Hardwood...Check

This week, it was all about the hardwood. We spent each night after work laying a few more rows of hardwood to ensure that we would be able to get it all done by the end of the three-day weekend. Steve was kind enough to come over a few evenings to help us out. 

We rigged up a spot light for the chop saw on the back patio so we could continue to cut boards well after sundown. Thanks parents for the portable work lights :) Another Christmas present put to good use! 

Dan and I spent Friday night getting things organized and cleaned up. We opened our remaining boxes of hardwood to get all the nice long pieces out to use in the floor. 

Then we laid a few more rows so we could move the refrigerator and the dishwasher back in their spots and get them out of the way for the rest of flooring. 

We also left a note and picture for the future owners to find whenever they make the poor decision to tear up the flooring.  Then we stuck it under the under-layment and laid a few more rows. 

 Karen and Steve came over on Saturday morning and we got right to work. Or rather, the guys got right to work. Karen and I picked out the boards for the rows and supervised. We also ran and got more stair nose to use on the steps later on. 

The guys worked until about dinner time, and then we let Steve go home and spend Valentines evening with Karen. Dan and I laid a few more rows before calling it a night, ordering some sushi and curling up in front of the fire. 

 Sunday morning, Steve was back over and the guys finished the last couple of rows to complete our kitchen. The way to this girls heart is finishing the floor in her kitchen, so Dan did exactly that :) We absolutely love how it has turned out. It completely changed the look and feel of the room and we could not be happier.  

We have not been able to stop staring at it. We took Steve and Karen out to dinner as a small way of thanking them for all their help. I know we have said this before but we honestly, could not have done this without them. 

All in all, it was a very productive weekend. Now we are ready for the cabinets to be delivered in a few weeks and get the rest of our kitchen back! 

The light at the end of the tunnel is near. We keep joking that we don't know what we are going to do with all our free time once this is done. I'm sure we'll come up with other projects...

D&L

Crunch Time

Things are trucking along here in demo world! Last weekend, we sat down and finalized all the plans for the kitchen cabinets. The order is in and they should arrive in the beginning of March. So, we have been busy trying to get everything else done before then!

Steve stopped by last weekend to help Dan take down the railing that was at the edge of the kitchen leading into the family room.   

They also installed the stair nose for the hardwood so we could get started with laying the hardwood in the kitchen. It was surprising how big of a difference that made having that down.

This weekend, my parents came down to help us take down the remaining cabinets, patch up some drywall and remove the sink, so we could run hardwood under where the new cabinets will be. 

We had removed the tile back splash a few months ago, and were planning on replacing the drywall just where the back splash used to be. Once the cabinets were removed, we realized that it would probably be easier to remove all of the drywall and replace the full sheets. More demo! 

Then, the guys got to work on putting up new drywall and patching the seams. And that was our Saturday night :)

Sunday morning, we moved our thermostat from the kitchen into the dining room and upgraded to a programmable one. Then the guys got to work on laying the hardwood in the transition from our new dining room to our kitchen. 

The first row was the most important and difficult because they had to be cut thin to align the boards that came through the transition. They got a couple of rows in before my parents headed home. Hopefully, this week, Dan and I will be able to finish enough rows to fit under the fridge. Luckily, we have a three day weekend coming up, and will be able to finish the hardwood in the kitchen (fingers crossed!). 

Happy Sunday!

D&L