A sunny sunday afternoon, and what better time to pull up carpets?
Where we had disgusting grey but once was white carpet through our living room and hallway we now have beautiful jarrah boards.
Although we knew there were boards under the carpet, both Tony and I were pleasantly suprised by their condition. With a good sanding and a varnish they will look spectacular. First, however, we have to do the study and bedroom.. which involve a lot more heavy lifting.
No photos yet, but I'll post some when I can. It's so nice being able to do stuff to our house!
[Edit: Yes I know homophones. ]
[ November 14, 2004, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: imogen ]
Posted by rubble (Member # 6454) on :
Have Fun!
Posted by Troubadour (Member # 83) on :
I'm jealous!
While I LOVE my apartment (Fitzroy St, St Kilda, Melbourne - right in the heart of the action) I really want to be able to do my own renovation job one day... *sigh*
Who thought it would take this long?
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
It's nice to discover something like that. Hardwood is great. I'm still wondering why people ever decided wall-to-wall carpeting was better.
Dagonee
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
Dagonee - I don't know either. Floor boards are so beautiful when polished. They shine in the afternoon sun and the whole house takes on a red-wood glow.
Easier to keep clean, too.
Troubs - St Kilda, hey? Must remember you next time I'm in Melbourne. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I had to look up "jarra wood" on Google to see what it is. Sounds REALLY NICE! Like teak only more expensive. Yikes! But the cool thing is that the farming of Jarra wood is considered a "renewable" resource so using it doesn't mean you've diminished the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Cool stuff!
My grandmother's house had chestnut wood floors and mouldings. Unbelievably nice.
The nicest flooring I've seen lately was in Hawaii. The people had built a brand new house and used bamboo for flooring. It's cut into thin strips and planed flat, and it just looks amazing!
I think the deal with carpeting is that it's easier to take care of in general. Once a hardwood floor is damaged, it is really expensive to fix. And if you have something exotic, then you're really in for it.
I was in Italy a few years ago. Visited some relatives who had an older style apartment. The doors were polished Mahogany! Floors were marble. Whoa! In an apartment. Sheesh.
[ November 14, 2004, 08:52 AM: Message edited by: Bob_Scopatz ]
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
Oops, didn't think about the whole Australian context thing.
Also known as Swan River Mahogony (Swan River is the main river running through Perth, which is the capital of Western Australia) which gives an idea of its colour.
Bob - Marble floors? Wow! My dream in life is to have marble benchtops in my kitchen to roll pastry on.
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Cool, imogen! I've seen jarrah wood before, CostPlus World Market carries patio furnature made out of it in the summer. It's got a great color, I can only imagine how neat it would look as flooring.
My wood floors were covered up by brown & cream shag carpeting when I moved in... and it's maple underneath, which is not as hard as oak or mahogany, but a lot harder than pine. It was covered with dripped paint and pretty scratched, but it cleaned up okay... so if yours are in good shape, they'll look fabulous.
Sanding is a pain, but mostly because it's a different kind of physical labor than your body is used to. My mistake was thinking I could get it done too fast... rent the sanders for longer than you think you'll need, so you can take frequent breaks and not be worried about trying to get them returned on time. It'll take longer than you think, anyway. Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
ElJay...cool room! Nice floors! '
Are your floor boards are wider than what can be purchased today as well. I looked at an older house here in College Station and the floor boards were about one-forth again as wide as standard flooring today. How do I know this? Well...the prior owners had cut an access hole in the middle of the living room and then patched it with modern pine boards. Ugh.
[ November 14, 2004, 11:28 AM: Message edited by: Bob_Scopatz ]
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Thanks Bob! The best part is the closet upright that's closest to the window, thats wider than the others... it's a bookshelf, sized exactly for paperbacks. Daddy custom-built the whole closet for me.
My floorboards are standard width, which is good, because there's an access hole cut in the floor downstairs at the door from the living room into the kitchen that was just patched with plywood. When I do the floors downstairs I'll have to patch it, but luckily there's a fabulous reuse center nearby that sells old flooring that was ripped up from local houses, among other things. If I was putting in a new floor now I'd buy wide planking from them... they've got some really cool stuff, and I love the look of 6" or 8" boards on a floor. It has to be a larger room, of course.
[ November 14, 2004, 11:41 AM: Message edited by: ElJay ]
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
If I ever have to get floors installed, I'm getting solid wood floors. Not laminate, and not even constructed boards.
Laminates can never be refinished, and constructed boards can only be sanded/refinished once.
Dagonee
Posted by Narnia (Member # 1071) on :
Eljay, that room is just beautiful! I really must have hardwood floors when I get a house. It's a must.
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But the cool thing is that the farming of Jarra wood is considered a "renewable" resource so using it doesn't mean you've diminished the beauty of the surrounding countryside. Cool stuff!