This weekend was all about strippers….and floors…and strippers on the floors. And I digress. Actually, this weekend was about stripping the old floor finish to get back down to the old pine floors. Previously we had removed all of the “stuff” from the house and the shop which included removing the old glued down vinyl flooring. Under the vinyl flooring was a mix of old floor coverings, adhesives, paints, and clear coats. The goal was to get back to the original pine floors to show off all of their character and termite damage. Lots and lots of termite damage.
Based on some of the test areas I did, I figured it would be best to use stripper to get as much of the easy to remove finish off before sanding/grinding on the dining room and bedroom. The paint tended to load up the sandpaper quickly. The living room was a whole other beast. Oceana handled the stripping while I got started removing the remaining bits from an old linoleum floor. I tried various methods from a sawzall with a scraper blade to a chipping hammer to a fein tool with a homemade scraper style blade. The sawzall worked but was a big aggressive. With all the termite damage , it tended to kick back. I found out that when it kicks back, it will put a hole in your shoe…and your sock…and your foot….Whoops. The fein tool worked well and I used it to peel off the remaining asphalt residue from the old floor.
After peeling back the old floor residue from the living room, I started out grinding the rest of the finish off with a 7″ grinder and 60 grit. I would have preferred a lower grit, but it’s what the box stores had on hand. It took a while, but the floors got back down to the original pine. I also covered everything with a layer of dust 1″ thick in the process. Nothing a push broom, a festool vacuum, and a leaf blower can’t handle. The original floors are full of old termite damage. It almost makes them look like pecky cypress. I think I’ve got some good ideas for how to make it look awesome.
Oceana learned how to use the pressure washer this weekend! She got quite a bit of practice as well. She pressure washed the house, the screen porch, the dock, and 6 teak chairs that we found on the side of the road. The dock and the chairs look so much better. The house looks clean but now it’s ready for a good paint job. That will have to wait for another day.
Saturday was my birthday and Oceana was nice enough to bake me a cake for my birthday. Nothing better than chocolate on chocolate after a hard days work.
We also got to take in a nice sunset on the dock.
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You guys did a lot of work on your birthday weekend! With all the furniture gone the rooms look really nice. That dust really stuck to the hair on your arms and legs. Those floors are going to be nice…can’t wait to see what you have in mind. Oceana did a great job with the pressure washer. The dock looks 100% better. Glad you could take time to see the beautiful sunset!
Love, Mom
I was so completely covered in dust it wasn’t funny. I decided for next week that I’d order a dust hood for the big grinder. Should help keep the mess down. It was kind of fun cleaning the living room with a leaf blower.