Bamboo Floors (part 2)

So the odyssey continues...today we tackled another room-the office. Unplugging and figuring out what to do with tons of A/V equipment and computers and such was REAL FUN. In fact it's a lot like moving, only knowing you're not going anywhere...

There weren't as many staples to pull up this time, but still plenty because there were some left over from a previous carpet installation, plus the current one. But still, nothing like the quantity in the bedroom. There was way more of the nasty lead paint on this floor...uggh. (I honestly don't know what possesses people to paint hardwood floors.)

Installation was easier and smoother now that we've had some experience with laying the flooring down. I also had the sense to go buy a rubber mallet to tap things into place instead of struggling with the end pieces, so in my opinion, it was much easier and faster than last time. Today, I laid the floor and Brian did all the cutting and measuring (especially since my asthma has been really bad the past couple of days). The toughest part of this room was having to work around the floor vent. The door is giving us some trouble--so we had to take it off the hinges until we can sand it down a bit. (The bamboo is higher and less likely to get out of the door's way.) This room was slightly bigger than the bedroom so it took more rows, and like the other room, it took most of the afternoon though, but we finished in time for Brian to watch Memphis lose to Missouri.

Still to go--the third bedroom and the living room. I think we can get the bedroom done, but I don't think we're going to get around to tackling the living room this week--it's too much furniture moving (with nowhere to go) in my opinion (I think it will take another weekend to do the living room). Plus we still have a dishwasher to install as well...

The bamboo flooring is really nice. It has good acoustic qualities and is "quieter" than I thought it would be--not loud and echo-y at all. It's also a lot warmer under the feet than I was expecting. Even though the carpet was a light color (it may even have been white at one time) the bamboo is even brighter (we chose the natural color so it's kind of yellowish in the way the bamboo is once it dries) so it really lightens up the rooms even more. Considering that this house has great natural light to begin with (you don't need to turn on interior lights during the day AT ALL), it makes the rooms almost glow. I really like it.

I'm really looking forward to the complete eradication of carpet in the rest of the house...no more vacuuming, and I'll never need to rent a steam cleaner again. I can just quietly sweep when the dog hair accumulation gets a bit too much...and boy does she shed.