The Great Thanksgiving Weekend Floor Flood

So the floors were finished and totally gorgeous, the trim work was going in and we were looking at being finished in another week or two. That was where we were the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Since we could not get away for Turkey Day, we spent the weekend puttering around the house, putting face plates on the electrical outlets and switches, and generally enjoying the house and the great weather. Until Sunday, that is.

I was moving slow and posting forum messages about how great the floor looked, so Ralph went over to the house first. He came back upset, "There is a leak and the bedroom floor is RUINED!"

I told him where to turn the water off to the house and ran over. Here's what I saw:

Left: The paper that had been protecting the new floor was wet and you could see that the floor was no longer flat.

Below: Water was flowing out of the exterior door to the bedroom!














Left: Here is the source of the problem - obviously there had been a leak at this location. The wood had buckled so much it had broken the baseboard.

Below: Mike, the contractor, checking out the source of the problem.











Below: Mike and Damon the Floor Guy checking out the damage. In these two photos you can see the extent of the damage to the floor. The entire room had been soaked with water.


















The source of the problem. The trim carpenter forgot that this was a "wet" wall and used long nails to tack up the baseboard. He managed to catch the pipe twice. The one still in the joint was not really the big problem. The one that pulled out when the floor buckled was the serious problem since it let the water leak turn major.




































And here was where we were by noon on Monday. Depressing, isn't it? For comparison, here is what the floor looked like before the weekend:

Kitchen is basically finished

Here's my mostly IKEA kitchen:


Lower open shelves are custom built from red oak. They match better than is shown in the pictures. They will stay open and have adjustable shelves in them.







I particularly love the backsplash. Most of it is Georgia white marble salvaged from the old Florida Capitol Building when it was restored to the 1905 version. But the part behind the cooktop is a photo montage of our farm with our favorite horses.




Cabinets: Ikea Tidaholm oak & custom built open shelves
Counters: Crossville Color Blox Two "I've Got the Blues"
Floor: Daltile French Quarter Cobblestone (18") & Bourbon Street (6")
Backsplash: salvaged Georgia (Alabama?) white marble & custom printed image on Italian tumbled marble
Sink: IKEA Domsjo sink
Faucet: Prestige Sonora in oil rubbed bronze
Fridge/Freezer: Kenmore Elite (Frigidaire Twins)
Cooktop: IKEA (Whirlpool)
Vent Hood: IKEA (Whirlpool)
Dishwasher: Frigidaire
Oven: Frigidaire side opening convection
Paint: SW Meditative

Progress on the house is slow

OK, so I haven't posted here in a long time. August and September, I was busy assembling IKEA cabinets for the kitchen and the bathrooms and other places. October I had jury duty which wore out my knees and I've simply been tired from the pain.

But the house has been progressing - slowly. Trim has been going in, replacement doors had to ordered then re-ordered (first ones were wrong, second ones were wrong, one was broken, etc.)

The pine floors turned out gorgeous! We went with Waterlox with Minwax Ipswich Pine stain and with a satin finish. Here's what they looked like along the way:




Unfinished floor in the living room















First coat of Waterlox Sealer/Finisher with stain mixed in.
















First coat in bedroom after the layer dried.














Floor in the bedroom with a couple of coats of Waterlox.
















Stairs with two coats, last coat still wet.













Finished floor in the bedroom.












Finished floor in living room with last coat still wet.




It all looks awesome, doesn't it? More to come.....