This part of my blog is all about our new home and renovation as we recently took possession of our ‘new to us’ retirement-sized home. It’s gonna be a very busy next few weeks/months. We hope to transform it from an ‘ugly duckling’ to a Craftsman-styled home. This is the first post in this series on renovating our new home and it focuses on our oak hardwood floor refinishing.
Here is the home as of the first writing of this post…as purchased. Follow along for all the details of this transformation.
May 5th, 2021 – Updated with Product info under Day 3.
June 18th , 2021 – After reading this blog, to see the next update on our renovations go to: Renovation Update – Let there be light!
Future posts cover the exterior paint, roof, gutters, windows and door renovations!
Here’s a couple pictures of our new lovely backyard. This was a huge draw for us to purchase this home. We back onto a forested park, so the backyard is very private and tranquil. This was important to me, being from Saskatchewan and growing up on a farm.
Fortunately, we have an overlap of 3 weeks with our current house before the new owners take possession. So we are able to start renovations at our new home, before we move in.
We will begin with the oak floor refinishing on the main floor. The original flooring is in really good shape and has never been refinished. So we will be refinishing the oak floors in the front living room, dining room and the family room at the back of the house. We will also be installing new trim, painting the front living and dining room area. Also we are replacing carpets in the two bedrooms on the main floor. The plan includes replacing the roof, gutters, exterior paint, garage door and all the windows after we move in.
We still have to pack, move and clean our current home which is way to big for us now that both of our kids have moved out. SInce we are now empty nesters, we are happy to downsize to something that is more suitable for the two of us. But we do need enough room so that we don’t drive each other crazy!
As this is ‘as its happening’ I will post more pictures each day. The decor style we love is country as well as traditional. So by the end you should see a bit of a theme going there. It will take time though because there is a lot to do. We won’t get to the kitchen area until likely the fall 2021.
Before pictures
Here are a few before pictures of the main floor. The color of the original oak floors has turned into a yellowish honey oak. They are nice, but not quite what we want. Also there are a few scratches throughout and some stains.
New Home and Renovation – Kitchen
We will definitely want to do some renovations to the kitchen. But that will have to come later in this project.
Prior to Day 1 we painted the lower foot of wall in the living room and dining area so that when the new trim goes in, we only have to paint the remaining part of the wall. We just couldn’t fit in painting the whole room before the floor was refinished. The new trim is 4 inches so will cover the old trim and paint line.
Day 1 – Floor Refinishing
Here are a few pictures from the first day of our oak hardwood floor refinishing. Day 2 will be finishing the sanding. Our contractor used a dustless refinishing system, and it did seem to be pretty dust free throughout the process.
Day 3 – More Sanding and Stain Choices
For the product used, here is the info:
– ‘Bona Drifast” stain that comes in various colors. The stain takes one day to dry.
– 3 coats of “Bona Woodline” finish over the stain. This process takes 3-4 days of staining and coating on top of 3 days of sanding.
Our contractor showed us a couple color choices to match our desired ‘darker’ but not too dark finish for the floors. The red oak floors had definitely yellowed over the years. We plan to choose a stain that won’t yellow as it ages.
Here are the sample stains on the red oak.
The names of the above Bona floor stains, left to right: Special Walnut, Early American, Medium Brown, Antique Brown.
We decided to go with the stain that is the 2nd from the right, called Medium Brown.
Over the next three days, the contractor will finish sanding and then put on the new stain, and 3 coats of the oil based sealant.
Stay tuned, as I will post more photos, once the stain is on and the trim is installed. The floor trim will be a traditional colonial trim, 4″ wide.
For the front living and dining rooms, we choose a Behr paint called Ashen Tan.
Day 4 and 5 – Waiting for paint to dry
Well as of yesterday, we heard from our contractor that the stain has now been applied to all of the floors. He asked us (several times) to not walk on the floors over the next 3 days, while he applies 3 coats of the Bona sealant on the floors. He even mentioned we should not go there to unload any more items on the lower floor or even open the garage door for fear of dust blowing onto the floor….so it is what it is…we will wait patiently until Monday on not even go there. By then, he will also have the new floor trim installed. Should be great!
Day 6 – Update
Latest update – 2 of the 3 top coats have now been applied to the floors, 3rd going on today. I am a little worried as we have the carpet guys starting tomorrow. So we purchased some Ramboard for our flooring contractor to cover the floors (hallway) with after the last coat has dried overnight. He says they should be fine. Will need to rope off the living and family rooms to make sure no one walks on the floors. We haven’t been to the house for the last couple days so will take a picture tonight peaking through the windows!
Here are the photo’s, the floor is still wet and needs a good 2 to 3 days to dry! The contractor doesn’t want us to go near them so we are resisting the urge to open any doors or windows…don’t want any dust or debris to float in on those floors!
Day 7 – 19 – OMG lost track of time!
It’s now May 1st…Below are some updated photos of the floors, which were completed on May 20th, 2021 after the drying time required. We just moved in and the last week was a complete blur of final packing, moving, cleaning the old place, getting the sale completed and then finally getting to start unpacking at our new place.
We are loving the new floors and trim. They are just gorgeous. The heaters will need to get replaced so the trim will be completed later on those walls. My hubby is painting the front room. Lots to do!
I would definitely choose refinishing floors over putting in hard wood or laminate floors…if you have the chance to refinish old floors. It is definitely worth it! Compared to our last house, the cost was about 2/3 to half the price, depending what you choose. The look is more classic and the seal on the floors is more dependable.
I will add future posts on other renovation projects we have for our new home. To see more flooring pictures and the next update in the blog on our renovations go to: Renovation Update – Let there be light!
Don’t forget to follow along with our new home and renovation blog, as we complete renovate the exterior of the house. See blog index at top for all the updates.
Also, you might be interested in the Latest in Country Music – Live Music Calendar, updated regularly with information on free livestream country music concerts. Or look at my Country Recipes and other Blog posts related to Country Decor, our Cabin in the Woods, etc.
I hope you enjoyed this post on our new home and renovation.
🙂 Bonnie