floors

If it's felt quiet on the house update front, it's because the work of late has been somewhat tedious. But the truth is that it's been exciting, too. We're finally past the last hurdle of things we really wanted to finish before we could even consider moving in: the sanding and refinishing of the old pine floors that were throughout the majority of the house.

They'd been painted for years and years and had quite a few coats of paint in several different colors. Daniel tried a few different techniques before settling in on renting a large drum sander and edger, and buying sand paper in several different grits. After that, it was just late nights, sweat, and sore muscles.

I appreciate the man for so many things, but his commitment to getting a job done is high on the list.

He ran that drum sander across horizontally and diagonally before another run vertically. Then hours with the edger. Then more time with the drum sander and a finer grit sand paper. And finally a palm sander with an even finer grit.

Once the floors were sanded, all that was left was a good cleaning before treating them with a mix of linseed oil and paint thinner. He really wanted to get the floors oiled before we headed out of town for a few days since they need time to cure before being walked on anyway.

At 3am, Tuesday morning, he finished and we left for our mini church leadership retreat at 9am.

They turned out beautifully-- and so like the floors in our old house. There's one board in particular in the dining room that I looked at and instantly recalled mopping a certain board in our old front entry. As I took in the floors, the house felt even more like home.

Looking into the sitting [formal living] room from the dining room. Daniel widened the doorway from being a single door to a double door; trim and doors will go up in the next few weeks.

Looking out the front of the sitting room. The whole house has been primed, but not yet painted.

Looking into the big boys' bedroom from the little boys' bedroom. Daniel had to patch a few spots where old heating chutes had once been (as seen in the above picture), so he found old wood in the barn so that, once oiled, they would have the same pumpkin-y color as the original floors.

This little room will [most likely] be Bronwyn's bedroom. It was already the sweetest bedroom, and the floors in here turned out especially lovely.

Next up Daniel is going to be tackling trim in rooms where there either wasn't baseboard ever or windows were re-framed, etc. He's also going to be installing odds and ends like the kitchen sink + faucet, the electric baseboard in the boys' room, the cooktop, some light fixtures.

Then it's on to painting. A lot of painting!

Once painting is done, the new floors in the kitchen/family room will be finished, as well as the brick in the area for the wood stove installed.

Bit by bit, it's happening. As eager as I am to get in, I'm also very aware of how much easier all of this work is for Daniel if he's not doing it around furniture and small children. Every time I feel like I just really need to be in my own home with all our belongings and able to get back to "normal" routines that allow for more stability, more hospitality, more outreach, and more rest, God is faithful to remind me that He doesn't lead us places He can't then give grace for. He knows what my children need in each season. And the truth is, we have such a great set up right now! Above and beyond what we ever could have dreamed of, really.