More on making yourself sore

Okay. So like I said, we bought at house with pee-stained carpet. However, there were hardwood floors underneath. So I pulled up all the carpet. That alone was a mega-pain. It covered both the living and dining rooms, as well as the hall...probably 300-350 square feet, probably had between 400-600 staples holding it down, along with loads of carpet grabber boards (basically, paint stirring sticks with 4-5 nails per square inch). 6 hours later, I was admiring some really red, slightly neglected hardwood floors. Now if this were a rental, I'd have left it as it was. But no, I have seen what is possible (below) and I must have it!



The lighter color in the kitchen matches the walnut colored trim soooo much better. So, I read up on DIY floor refinishing. This link and This link had some particularly useful info. One thing that came up a lot was the fear of the drum sander. So I rented an orbital sander instead of the drum sander.



So I sanded and sanded for about 8 hours. I did two bedrooms and the living room, ate through loads of sandpaper and finally said "nuts to this" and went to get the drum sander. DRUM SANDERS ARE MY NEW FAVORITE THING. I put 36 grit sandpaper on and finished the bedroom before Erika was back with lunch. Drum sanders don't kid around...see below.



So what was going to take me 16-20 hours with an orbital sander took me 3 with the drum sander. Like I said, those things are no joke. Pay attention to what you're doing.

So I'll finish sanding tomorrow. I have to do the edging and then Erika and I will start urethaning (is that a word?) asap.