Our project day did not start ideally. We got a late start and then went for "Brunch" at Papa Gino's where we carbo-loaded for the day. We went off to National Lumber to place a special order for some flexible molding (yes, we have many curved walls!!), made a pit stop at the Wrentham Outlets which was a disaster of parking so we left, and off to Home Depot to rent a belt sander and buy various other supplies. We made it home at 5pm 
to START! WHUT? So, after moving all the furniture out and putting up plastic on the doorways, Todd started by removing the baseboard molding and I sanded the walls. 
Then sanding began in earnest! Start time: 6 pm! Todd sanded like crazy with our little rental belt sander from Home Depot. Between my wall sanding and the floor sanding, we kicked up plenty of dust. 
We refinished my office floor last year so we had plenty of experience to draw from...unfortunately we still chose to use a hand sanding machine instead of the large upright floor sander we used last year for various reasons I have now blocked out from my memory ! Todd now has backache. It was a painful 
3 hours of sanding. Painful for him to do, painful for me to watch. But, truth be told, the upright sander was hard work too!! And there was more hard work to come after the sanding!! I brushed the walls to remove any paint dust then I swept and vacuumed the floors. After that, it was time for the parade of chemicals. We first donned our trusty ventilators. Then 
proceeded to wipe down the raw wood with mineral spirits. Here's the floor after the mineral spirits wipe down (with some still left to evaporate). And ME after the mineral spirits wipe down.
So all that was left was to pick up the particulate matter with a tack cloth. BUT, before we did that, we went around the house (yup, dining room is smack in the middle of the house and we are out of luck for the next day or so....all traffic is re-routed on the outside of the house!!) for a shower and a change of clothes. Can't be tracking dust all over a nice clean, raw wood floor!! After showering, we ventured back to the dining room and Todd and I got down on our hands and knees and picked up little dust particles here and there, and the odd splinter, too! Then it was time to seal the wood. Using a lambswool applicator, Todd expertly applied sealant to our freshly sanded floor! Time finished 1:06 am. Ugh. But it's a ton of progress and a terrific start!! Tomorrow, the first coat of polyurethane goes down! 
to START! WHUT? So, after moving all the furniture out and putting up plastic on the doorways, Todd started by removing the baseboard molding and I sanded the walls. 
Then sanding began in earnest! Start time: 6 pm! Todd sanded like crazy with our little rental belt sander from Home Depot. Between my wall sanding and the floor sanding, we kicked up plenty of dust. 
We refinished my office floor last year so we had plenty of experience to draw from...unfortunately we still chose to use a hand sanding machine instead of the large upright floor sander we used last year for various reasons I have now blocked out from my memory ! Todd now has backache. It was a painful 
3 hours of sanding. Painful for him to do, painful for me to watch. But, truth be told, the upright sander was hard work too!! And there was more hard work to come after the sanding!! I brushed the walls to remove any paint dust then I swept and vacuumed the floors. After that, it was time for the parade of chemicals. We first donned our trusty ventilators. Then 
proceeded to wipe down the raw wood with mineral spirits. Here's the floor after the mineral spirits wipe down (with some still left to evaporate). And ME after the mineral spirits wipe down.
So all that was left was to pick up the particulate matter with a tack cloth. BUT, before we did that, we went around the house (yup, dining room is smack in the middle of the house and we are out of luck for the next day or so....all traffic is re-routed on the outside of the house!!) for a shower and a change of clothes. Can't be tracking dust all over a nice clean, raw wood floor!! After showering, we ventured back to the dining room and Todd and I got down on our hands and knees and picked up little dust particles here and there, and the odd splinter, too! Then it was time to seal the wood. Using a lambswool applicator, Todd expertly applied sealant to our freshly sanded floor! Time finished 1:06 am. Ugh. But it's a ton of progress and a terrific start!! Tomorrow, the first coat of polyurethane goes down! 
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