I continued work at The 1885 House this week, since it seems I just can’t get enough! The bathroom is right off the kitchen and once the renovation was completed, it just looked so good that it accented how washed out the kitchen was. The more I’m here, the more filthy I realize that this place is, despite the bright white paint. I spent two days this week wiping down all the trim, doors, and walls of the unit and wow! It is night and day. I no longer have a grungy feel when I walk in the door. It’s so bright!
Once I finished that, I decided to paint the kitchen. I left all the trim white and only did the walls. And it turned out great! It accents the shape of the door trim and really brings out the funky nooks of this place. I’m in love with the result. It looks so fresh.
Then the space looked so great that the hardwood floors stood out. They are badly scratched and are years past due on maintenance. The floors don’t have another refinish in them…there are already parts of the floor where the tongue has been exposed from oversanding. I can’t stomach tearing anything original out and have literally lost sleep over what to do with these floors. I considered laying vinyl over them to protect them for the next year or so until I figure out how to save them. I know what you’re thinking! Niki?! Vinyl over hardwood?! Really??? Yes. I am ashamed.
The floors need to be sanded; there are deep scratches that have gone through the finish, as well as lots of wear. Over time, water, dirt, and other contaminants have turned large parts of the floors a gray-ish color. After seeing how great the kitchen looked and feeling so invested in this house that I’m growing to love more everyday, I decided that there was no way around it. I would have to hand-sand the floors and refinish. And that’s exactly what I did. It took about 20 hours total time over several days. First I thoroughly cleaned the floors by hand with soapy water. Then I sanded. And sanded. And sanded. I sanded some areas much more thoroughly than others, depending on the amount of damage to the wood and the amount of scratches, but I did at least a light sanding over the entire service so the polyurethane finish would bond to the existing finish. After my showings one day, I stained the floors and left. The next day after my showings, I did a coat of poly and left. The third day, I did my final coat of poly and left. And these floors are stunning! There are still scratches, which I don’t mind. These floors are 133 years old and still going strong.
Just look at this place! It looks so great!!!
We received a couple applications for the unit and after completing the screenings, decided to reject both applicants. It’s so hard! I want to get somebody into this place and get some money flowing in. That was the whole reason we bought this house was to have cash flow for some cushion while I finish The Maple House. But I keep telling myself that we want to get the right person into this place and that we want them to love the house. I think the kitchen and bathroom definitely give this place a wow factor that it didn’t have before. I’m staying positive, but it is gut wrenching to turn someone away when we have no other candidates.
Maybe next week.
