Floor pictures

So I'm finally posting pictures of the flooring project. This project was 2.5 years in the making (we'd wanted to put it in since before we moved in!)....

1) We bought unfinished oak planks in November 2006 on eBay
.....1a) They sat in the garage until January 2007, when they moved into my dining room
.....1b) I listed them for sale on eBay and craigslist several times in the fall of 2007- I wanted them out before Thanksgiving- because it was obvious that they weren't going to get lain and I didn't want to spend the time and effort to lay them, then finish them... and Hubby had decided that he really really wanted Bellawood.
.....1c) FINALLY, the week after Thanksgiving, I sold them on craigslist, for $12 more than I'd paid. The guy came and picked them up, and I was thrilled to have them out of my house!

2) But then, in January 2008, I found some very nice FINISHED oak flooring at Nebraska Furniture Mart, at a great price
.....2a) Hubby loved it, too, and agreed on it
.....2b) I ordered it, picked it up, and brought it home. And unloaded all 20 boxes into my office. By myself.


Those boxes are two deep from the wall...


Preparing to lay the floor...

.....2c) Those boxes sat there for about 6 weeks.

The first full weekend of March, we'd arranged helpers and had plans to lay the floor on Saturday. Everyone was supposed to arrive at noon and we'd get started. Everyone arrived around one, and the work didn't REALLY get started until 4:30 or 5. It took all evening Saturday, all day Sunday (and several hours into the night), and a few more hours on Monday. We didn't realize prior to this project that we'd need quarterround... that still has yet to be purchased. (Although NFM has some prefinished that matches the flooring, "just" $13 for a 6 foot strip! Considering I'll need several 6 foot strips, I've chosen to look elsewhere.) We also had no idea just how flippin' long it would take to install this stuff. It was hard work- manual labor hard- but it was a lot of fun. I would actually consider hiring myself out to do this... though I understand now why it costs so much to hire someone to do it.











And there is about 50 sq feet leftover, including an uncut reducer strip and an unopened box... all on craigslist, hoping for a buyer!