - 20:44

3rd part. Oh, I see, you were going from 2 1/4 to 3 1/4. I couldn't figure out why you were doing all that trig. LOL on pythagoris. Oh, and there is an X - I think it's Chi (not sure if I spelled that correctly.

I can't comment on 2nd
Debbie Gartner (not verified) | Sat, 09/04/2010 - 20:37

I can't comment on 2nd blog.

Pls tell me you didn't install on top of carpet pad. That could be a disaster - mold maybe? If you want "bounce/cushion" maybe try cork underlayment - used more for sound and insulation.

My reco on layout is Diagonal. But, I'm guessing you didn't do that. So, next I'd say perpendicular to joists and hopefully builder was smart enough to install those so your hardwood would go across the longer length of room.

Ok, I think that went
Debbie Gartner (not verified) | Sat, 09/04/2010 - 20:32

Ok, I think that went through & hope I can figure out how to get to the other pages.

Oh, and I can completely understand that if you can do things really well, it's hard to have someone else do it since you're never satisfied. that's how it is w/ my project manager who is my tile installer. He won't let anyone else lay the tile since he doensn't feel they're good enough.

This is cool. Can't wait to
Debbie Gartner (not verified) | Sat, 09/04/2010 - 20:29

This is cool. Can't wait to see the finished product. (I may have to come back a bit later, though...computer is overheating).

Hope this comment goes through & I hope there's an oppy to repaint those walls. I'll wait to see the hardwood before reocmmending a paint color.

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Jay performs inspections Monday through Saturday, throughout Northern Virginia, from his office in Bristow to Leesburg and Centreville, to Great Falls and Vienna and everywhere in between!