Working, Working....!!!

I'm almost there!!! :-D
Here's the wood we got last weekend.....

It was only 2 sheets, and I had a Lowes guy cut it in the right widths for me.  So after we got home Sunday afternoon, Brian measured and cut the lengths for the spot next to the fireplace.....

We checked to make sure they fit, before lifting them back up and stacking them outside again, to wait for me to sand and stain them!  It was SOOOO tempting to just nail them down right then and do the staining and sanding and sealing while they were on the floor!!!  LOTS of people do it that way, actually, every example I've seen of plywood flooring being used in someone's home has been done by nailing the raw wood down first, then staining and sanding and urethaning! 

But I don't like doing it that way -- first, it's back-breaking to be crouched over for so long!  Second, I like the control of working with each board, and being able to stop for the day or night or whenever I feel like it.  And third, for this spot, it's the MAIN walking area to get from the front hall to the rest of the house!  So it's just much easier to be able to keep it open while the stain and two coats of polyurethane dry on the boards on the back porch!! :-D

And here are the boards for the hallway......

They are waiting to be done next!

I did the first set of boards yesterday, except the last coat of urethane.....

 

I got that done this morning!  I LOVE how they look!! :-D
Now they are ready and waiting.....

So here comes the tricky (FUN!) part.....the hallway boards!  I cut out most of the rug, and vacuumed up the disgusting dirt underneath (that white stuff is some kind of GLUE they used on the pad under the rug! :-P).....

Then I measured exactly the lengths of the four strips I would need.  After a little figuring, I knew the measurements of the short boards I would need, and never one to WAIT for anything, I decided to cut them myself!!!! :-D

It's not that hard, especially since Brian got the circular saw that uses a battery.....it's not too heavy for me, I've even used it before, my earliest followers will remember....!!! :-D

There it is!!!!!
Here's my two cut marks.....

 

See how I strategically cut out the ugly knot holes??  Yup, I've got brains! :-D
So I cut the first side, and it's a little loud, and I think I should be cutting faster because it chipped the edge!.....

OOPS!!!
I did a lot better with the second one.....

Now all I had to do is sand and re-stain these edges!
Here they are all set.....

They cleaned up pretty good, right? :-D

So I almost finished the rest of the hallway boards now.....

All they need is their last coat of urethane, and they are READY!

WEEEE!!!  This is SO fun!! :-D

I've been making tons of lists of things I want to do after the floor is completely finished, and I think we should move on to finishing the kitchen next!  There isn't too much left to do in there - not including me repainting the cabinets - and it's mostly going to be floor and ceiling trim, and door trim.  Then THAT room will be done, too!! :-D

Well, I don't want to get too ahead of myself! LOL  We are supposed to have a lovely weekend weather-wise, and Brian has a 4-day weekend because of Memorial Day!!!!!  I LOVE when he gets an extra day off!!  Now we'll have a chance to really get into the garden -- even without us working on the floor, it has rained for the past 3 weekends! :-P  So he will finally be able to till and dig up our garden area, and I can get my tiny tomatoes in the ground.

*Sigh!*  SO many plans!!!  Oh well, it's fun to make them!  Check back to see if any of them actually get done.....! LOL ^-^