
Contractor estimated 3 1/2 weeks to complete the job. Well, they started demo on August 10, and they finished (that's right -- FINISHED!) yesterday, December 7. You do the math.
Hell, it took 3 1/2 weeks just to get the siding guy to come back for one final day of work. And I think we only got that by using the "A" word (that's right -- ATTORNEY!)
We still need to get the new Certificate of Occupancy for the 3rd floor living space, make final payment and whatever else it is needed to close out the contract, but at least the physical work is finally over. And you know what? It looks pretty darn good.
bamBOOM
First step: clean up the huge mess! Spare cuts of sheetrock and spackle dust everywhere. Once we could get at the floors we prepped the surface with a double thickness of 15 pound asphalt felt. Even tracked down a couple squeeks and screwed them down to silence.
Next step: install bamboo. We rented a pneumatic floor nailer from Home Depot (the first time they've actually had the item we wanted in stock AND working); an intimidating machine, but surprisingly easy to get the hang of after a couple of test wacks. Left the pre-finished bamboo boards virtually unmarred.
You can't tell in this shot, but we're actually not quite done (with the floor at least). We did get the main field installed so we could return the rental without racking up tons of extra hours. Now we need to install the pieces that the nailer couldn't reach.
Gotta say: looks damn good. Better than I thought it would given the maiden installation. Engineered boards made it a dream. Only needed to use a couple of the flooring installation tricks I read about. Plus a couple monster cups of tea. And two yoga classes. I'll take the motivation wherever I can get it.
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