When the stairs were removed here the majority of the space was filled with pine straw and leaves. It did not look like a nest of any sort so we have no idea how all of it got there. One theory is that when the house was being built all of it was just swept into the space instead of being thrown into the trash.
Unfortunately I had to go into work so I missed the rest of the demo and most of the new wood being installed. Luckily the floor guy was kind enough to take this picture for me on his iPhone. This makes me wish the stairs could lift up and we could have a secret room in there.
We wanted the new floors to be blended in with the original ones so strips were taken out and new wood was woven in to make a seamless transition. I almost didn't do this but I am very happy that I did.
Our old stairs creaked like crazy but the new ones are rock solid. I was very impressed with how well they turned out.
This was the only picture I was able to take of the floors being stripped before I had to go to work. I was bummed I had to miss such an exciting project going on in the house.
However, when you leave for work and the floors are all bare and you come to them looking like this that bummed feeling quickly goes away.
Every time I see how good the floors blend into one another I have to smile.
Installing all of the new wood only took one day and the staining and sealing took 3 consecutive days. It was kind of a pain to come home from work and not be able to walk through most of the house but it was worth it. Everything was done by a company named Cearbaugh and Son Hardwood Floors. The owner is a real craftsman and I was very impressed with his attention to detail.
Now that all the upstairs floors and stairs are done the downstairs floor looks like crap. We need to decide what we are going to do down there. Until then there is lots of painting and other little odd and ends to do.
Be seeing you.
