Dining Room Remodel- Sanding & Staining hardwood floors

The Laird finished installing the Red Oak flooring middle of last week, which meant it was time for quick transformation- Staining the floors.  We rented a sander from the local Home Depot for the day for a reasonable price of $60/day.  We thought the sanding would go quick, but in reality it took longer than we anticipated due to some of the un-level boards.  Once sanding was completed, we mopped up the loose sawdust.

Installing final board

Sanding 

The trap door to the basement

Over the course of 2 days, we applied 2 coats of Miniwax Provincial stain.  Thankfully, the weather has been unseasonably warm (in the 50's) this weekend, and we've been able to open all the windows air the house out.  These photos are right after the 2nd coat was applied and the floors were still wet.

Though we still have many more tasks to complete before our dining room is complete, this was a huge step forward to having a usable dining room!

This view makes me smile!

Our next step is to finish the floors with a protective coat.  Originally we were going to use Miniwax Polyurethane, just as we finished the stairs 2 years ago.  When we finished the stairs we were not living in the house, so the VOCs and fumes from the polyurethane and stain were not an issue. Now that we live where we are working, we decided to investigate other less toxic methods.  We settled on Tried and True Original Linseed Oil & Beeswax- A Highly Polymerized Linseed Oil with beeswax.  Boiled Linseed oils dry quicker than raw linseed oil, however most brands of boiled linseed oil today is not actually boiled.  Instead they contain metal additives that achieve the same results, but contain VOCs.  Tried and True was the only brand I could easily find that was actually boiled and contained zero VOCs.  Linseed oil and other natural oils are often used on wooden furniture, and make for an antiqued appearance.  The oils soak into the grains of the wood and cure the wood as it dries- thus protecting the wood.  Polyurethane works different in that it hardens like a layer of plastic on top of the wood surface.  Though we are not entirely sure how the Linseed oil will work on the floors, we decided the zero VOCs made it worthy of testing out.  

Amazed to finally see our room transform from a "work" & storage/junk room to a dining room.  Remember when it looked like this:

Interior Double Dutch Barn Doors

The old Laundry Closet doors

We enter the house through the Great Room

As previously mentioned, we needed a new door solution for our laundry room.  The set up of our house is such in that we enter through the back of the house, directly into our Great Room.  Directly across from the door, stands our "laundry closet".  Originally, it had 2 wooden bi-fold doors- though one door was broken, and the other very difficult to open.  Because the laundry closet is often quite cluttered and full, it's quite an eye sore.  In order to maintain some peace in my mind and block my view of the mess, I have had the working door hung and the broken door folded and partially covering the opening- leaning on the door frame.  And it's worked for the time being.

After building a door for lady genevieve's room, I was quite inspired to build a set of doors for the laundry closet.  I love to learn how to do new things, and I love being creative.

I love barn doors, and am discovering there are more styles that I knew existed.  My internet search brought me to a blog of a person who started out building a barn door style baby gate for their stairs.  They eventually built an upper door to match, and ended up with a Dutch barn door.  What a beautiful door and great idea.  Remodelaholic has an excellent step-by-step tutorial of how to build a Dutch Barn door- including materials, tools and lots of diagrams.

My door dimensions were very similar to the one Remodelaholic built.  The materials list was extremely helpful.  I built these doors out of pine boards & drywall screws (same materials suggested by Remodelaholic tutorial). After sanding the assembled doors, I distressed the doors.  I used a hammer to add some ding/ dent marks, scattered on the door surface.  Then I used a screw and poked small holes, in clusters, scattered across the door surface. Then I applied Provincial Miniwax Stain.  I allowed the stain on the frame & "X" supports to stay on longer than the rest of the door, for a two toned look.  The wood stained so beautifully!  The 3 distressing techniques (carved board edges, dings, & small screw clusters), added so much to the character of the door.  Two coats of Miniwax Polyurethane (satin), sanded between coats and the doors were done.

I purchased 8 black gate hinges (3 1/2 inch) and 2 simple, black 6 1/2 inch handles from Amazon.com.   The upper door knobs & door latch both came from Lowes.  I used Rustoleum Oil Rubbed Bronze to give a more rustic look to the door hardware. What an amazing difference!  I love this new view as I enter my home.

Back side of doors

Currently, designing and planning the next project- Entry organization for all those shoes, & bags piled up near the door:  A storage bench & cubby tower.  If you look closely, you can see where I have taped out the tower on the wall near the door.  My inspiration comes from mud room designs.  I imagine this project will be a bit more challenging, so it may take some time to complete.

Farmhouse Stair Renovation- Part 1

   

   

On our first walkthrough of Redwoodshire, we identified a few problems that caused us to reconsider our motto that "you can always change a house, but you cannot change the land."  My husband (whom I will now refer to as "the Laird" of Redwoodshire) and I thought, "how bad could it be?"  We drove away that day thinking that it was "that" bad.  But after some brainstorming and outside input, we came up with some solutions to the problems we found with the house.

First issue at hand: the steep & narrow staircase

The Laird practically hit his head on the ceiling whenever he walked up or down the stairs.  A problem for any person of normal height, myself not included in that population.  This would definitely be a daily annoyance for the Laird, if left as is.  

Second issue at hand:  the short ceilings throughout the second floor (an issue we will address later)

So we put in a new set of stairs in an L shape configuration.  Refer to previous image for comparison. We eliminated the hallway (to the left of original staircase), and moved the new stairs into that area.  This allowed for a normal rise in stairs, rather than steep stairs.

Newly installed L staircase.  The hole in the floor is the opening of the basement access stairs that were previously under the original stairs.  This change opened the room up and added a much needed closet.

The closet wall with finished drywall.  Access to basement converted to a trap door opening.

Now for the FUN part, painting and staining.  We opted for a "farmhouse" staircase-  stained treads with painted risers and stringers.

STEP 1)  Use hand sander to lightly sand tread surface with grit 220 sandpaper.

STEP 2)  Use painters tape to protect where the treads meet the risers.  This is to prevent too much stain from getting onto the areas that will be painted white.  Unfortunately the tape is not that effective, and stain still seeps through.  

STEP 3)  I used a regular utility rag (found in the paint/ stain section at Home Depot/ Lowes).  You can also use a brush (meant for use with oil based stains), however soaking the towel and rubbing over the surface works great.  Apply stain evenly and allow to dry for 5-15 minutes- longer for deeper & darker color.  Then use a clean/ dry rag to wipe up any stain that is still wet.  Allow to dry 4-6 hours.   Apply a second coat for a deeper/ darker color.  I did 3 coats, for good measure- however not at all necessary.

 Step 4)  POLYURETHANE STAIR TREADS

I used Miniwax Fast Drying Semi-Gloss(Satin, Semi-Gloss & Gloss options) polyurethane. Turn can over in circles (but do not shake- this will produce air bubbles in stain) until well mixed. Using a cheap 2" foam brush, apply the polyurethane in thin coats using long strokes.  Be careful no to get air bubbles.  If you do get some air bubbles, they can be gently sanded out by hand once polyurethane is completely dry. Allow to dry the recommended time (4-6 hours for 1st/ 2nd coats).  Use grit 220 sandpaper (by hand) between coats to rough up surface and allow finish to stick better.  After final coat, allow 12-24 hours to dry before heavy usage/ shoes.

   

   

  

Step 5)  TAPE STAIR TREADS.  Now it is time to tape the stair treads to protect from paint used on risers and stringers.  Like previously noted, painter's tape doesn't work perfectly, but it is a good guide.

Step 6)  Paint risers and stringers with a paint brush.  Allow sufficient time to dry and then apply 2nd coat.

VERY PLEASED WITH THE **SEMI-FINISHED STAIRS!  It was a long process, considering all the steps and wait time for drying.  I did one step/ coat a week over the period of a month, as that is what time I had available.  Because we were living and using the stairs in the process, it was important to consider only doing every other stair in each session, so that you can still use the stairs while the others are drying.  

**  We have yet to install the newel posts, balusters, railing...  They are stained, painted and ready to go- just waiting for carpenter to install.  Will update once they are done.  

Railing & newel posts- stained

Balusters- painted

Oil based stains are very stinky and it is important to wear a face mask to prevent inhaling toxic fumes.  Search oil vs. water based stains to figure out what best meets your needs.