New Floors - Part 2

I was telling a really good friend, Buddy about our flooring and that I had never put it in before. Buddy had put in a floor like this in his guest bedroom. Since Buddy is a VERY good friend, he volunteered to help me put ours in. The instructions say that you can assume about an hour per 100 square feet. So it should take me about 8 hours. Hint; that hour per 100 feet assumes a perfectly square room divisible by 8” x 48”. Our wonderful log home had about 50 cut-outs to work around.
(An amusing side story came on Saturday. I hadn’t seen wife for a while, didn’t pay it much mind, when I walked outside and found her talking to someone on the phone. When she came in, she said that she is having hard contractions, but her water hasn’t burst. The doctor wants her to take a very warm bath and that will usually either calm things down or speed things up. WHAT!? Honey, I have until new years to get this floor done, your sense of timing is really lousy. You cannot have this baby until we are done! Oh, and we are getting freezing rain and expecting a possible ice storm that evening. False alarm, I guess she was just trying to motivate me or mess with me.)

The whole project wasn’t without funny moments. Such as we started off in the wrong corner of the room. This flooring is really a giant jigsaw puzzle without the picture. It does have a sequence, however. To start in the wrong corner is to invite disaster, mayhem, and FAIL! (be sure to go see the FAIL website – hilarious) We had been working a scant hour when we realized we were starting in the wrong corner. (Buddy says, hmm, maybe that is why it was so hard when I did it) So we have to tear everything apart and move the furniture to the other wall and start over.
In this corner, the very first piece laid has to be notched and cut for the forced air vent. Great Start! Two pieces later, another floor vent and an outlet. Next, notch around the front door. It took over an hour to lay the first six pieces. (this is why I shouldn’t build a house – think YEARS to completion) Next row, another outlet (log homes have floor outlets – no hollow walls). Next row, stairs. Next row, braces for stairs, next row, initial edge of fireplace hearth, next row, continue fireplace hearth (45* angle cuts for hearth). By the end of the first day- around 8PM – we had just over half the living room done. And the ice was building up so Buddy cravenly wanted to go home so he wouldn’t have to spend the night.
Sunday, Buddy came back! Such a good friend! We worked most of the day with the same types of notches and missteps that we experienced Saturday. And after two days, we were about 75% done.
Since Buddy had a Christmas gift exchange to go to and he had to work on Monday, he left about 4PM Sunday. That left me and (very) pregnant Wife to finish it Sunday night and Monday. Wife and I gritted our teeth and worked together, refining our communication skills since mind reading doesn’t work. (I swear, you would think she knows what I mean in spite of what I SAID! Jeez, 15 years we been married. To each other!) Once again, we found that we enjoy working together on projects. Jokes, triumphs, frustrations – all are better when experienced with your best friend for life.
We got all done except for cleaning by 6 PM Monday evening. Now I need to put the furniture back after vacuuming the sawdust and we can enjoy the new floors!
Interestingly enough, working on this project gave me a list of tools that I am going to need if Wife is serious about adding on to the house.
Another amusing story about this project is that on Thanksgiving morning, we had the Black Friday ads and were going through them. Wife pointed out a combo cordless tool kit with a drill, 3 kinds of saws, a small vacuum and a light that would have been VERY helpful for this project. PSYCH! She got me clothes, instead!