Wow!!!

So I told you before I have a love hate relationship with this blog.  That increased when I found out that it was no longer a simple thing to publish it to a hard bound book.  That said, I didn't realize I had abandoned it at the point when we were painting.  I really thought I had taken in farther into our reno process.  So my apologies to those who have been following and waiting.  And now I digress.....on purpose.

June 20-26, 2018

After painting was finished, we needed to install the hard wood flooring.  We wanted wood flooring in the main living areas.  (I like carpet in bedrooms.)  I had looked and debated and looked and debated.  In our previous home I had an office with engineered hardwood that I had loved.  It was no longer being made and nothing that was currently out resembled it.  Then I was going the rounds of the pros and cons of hard wood, engineered hard wood and laminate.  I really do not like the look of laminate.  Even though some look amazingly like hardwood they just don't quite cut it for me.  Engineered wood often looks beautiful but doesn't last and have the options for longevity that I really wanted.  Wood is expensive and much more time consuming to install.  We were installing ourselves.
I researched and visited stores and researched some more.  I wanted something that didn't look too polished and modern.  I felt like most store salesman were just out to make a sale and really didn't give me the information I wanted.  There were so many pros and cons to every type of flooring.  And so many positive and negative reviews of all options.  I had several samples that were possibilities but nothing that just said, "THIS IS THE ONE".

I finally ran across an article on facebook about a flooring store in Salt Lake.  It was not an advertisement but a recommendation from someone who had went there.  I looked them up online and liked what I saw and they seemed to have some hard wood options that would fit in our budget.  So we went up to The Wood Floor Warehouse to check it out.  Let me just say that I would recommend them to anyone looking for hard wood flooring.  No pressure, no hype.  Just guys who want to help you find just what you are looking for.  Guys who knew wood flooring.  Guys who knew that advantages and disadvantages of all the brands and types.  They carry almost all major brands of hardwood flooring and our not trying to push one brand or the most expensive brand.  So we started looking around for something that was a wide plank, oak or hickory and a medium wood tone.  We found a couple of possibilities and then ...... we found one we absolutely loved.  Upon inquiring about it we discovered that they made it themselves right here in Utah and that it was shipped out and sold all over the United States to major retailers.  It had just the right amount of a rustic look, came in various widths, you could customize the color and it is an oil based finish which makes it easy to maintain.  The oil based finish also makes it so it is not super shiny.  Only one problem .... the usual problem ....... about double the budget amount.   But..... floors are not easily replaced if you aren't happy with them ..... It was the first flooring we really got excited about .....   there was nothing out there that was comparable...... So....... yea we went over budget. 

The floor has to be manufactured once you order it.   We knew it would take longer than we really wanted to wait for it but it would be so worth it.  Our kitchen cabinets and appliances were ordered and waiting but they would have to wait a little longer.  Finally the last week of June it was delivered.

We had 900 sq. feet of flooring to lay.  The flooring comes prefinished so that was a bonus.  Perry bought the tools he needed but the store will actually lend you the tools to lay it.  We knew we would need them for future use.  The store told us where to go to get the best tools for the best price and they would even have bought it from us after we were through with it. They are very DIY friendly.  And to top off my gushing referral, they do no advertising.  They rely only on referrals and word of mouth.  They don't need to advertise.

We had a low spot in a part of the kitchen that was in the old house and transitions between floors in the many additions.  Perry had been adding leveling compound to those spots to try and get them level.  So that had been taking place while we were waiting for the flooring.

But finally the flooring had arrived and we went to work.  My mom even came over and helped us tag team it.  (She's camera shy.😊)

We did three different widths of boards, 3", 4" and 5".  It didn't matter what order they were laid in but within a 12" span there had to be one of each size in order to avoid running out of any one size.  We wanted to mix and match those sizes and not do a repeating pattern.  The lengths varied also and we needed to avoid getting the seams in all the same place.  The boards were all delivered to a bedroom in stacks by width but mixed lengths.  I picked out the boards for each row, Mom tapped them into place and Perry nailed.  We worked all day Saturday and that got the main long run area done.  Then Perry and I worked evenings for another 3 days.   

     

dirty :(

WE LOVE IT!!!

We have got so many compliments on it.  It is just the right amount of rustic and we have even had people ask if it is old reclaimed wood.

And now we could put the table in the dining room. 

And have our appliances delivered that had been sitting in storage for 3 months.  We bought them from Mountain Land Design.  Best place!!  Cheaper than Home Depot and Lowes sale prices. Much more knowledgeable salespeople and definitely upscale.  And they were willing to hold them for us until we were ready for them.  Well almost ready for them.  But they had them for so long we wanted them on site.

We also had some couches delivered.

Next was the kitchen cabinets!!!!