We can finally talk about it

It is my fault (it usually is!). I told Scott that we had to have a 'real floor' before Thanksgiving. Enough time has now passed that we can finally discuss the great concrete floor refinishing debacle without breaking into a cold sweat and tearing up....or maybe it is just the perspective of having another, new, project that is making us cry.... (more on the rest of the bathroom remodel will come later as we come to terms with that project).

First we had to finish tearing up the old floor. Thanks to the kids, this was pretty painless and quick. It was what was underneath it that made us want to cry.

After HOURS and HOURS--several week-ends-- of grinding with the hand grinder, we thought we had it all ready to just buff and stain (and seal and wax). We geared up for the BIG Saturday where we arranged to have the kids elsewhere and the whole day dedicated to refinishing the floor.

Friday night we prepared by first tearing out the old wall in the hall and reframing the new bathroom door (pocket door). Afterall, we wanted the door opening in the right place before we refinished the floor... we also tore out the peninsula in our kitchen (after much debate)....
We should have made time to take up the 'carpet' in the laundry room, but we saved that for Saturday morning. What we found was the muckiest muck I have ever seen...this is the closest I came to see Scott cry during this project....we almost gave up here.

But after swapping our buffer....why did we think it would be so easy...for a large grinder....we began creating a 4-5 inch layer of dust that stayed with us for several weeks.....The pregnant lady (me) drove the big machine, while Scott tried to vaccum, clear the dust a bit, so that we could see what we were doing.
I gained a whole new appreciation for dust and I kept thinking of the book I read for Book Club 'Out of the Dust' the story really took on deeper meaning for me. Dust makes everything worse, it reveals every flaw and it makes my skin HURT.
This was just after dark when we finished power washing the concrete, after hours of sweeping and vacuuming the dust, and were about to apply the stain. We started in the laundry room (doesn't the floor look so clean!) OOPS! our gear for applying the stain was a little rookie--by the end we had it all over the walls....

The good news is that we (barely) finished the staining and the sealing before we had to go and meet Scott's nephew for dinner (he came home from his mission that day) and pick up our kids at about 8pm. The bad news was that we had not stopped to eat, hardly to drink, or fulfill many other body needs...you get the idea....for about 13 hours. That was pretty hard on the pregnant lady....and I think Scott was pretty ready to be done too.

We knew that the concrete could behave badly, but when we woke up on Sunday we were a bit mystified at how the floor had taken (or not taken) the dye. We are still fiddling with the look...not quite satisfied, but happy that perfect or not it is a FINISHED FLOOR! I wish I had good pictures of how it turned out....but since it changes everyday it seems --it has a mind of its own it appears-- we may have to revisit it again anyway.

So there you have it. This is the real story of the great floor refinishing adventure. We are enjoying the new finished floor despite the unintended result...but I hope that it is a VERY LONG time before we have this adventure again!