Never say never.
Several days ago I told my readers that I’d never mention my new floors or their installation again – a vow I fully intended to keep. But because:
a). the installation process, which was ‘supposed’ to take 2 – 21/2 days ended up taking 3 1/2 days, and..
b). I was stuck at home during installation which meant I couldn’t be out shooting so ‘the project’ prevented me from posting new bird photos to my blog and…
c). many readers (at least five of you) asked to see photos of my new floors when installation was complete…
I decided to relent and post a few photos.
Andrew, my installer, completed the project at about noon yesterday. All told I now have new floors in my kitchen, dining area, two bathrooms and two stair landings. The following photos are of the kitchen and dining area. They’re cell phone photos taken in the interior in less than ideal light so colors aren’t very accurate but you’ll get the idea.
My dining area at the end of the third day of installation. Andrew’s tools are scattered about, trim and new heat registers haven’t yet been installed and the floor is covered with a fine layer of dust and sawdust.
One view of the kitchen area. I may replace the trim at the base of the cabinets. It’s the trim supplied by the manufacturer to match this particular floor but I’m having a hard time getting used to it.
Looking from the kitchen into the adjacent dining area after most of my ‘stuff” has been moved back into it’s proper place.
A different view of the dining area.
Technically my new floors are neither hardwood planks or vinyl planks. These planks are made of a special kind of waterproof plastic that is maintenance free and virtually indestructible. One of the many reasons I like this material so much is that it looks so much like real wood and it actually has wood texture. You can literally see and feel the texture of the grain and the knots in the “wood”.
This particular material is more expensive than vinyl planks but less expensive than many real hardwoods and ceramic tile and it has none of their maintenance issues so at this point at least I’m very pleased with my choice. With my lifestyle I’m hard on floors.
As he was leaving yesterday for the final time Andrew told me the only thing I have to be careful about with my new floors is heat. High heat can damage the plastic so he told me to avoid leaving a hot curling iron on the floor.
I told him not to worry. I haven’t used a curling iron since I lost most of my hair years ago.
Ron
Late Addendum: Apparently some readers took me seriously when I strongly implied that at some point in my life I used a curling iron. Believe me, when I said that my tongue was so firmly planted in my cheek it almost came out the other side.
.
I’m just floored Ron how beautiful the project turned out.
Well, I’d say that’s appropriate… 🙂
I’m pretty sure you shared pictures of the pie safe before. It is lovely. And I love the “old knotty pine” look of the floors. Great choice! Thank you for this broken promise!
Floor looks good , but who’s going to look at the floor when they are distracted by that beautiful pie safe!!!
Thanks, Patty. I’m glad you like the pie safe. I put my heart and soul into it when I was building it – including when I was punching all those holes in the metal to form the shocks of wheat. I counted those holes – there are 1,950 of them and if I made a single mistake I had to throw that piece of metal away and start over. Mistakes in the metal can’t be fixed.
That is a promise that I am very, very glad you broke.
It looks wonderful (though I also wonder about the baseboards). I love your pie safe, and hope that you and your back get a few days respite before the carpet goes down.
EC, I doubt I’ll keep those baseboards, even though the floor manufacturer made them to ‘match’ the floor itself. I thought they might grow on me but it isn’t happening yet.
Please, if and when you make that decision, get someone else to install them. Your back is going to get more than enough of a work out without adding to it.
I’ve been having the same thought.
Oh, that flooring is beautiful! And thank you for posting the photos. If I didn’t have the original (75-y/o) Doug Fir floors in my house, I would replace them with something like yours, instead of refinishing. [sigh]
I know you have more to go with the carpeting, but this project should give you a sense of accomplishment and the courage to get through the next round. Just be careful about your back! 😉
Chris, I’m both dreading that carpet install and relishing it. Well, not the install but the final result.
Note: Apparently some readers took me seriously when I strongly implied that at some point in my life I used a curling iron. Believe me, when I said that my tongue was so firmly in my cheek it almost came out the other side
The floor looks great. We put something similar in our kitchen/dining room floor last year. But we were fortunate because we had just purchased the house and were able to have the flooring installed before we moved in which avoided the hassle of moving things around. We also had flooring like this installed in our store when we opened a few years ago. One customer said he really liked it that we used real hardwood. I told him what the product was. He told me I was wrong and he could tell the difference and we had used real hardwood and we just didn’t understand the difference. He’s welcome to think what he wants but we do know what we used. Thanks for sharing. It looks like a good choice.
Dan, I’m convinced that material is the best choice for me. And yes, it looks (and feels) exactly like real wood. That grain and knot texture makes a huge positive difference.
It’s hard to tell exactly, but the color appears to be gray with a touch of brown, so I would suggest hanging some complementary Great Blue Heron photos. I know a guy with some really good images…😉
Andrew has good taste in tools. I love my DeWalt miter saw.
I trust you have cleaned the bottom of your dining room chairs. I find the dirt buildup is like 60 grit sandpaper on “virtually indestructible” surfaces.
You’re right, Lyle – Andrew knows his tools and he has the very best. But I think he lusted after my Delta Unisaw, a cabinet table saw I have in my garage. But of course it’s so huge it would be impractical for him with his work. His little DeWalt miter saw serves his purposes just fine.
I not only cleaned the leg bottoms of the chairs I added felt pads to them. Andrew said I didn’t need to do it because nothing would hurt my new floors but I didn’t like the sound they made when I moved them on those textured floors. It sounded like what you said – sandpaper. With the felt pads – problem solved.
The new floors look fantastic! Totally worth the extra day. (Hmmm, I wonder if Andrew would like to come to Southern California for a little “vacation.”)
And your gorgeous pie safe has me thinking “owl” today, with the two drawers being the eyes and the latch as the beak, so you did include a bird with this post. 😉
Hot damn, I think you’re right about the owl resemblance Marty! I’d never noticed that before.
Like your choice of flooring. Also love the hutch in the last photo. We keep talking about replacing the carpet but as you know it’s like having to move out😞 So much stuff.
Thanks, Diana. That “hutch” is actually an antique style pie safe I built a year or two before I started photographing birds.
WOW! Your floors are beautiful. I am sure it feels good to have your things back in their proper place. Well done and now it is time to enjoy!
Take Care,
Kaye
It surely does feel good, Kaye.
Looks great! Thx for sharing 🙂
Thanks, Kathleen.
Good going Ron❣️ My 95 year old Dutch neighbor lady taught me a good quote > about paying for/getting what you really want vs. saving $ .
“The pain of the price is soon forgotten, while the pleasure remains”.
Have you ever heard that quote?
Nope, it’s a new quote to me Carolyn. But I had an uncle who lived by that credo so he set a good example for it.
Looks great Ron. Sure hope your installer or others helped you put all the furniture back in place so you didn’t risk hurting your back. One of your rare posts without a bird, and you didn’t even display a photo of a bird. 🙂 Excellent choice – really like that style.
Everett, I had a little help moving furniture for the new floor install. I’ll have more help when the new carpet is installed. At least that’s the plan.
Nice choice on your floor, looks great👍🏻
Thanks, Theresa.
Nice! Beautiful and low maintenance to boot – can’t beat that! 🙂 I’m with you on the baseboards – just don’t seem to “work” in my opinion. “Old farmhouse floor” comes to mind…… 😉
Still have to do carpet?
Yes Judy. New carpet is next.
Can you clean your great-looking floor with a simple Swiffer, no vacuum cleaner needed?
Yup, a microfiber Swiffer and broom is all I need.
Cell camera and all Great Shots, Looks beautiful! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you, Dick.
Looks great! The mixed widths of the “boards” is especially nice. 🙂
Cathy, those “boards” not only have mixed widths, they also have a dozen different board “styles” so it’s harder to find any matching boards. Many floors similar to this have only three or four.
Congratulations! Low maintenance is definitely the way to go…
I agree, Alison – at least with my lifestyle.