I’ve been over to the house a few times this week to keep sanding and sweeping. Doing an hour or two of work on my knees after working in the hangar all day is rough! I do believe that doing a little work after real work will be much easier once we are living there, though. Getting dinner, running to the house for a bit and then coming back home to help with Jack’s homework has been exhausting. As a result, we are a bit behind in the floor refinishing. No worries, though. It will get done soon enough.

I had a bit of a panic when I realized the hole filler stuff I put down was meant to be put on before the final sanding instead of after. I managed to wipe off most of the extra goop. It came off (mostly) with some water and elbow grease. You can get a little foretaste of what the stain will look like where the floor is wet from washing it. Today I took a palm sander to some of it and it came off better, so I think I will go back over it all before the staining begins.

This process is taking much longer than I had hoped. Mostly because of the monster edge sander. I am going to have to blend the edges into the main floor a bit with the palm sander, but it will be totally worth doing. I want this floor to last at least five or six years, if not longer. And I want it to be exquisite. These are the first rooms anyone will see and the main entertaining space of the house, so it will be a serious focal point. Sounds kind of silly, but consider that Ellen and I want to open our home to friends and create space for real living in real community. If a really beautiful floor helps people feel at home in our home, then the extra effort is worth the trouble.