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The new office floor

On Saturday we got to install the new floor in the office.  It was a long morning.

Since we had already installed this same flooring in the living room, we knew the deal.  We had figured out who was good at what and we all had jobs.  The floor itself didn’t make the morning long.

As documented here with National Geographic level photography, I had spent the day before pulling all the trim off the baseboards.  Since the wall would crumble it anything touched it, I used more brute strength than leverage.  This meant that the next day my arms hurt.  And I was tired.  I was also tired because it was a certain friends birthday Friday night and we all went to our favorite beach bar, Donovan’s Reef, to celebrate.  We are very good celebrators.  In fact we danced and celebrated so well that our cab didn’t arrive at the house until sometime around 3 AM.

At about 8:15 we jolted awake to realize that my uncle would be there any minute to help us lay the floor.  At first while running around to get ready I felt pretty OK.  That apparently was the adrenaline covering up the lurking problem of the day.  That first 20 minutes was the best I was going to feel for most of the day.  Coffee didn’t help.  I knew this was going to be a problem when I scheduled this with my uncle.  I wanted to move it until next weekend but he wasn’t available.  I was just going to have to power through.  Easier said then done.

If you have never installed hardwood flooring, let me explain the tools involved.  Below you will see the main tool which shoots staples through the tongue and groove of the new floor and into the subfloor(in this case our old floor).  It is attached to an air compressor for power.  Instead of having a trigger like a drill, you shoot the staples by hitting the top part with a rubber mallet.

Oh and did I mention that the whole process makes the floor vibrate.  And then there is the banging of the rubber mallet making sure the boards are tight up against each other.  And the smell of sawdust from the edge sander (to make the edge of the old floor  under where the trim was even).  All of these things are not a problem for a normal person.  But I am a good celebrator so these added up to a feeling like hell.

I knew better to complain because I knew I would be told “It’s not my problem you’re hungover.”  My saving grace was that the room is really too small for the wood, tools and three people.  Since this floor is all random lengths and widths, you have to have all the wood  together to see which pieces will fit best.  TB was doing such a good job at wood selection I figured I should stay out of the way.  Like I should be out in another room, sitting on the couch, being quiet.  TB told me later he knew I wasn’t feeling well when I wasn’t in the middle of everything telling everyone where things should go.  Oh, he knows me so well.

It was a small, square room so it went pretty quickly.  Unlike the living room there were no door saddles/transitions to make or funky corners to work around.  It was all done in the early afternoon.

Here is the floor install completed.

Facing into the room

Facing out of the room

Tomorrow everyone comes back to sand and finish the floors.  I can’t wait to get the furniture out of my kitchen.

1 Comment

  1. Pingback: This place is a mess | The Ridiculous Redhead

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