At the end of the previous episode, there were a few more planks to be installed then the floor makeover would be complete. Three planks plus the 1 1/2" border extension pieces, how hard could it be, right? Well, the last three planks went down without problem. However the extension pieces gave me a world of trouble.
The pieces had to go in at an angle in order for the tongue to meet the groove. (see my previous postings if you have your tongue hanging out now and are wondering what that means?") I couldn’t cut them too narrow or the baseboard wouldn’t cover the gap. I had about 1/4" of space to play with, not quite enough to get my fat fingers to clear when I tried to snap the pieces in. After struggling with the last few piece for about 1/2 hr, I came up with a "solution". Cut them down to size…the tongue part on each of the last pieces was trimmed to just under 1/2". The trimming on the boards made fitting them in a breeze. I used the tapping block to secure the extension pieces. Finally, the floor was done! Next up, painting the room. What about baseboards? They were next in line.
the white trim you see in the photo below is the wall, not the floor.
above, the coping technique when joining two pieces
My dear wife knows just how particular I can be when I paint. OK, she calls it "anal retentive", that’s all right. I don’t like to rush anything on any project I work on. An easy job like painting the house is no exception. Our ceilings are textured, there are wavy patterns which make painting alone the ceiling / wall edges difficult. I wasn’t planning on painting the walls AND the ceiling so I had to be extra careful not to get paint on the ceiling when I painted.
There was no easy way around it. All painting tools available could not give a straight edge because of the wavy patterns. The only way was to put masking tape around the edges before painting. So, out was the step ladder, a roll of masking tape and a pair of scissors. It’s actually a good exercise to work on your rear end when you have to move the ladder around the room. Then you get up and down the ladder about 20+ times, just like the stepping exercise class at the YMCA. After taping up the office ceiling, I felt like I had the "buns of steel"! My calves were bulging, too!
From the photos you can tell, the color I chose for my office is green. It may be a shade darker than I would like but it’s still a very soothing color. I first painted around the higher portion of the walls. The rest of the walls was next. The entire room was painted in about 1 1/2 hrs. I went back to see if there were botchy spots which I applied a second coat the next day. The office looked nice with the fresh paint job.
tape job on the ceiling
Base boards go along side the floor and the walls. They cover up the gap left during the floor installation. A 1/4" gap between the planks and the walls is necessary since the wood planks need room to expand during hot weather. It’s not too difficult to cut, trim, and install the baseboards but precise measurements on each piece are crucial. Obviously too long a piece wont’ fit, cutting it too short will leave an unsightly gap. At each corner, where the pieces meet must be cut at an angle or one of them needs to be "coped". If you think all walls meet at exactly 90 degree angle, I’ve got news for you, they don’t!
Cutting two boardends at 45 deg angle won’t give you a perfect fit on a supposedly 90 deg angle. Sorry, if I have lost some of you here. I didn’t want to do the coping as it would take up more time for sure. I opted cutting the baseboards at 45 deg, then cut / sanded the pieces down for a good fit. Small gaps can be patched up with wood filler. The baseboards were installed in about 1 hr, with many trips going back to garage to trim the pieces slowly. The end results, three very small gaps that could be easily patched with wood filler. After patching and some staining, the gaps were nearly invisible.
I put my computer desk back, this time in the corner rather than in the middle of the room. Piece by piece, I put the computer, monitor, speakers where I wanted them. For about $320 in material costs plus about three days of labor, I got myself a brand new office. Thanks for tuning in for the final episode!
The pieces had to go in at an angle in order for the tongue to meet the groove. (see my previous postings if you have your tongue hanging out now and are wondering what that means?") I couldn’t cut them too narrow or the baseboard wouldn’t cover the gap. I had about 1/4" of space to play with, not quite enough to get my fat fingers to clear when I tried to snap the pieces in. After struggling with the last few piece for about 1/2 hr, I came up with a "solution". Cut them down to size…the tongue part on each of the last pieces was trimmed to just under 1/2". The trimming on the boards made fitting them in a breeze. I used the tapping block to secure the extension pieces. Finally, the floor was done! Next up, painting the room. What about baseboards? They were next in line.
the white trim you see in the photo below is the wall, not the floor.
My dear wife knows just how particular I can be when I paint. OK, she calls it "anal retentive", that’s all right. I don’t like to rush anything on any project I work on. An easy job like painting the house is no exception. Our ceilings are textured, there are wavy patterns which make painting alone the ceiling / wall edges difficult. I wasn’t planning on painting the walls AND the ceiling so I had to be extra careful not to get paint on the ceiling when I painted.
There was no easy way around it. All painting tools available could not give a straight edge because of the wavy patterns. The only way was to put masking tape around the edges before painting. So, out was the step ladder, a roll of masking tape and a pair of scissors. It’s actually a good exercise to work on your rear end when you have to move the ladder around the room. Then you get up and down the ladder about 20+ times, just like the stepping exercise class at the YMCA. After taping up the office ceiling, I felt like I had the "buns of steel"! My calves were bulging, too!
From the photos you can tell, the color I chose for my office is green. It may be a shade darker than I would like but it’s still a very soothing color. I first painted around the higher portion of the walls. The rest of the walls was next. The entire room was painted in about 1 1/2 hrs. I went back to see if there were botchy spots which I applied a second coat the next day. The office looked nice with the fresh paint job.
Base boards go along side the floor and the walls. They cover up the gap left during the floor installation. A 1/4" gap between the planks and the walls is necessary since the wood planks need room to expand during hot weather. It’s not too difficult to cut, trim, and install the baseboards but precise measurements on each piece are crucial. Obviously too long a piece wont’ fit, cutting it too short will leave an unsightly gap. At each corner, where the pieces meet must be cut at an angle or one of them needs to be "coped". If you think all walls meet at exactly 90 degree angle, I’ve got news for you, they don’t!
Cutting two boardends at 45 deg angle won’t give you a perfect fit on a supposedly 90 deg angle. Sorry, if I have lost some of you here. I didn’t want to do the coping as it would take up more time for sure. I opted cutting the baseboards at 45 deg, then cut / sanded the pieces down for a good fit. Small gaps can be patched up with wood filler. The baseboards were installed in about 1 hr, with many trips going back to garage to trim the pieces slowly. The end results, three very small gaps that could be easily patched with wood filler. After patching and some staining, the gaps were nearly invisible.
I put my computer desk back, this time in the corner rather than in the middle of the room. Piece by piece, I put the computer, monitor, speakers where I wanted them. For about $320 in material costs plus about three days of labor, I got myself a brand new office. Thanks for tuning in for the final episode!
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