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Monday, January 11

Floring Continues

Work on the house continues...as it will for a while I guess.

I'm planning a small addition to the kitchen that I'll post details about soon. I'm currently in the design/thinking/ and sketching stages...expect something soon.


With another dump of snow lately and warm temps threatening ice-damns in the near future I recruited some help of my sister (Claire) and Dawn, ohh and Rio, to remove some of the snow off the roof...yes yes yes I know, were using plastic shovels and not scraping the bottom layer off...just removing the majority of the load. Back when I first purchased the property the house had about 30" of snow on the roof. That was the first thing removed and man was it a PAIN! Keeping the downspouts and drains clear is priority #1. Maybe I'm just over concerned about this but it helps me sleep.

Onward.....


The flooring decisions continue. Over the weekend we've had the 2 contractors in questions come back for a test grind to see what were working with and to take final measurements.

Please Read on for more >>>>>

What we found: The floors have a sand top level that when grinded exposes a salt and pepper look within the pigmented slab. Both the master and guest bedroom are not colored but include the same mixture of sand. The problem with this now is that if we choose the grinding route the bedrooms will be a light crème color. The color does not fade evenly from the hallways to the bedroom so it may look cheap because of the way it was originally poured.


Test area 1 wide shot polished

Test area 1 detail polished

Test area 2 wide shot and dry

Test area 2 detail shot Dry

Test area 2 wide shot wet to simulate sealing colors

Test area 2 detail shot Wet

Bedroom Shot wide (notice no red stain)

Knowing this we're still deciding on the final product. We may choose to grind the original floors and add an overlay in the bedrooms to match the color and style. Quotes for the job should be coming in this week and will obviously play a part in the final decision. There are so many corners and tight areas that will have to be grinded by hand, and that will surely increase the ppsqft (Price Per Sqft.)

Again, If anyone has any other suggestions or you just have something to say please drop me a line in the comments.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

I feel your pain regarding removing snow off the flat roof. Keeping the drains clear is a real problem, especially with drains that exit from a cantilevered roof section.

Is doing a consistent overlay over ALL the floors something you are considering?

IM said...

Implify,
Have you found a solution for the snow? I've heard of people using heating cables to create drain paths to the drains. your central drain would be a major bear!

I'm considering a consistent overlay for all the floors. Color options are endless but I'll probably be going towards something to match the original color. This would clean up all the cracks and it would look like a new pour. He also had an idea to remove the wood floor trim and make the floor seamless with the brick walls...we'll see prices soon.

Unknown said...

I have not found a solution for the snow, but have thought about it quite a bit, including heated cables. Since I might redo the roof again in the next 10 years or so, I'm not focusing on doing any major. I've got bigger fish to fry in other areas. For now, I just have learned the quirks of the different drains and pay attention to the trouble makers when the weather changes.

As for the floor I like the consistent overlay idea. You get a single color, which could match the original, and not have to worry about grinding, with dust, and getting round the corners. Not sure about removing the trim. I guess that would depend on how close to the original design you are going with and how much you plan on making this your own.

IM said...

well if I find out any snow ideas I'll keep you posted.

Yeah the overlay would be seamless and very nice. It could be matched to the original finish and be added throughout the house to make the floors the same. Trim was only in the living area and it's wood. With being between the cement block and cement floors they are always stressing the trim by removing and replacing moisture in the wood...they look very bad currently. we'll see how things go.

Thanks for commenting!!!