The Red Brick House, endless floor refinishing

The day we took up the carpet could have been one of those drama filled moments.  Imagine something on a home show where we discover something so awful that we would have to replace half of the floor.  The only drama was me happily hauling off carpet and discovering each room looked great.    

This is where the monotonous work starts.  I rented the drum sander from Home Depot.  It took at least five passes to just get the finish off of the floor.  Ugh.  It was the longest day on the job.  Maybe because it resembled vacuuming.    

Here is the trap door for the basement storage area.  I don't have a before picture because I didn't know dad was going to tackle this until he was done.  The door was raw and a bit of a mess.  Dad took it all apart, labeled each piece of wood so they line up with the floor, and mounted it on another foundation piece.  He then framed the door and the opening, so it looks perfect.  Instead of an area we would have to throw a rug over, now it is a cool detail. 

The next step was the buffing machine, also a rental from Home Depot.  This thing was a dream compared to the other sanding machine.  It helped even out where I used the drum sander and the edge sander and prepared the floor for the finish.

Here is the floor after the finish was applied.  The change was so refreshing.