Monday, August 31, 2009

Refinishing Wood Floors - Painting Concrete Basement Floors

One of the first things we decided to do to the house was refinish the hard wood floors. The entire house is hard wood except the kitchen and baths, so this was not an easy job to do. We decided to hire some one to do the work. The people we hired where highly recommended by some friends, and they did a great job on the floors. The images below are of the stairs before, during and after.






While the guys we hired worked on the floors I worked in the basement. The basement was leaking mainly in one corner, but overall it was very damp and dark. We decided to paint the floor and the walls. For the floor we used BEHR 1-Part Epoxy Acrylic Concrete and Garage Floor Paint and we used a moisture block paint for the walls. I thought about using 2 part epoxy on the floor, but the 1-Part Epoxy was much easier to use then 2-Part. We have had the epoxy on the floor for 2 years and it has held up well. I also fixed a leaky downspout and filled some giant cracks between the foundation and the driveway. I think this is where the basement leaks came from. After a few months or so of filling cracks and moving topsoil around I finally did fix all the leaks and the basement has been virtually dry ever since.

Back to the wood floors... as I said the workers where doing a great job, but disaster struck one weekend night. While the floors where being worked on we sanded ans stripped the stairs and the stair rails. After a long day of work, we left the house in the evening to go back to the hotel. The Floor guys where still in the house working away. The next morning we entered the house and heard this terrible noise. It turned out to be water pouring through the house mainly in the living room.


At this point all the floors have been sanded and there was lots of dust still in the house, and all the water made a big mess of things. It turns out the source of the water was a radiator in the master bedroom. The purge valve loosened it self out of the radiator and shot across the room. Water ran through the house for who knows how long. We can only speculate how it happened. Our best guess is the vibrations from the floor sanding machines wiggle the valve out, and the floor guys didn't notice the leak before they left.

We managed to clean up some of the mess with the help of the flooring guys and we called our insurance company, and they sent out a company. The company cleaned up the rest and dried the house out with a portable heater and lots of fans.

The water damage was significant we had to replace two ceilings, re-sand 4 rooms, paint 3 rooms including many wood windows. The insurance company covered everything.

I guess the most important thing to remember is if you have radiators in your house before you work with any large machines that vabrate significantly go around and tighten all the valves. It might even be a good idea to tighten them once a year. Below shows the before and after of the floors.




23 comments:

  1. Hi,

    I have a quick question about your blog, do you think you could e-mail me?

    Brian

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  2. I can say this has been a successful renovation. By the way, how long did you finished this renovation?

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    Replies
    1. It's still an ongoing project. I just finished a bathroom project I hope to share.

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  3. It looks like this has been polished, nevertheless the renovation is excellent and well done.

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  4. This is what we call a true renovation. How long did you finished this?

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  5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  6. Good renovation..

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  7. The design of the house is really great! Simple but pretty. Eco-friendly !! Thanks for sharing

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  8. I'm curious about that wooden floor, what kind of wood is that?

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  9. For the wood flooring, what type of paint you used, is it varnish?

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    Replies
    1. It's a stain... with a couple coats of poly over it. I can't recall the brand.

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  10. Classic interior design and those wooden flooring and railing top.

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  11. Those renovations you have done are incredible. I have an old house on a property build back in the 1800's, and I'm working on restoring it. I love what you've done with restoring the wood.

    Ansel Marvin | Daddario Hardware & Supply

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  12. I would be scared to renovate a historic home. I think that a good goal to aim for is to leave as much as possible original. You don't want to take away from the natural character of the home.

    Alena | http://www.buildersatyourservice.com.au/our-services/renovations.html

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  13. Thanks for the post. My mother grew up in the house I am living in now. It is a fun experience to live here. I agree that renovating will help the home last longer and it will make the home matter more to me. I am going to renovate the kitchen soon.

    http://www.vickershomeimprovements.net.au

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