Monday, December 22, 2014

Break out the sander





   
     When the cat is away, the mice will... work?  I don't think that is how it usually goes.  But this time it was.  Mrs. Clowd took the kids out of state before Thanksgiving for some family time.  So I decided to surprise her with a new look to our bedroom.  The previous owners had some gogs that left our bedroom carpet disgusting.  We have always wanted to do something about it, and now was the perfect time.  The entire house has hardwood floors under the carpet.  With everyone out of the house I would be the only one that needed to deal with the dust and fumes.


     I have never dealt with flooring at all, but thanks to three former PayPal employees that decided to start YouTube(thanks Mr Hurley, Chen, and Karim), I had plenty of sources to give me guidance.  I had 11 days to get it done, so I felt confident.  But things never work out like that, do they.  I had to travel to a leadership meeting, then there was a thanksgiving party, then diner with some friends.  Those 11 days quickly evaporated into 4.
     I still felt confident though.  Until I pulled up the carpet.  I just figured it would need a little buffing, maybe some sanding around the edges, and it would be good.  But what I found was a little more work than expected.

     On the way home from work on Friday night, I stopped by the local Home Improvement store, well more of a depot than store, grabbed a sander, and got to work.  After a very long night of sanding, followed by more sanding in the morning, it was ready for some finish.

     
     Another long night of applying multiple coats  and voila!  Not professional by any means, but it is a lot better than that nasty carpet we had.  It was nice to see the look on Mrs. Clowd's face, but I don't know if I would every try it again on short notice.

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