First Floor Finished

Thank God for 3-day weekends. So, Jeb and the OSB team finished laying the wide pine boards on the first floor last week. I had planned to finish the 2nd floor this weekend and have the 1st floor done professionally at a later date. However, Jeb really wanted that first floor done so they could get the baseboard in, and have the kitchen cabinets installed on Tuesday. So.... It was the first floor for us this weekend, as no professionals were available.

The job was HARD, but not technically challenging. Saturday, Loralee and I started at 9 AM, going over the floors with a medium grit sandpaper. Then, I sanded a second time with a fine grit paper. We were happy with the results, and it was about that time that Jason stopped in to see how we were doing, and if we needed help. We seemed to be doing okay, so continued to press forward. We vacuumed the mess completely, working at the cut-nail holes to dig out the embedded sawdust. To be honest, I think that was the hardest part. Next, we cleaned all the other dust - the walls, the windows sills, etc, and wiped down the floor with damp rags. Then it was time to put on our respirators, and lay the urethane. It was 5:00 PM by the time we finished that first coat, and we went home tired but satisfied.

Sunday AM found us back at the house by 9. We had a wedding to go to that afternoon (Nathan Stahler and Carrie Baker-- We had a blast!), so HAD to be done by 1:00 PM. I sanded with 120 grit paper, while Loralee followed behind with the vacuum. It went a lot faster than the day before, and we actually had the 2nd coat of urethane down by 11:30.

Today, Labor Day, Loralee had to teach up at BMA so I was flying solo on the 3rd and final coat. I got to the house around 8:45, and was immediately impressed by how GOOD the floor looked--- So good, I almost didn't want to touch it! However, I got right to it, and used the 12o grit paper to do a hand-scuff across the entire surface. Next, I did a thorough vacuum, followed up with wiping down the floor with a damp cloth. Working straight through, my back was killing me, but I wanted to lay the urethane down so it had as much time as possible to dry. This final coat went on much smoother than even the second coat, so I am hopeful it covers well.

All in all, the floor will not be perfect, but I am pretty tickled we did it ourselves. I am going to try and target the weekend of the 16th for Lor and I to finish the 2nd floor as well. Hopefully, Jeb can work that into the schedule. It really saves us a lot of money... We had a price of $1,600 to finish the first floor; By doing it ourselves, I figure it cost about $300, still saving $1,300... Which at this point in the project is really important! If we can do the 2nd floor as well, we should achieve the same savings.