Day Six was dedicated to the living room floors. We think Wayne has been saving up for this room because it is really the first room you see when you enter the house.

He told us in advance that he intended to 'log cabin' the corners of this room in order to set it apart from the rest. He also made a point of paying close attention to the stairs that lead up to the living room. One set of stairs is done and he will finish the other tomorrow.

As the morning wore on, we all started to get nervous about the amount of wood vs. the amount of floor left to do. I think we stood by fretting for about 2 hours just watching him juggle boards.

Of course in the end, he got everything covered.

Tomorrow is dedicated to the second set of stairs, little trim outs and fill ins and hopefully the guest bathroom downstairs.
He says we don't have enough wood, but to us this looks like enough for 40 ft. What do you think?

Yeah, we thought so too. Sooo, Jen started laying it out in effort to talk him into it. He'll either agree, or tell us we are crazy! Stay tuned!

Not too bad! Anything is better than the mauve tile!

So, here is where we ended today.

Happy New Year's Eve! See you tomorrow!

Wowee! It's Day Five and it feels like we actually may live through this!

As promised, the crew showed up at 7:30 sharp! Sawdust flies early at this place!

Just look at this craftsmanship! Notched into the fireplace bricks! This guy is good!

They started out right away on the den and by 10:30 had moved to the sunroom. They knocked off at 1:00 which allowed us to clean up the downstairs a bit (don't laugh, but we vacuum every night after they leave!), let the dogs and cats out, and catch a quick nap while the hammers slept! I am really happy about the last task since this whole renovation thing is exhausting!

So here is where we stand at the end of today:

Just look at these beautiful stairs!

Tomorrow: the living room (cue dramatic organ music)

Today, Day Four, finally brought what we have been waiting for!

The dining room and kitchen got boards put down today and all we can say is WOW!

It seems like we can't stay away from the work area longer than a few minutes because it changes so dramatically while we are gone!

Tomorrow on tap are the sunroom and the den. Wayne is saving the living room for last. It is the largest room and will most definitely be the jewel in the crown! We can't wait!

See you tomorrow!

Day Three is looking great so far! First off, all the previous workers plus one more showed up today! Yeah! We figure that if they have hung around for the last two hard labor days, they will for sure be here for the fun part of laying down the wood!

The carpet is history as we progress closer and closer to the actual wood floors! This is the dining room sans carpet.

As the carpet came out of the den and living room, the mystery of the humps in the carpet revealed itself. A prior tenant, who we will call Muffin, REALLY liked certain parts of those rooms, and rather preferred them to using the outdoors for bladder relief.

We made sure Karly and Mason understand what happens when puppies don't ask to go outside! haha! This is Muffin as we know her today, in one of our beds in the back yard!

The other hump in the floor in the kitchen, (see yesterday's entry) got fixed today and after a little more investigation it was confirmed that a leak from the water heater was to blame. So now the floor is much more level after carving out the swollen subfloor.

So Day Four starts early tomorrow as the wood will have finally acclimated in the house for the required 3 days, and now the fun begins! Our installer is so excited he can hardly stand it! He keeps showing us how he is going to set the stairs, and how he'd like to set off the corners of the living room (log cabin). It is hard to tell who is more excited about this! The dogs and cats are doing well. The cats figure that we apparently lost the other half of the house or have taken on renters because they now have to live in this little 10x12 room. They seem a bit resigned.

Mason and Marnie decided to mend fences and band together in a show of solidarity. There is strength in numbers you know.

Tune in tomorrow. Should be fun and the pics will be far more exciting than old swollen subfloor!

Day Two is now in the books and for the most part we didn't encounter as many surprises as yesterday! The holes in the sunroom have been repaired and the subfloor has been leveled out and is ready for the wood.

Then began the remaining demolition of the kitchen floor...and more 2 inch thick

concrete and mesh!

Today's surprise came in the form of a drastically uneven section of the kitchen floor.

So he cut out the offending hump and found water damage in the subfloor from the water heater that used to be in the pantry. He basically had to cut out the swollen particle board and replace it with plywood. Now the hump is gone, or at least will be when he finishes it in the morning.

So they called it a day and we were able to let the kids run around downstairs. They have been cooped up on the second floor for what seems like an eternity to them. Mason celebratorily decided to knock me down on the ground and Jen had the quick wit about her to capture it on film. Thanks, honey!

Onward and Upward tomorrow!

So today starts the adventure that is our first major remodel in the new house. We have decided to wait a bit on the remodeling of the master bath and instead get the downstairs flooring in order.

The lower level currently consists of hideous carpet and tile that over the past 2 months have begun to wear on us heavily. Therefore, we decided to make the big move and have River Recovered Select Heart Pine installed. The only room to be spared is the wonderful flagstone foyer. Our wood has come from Goodwin Heart Pine right here in Micanopy and is beautiful!

So this is how our morning began:

bye bye mauve tile!

Our joy quickly turned to dismay, as the following problem reared it's ugly head:

Which in turn ended up as such:

Yep, before 8:30 this morning, we were faced with the discovery of a leak which has been rotting the floor underneath the tile for years. So, the project is going to take a bit more time because the floor has to be replaced in that section. The beams, however, are in great shape.

And so the demolition continued and the surprises just kept on coming. The floor in the kitchen consists of subfloor, linoleum, wire mesh, between 1.5 and 2 inches of concrete (it varies because the floor is uneven) and then tile.

After the first few hours of chiseling, and hammering, the wood finally arrived, and may we say...it is beautiful!

More to follow as the week continues!

Stay Tuned!