Kitchen Update // Vol.1, The Floors

Happy Monday to you! Yay for getting back to our regular blogging days this week! Most of you will have already known bits and pieces about what I will be showing you today, but whether you are a family member popping in to see, people we go to church with, or friends from other social media sites; I wanted to make sure to journal these days that we have waited for for so long and keep you all up to date as well! So I thought, how better to do that than to share the process of our big project on the Blog? So here we go with the first installment; the sanding and refinishing of the floors in our long awaited kitchen!

The flooring story: One of the things that we have always done through the process of our remodeling and additions to our home is to find things on Craigslist. And one of those things is this unique looking flooring that you have already seen a bit of. You see, this is old gym flooring (if you hadn't already guessed!) which explains the blue and white markings sprinkled about the 1 and 1/4" tongue and groove, hard wood maple flooring pieces. It came to us in 4' by 5' slabs; cut right out of an old gym that was being torn down somewhere in the middle of our State. Mom & Dad took a couple trips with some of the kids to load up the slabs into our trailer to bring home and use. Once it was home, Dad began taking apart the big chunks that were still held together by the 2x4s underneath, freeing each little stick of flooring to be used once again. From that stage we all began taking turns (working on different days when we had the time) sanding around the tongue and then the other flat side and each end to remove all the old grime. Once we had a BIG pile ready to be reinstalled, Dad and a couple good family friends helped install it into the washroom (full bath & laundry), the kitchen, and the dining area.

Then it sat, for uh, year and a half or so. Until now.

We obviously knew when we got the flooring that the basket ball court markings would have to go. Dad said it would be a lot of work, but so worth it in the long run for such quality flooring & a great price to boot! So the process began.

We moved everything off (last week) the flooring (we had still been living in it this way obviously) so that not only the flooring could be worked on, but the rest of kitchen as well. Such as paint, trim, & cabinets which is what I will continue to keep you all updated on. :)

(THE TWO "HOLES" IN THE FLOOR ARE WHERE ISLANDS WILL BE, so it didn't matter if we put flooring there.)

So the stripes and little square markings began to be pulled off by the help of a 400lb. sander and two strong hard working working guys. One being our loving Daddy and the other a very wonderful friend who sacrificed days off of his own work just to help us out! Sanding (pics with some markings) & buffing (pics above and below without) was not all that has been completed by their careful hands, but polish (oil based polyurethane) as well.


These photos are only from the first coating of the strong smelling oil. Three times they rolled over the smooth boards with poly, and each time they left it for the rest of the day to dry and cure, which left us with the most beautiful flooring that I have ever seen.






Walking on that shining floor made it all worth it. The wait, the work, the sweeping out from under "the cracks" and "holes" as we called them. It actually brings tears to my eyes because after all we have been through to accomplish our house's full glory there are many, many others who live in places so much less than what it even started out to be. That is what I reminded myself each time I would begin to complain. How selfish we are made to be. How blessed I am by a strong healthy Father, friends who are willing to help and the blessing of such a perfect material for our family's wants and needs. I find myself overwhelmed and beyond thankful to the One who gives me so much.

How was your Lord's day?

What do you think of The Floor?

love,

Cassie

the Elder Sister