Day 7: Hot Chocolate Lava Eruption!!

Finally finished the floor, in time for New Year! I gave Paula the honour of inserting the final piece into the floor. In the end used more than 3kg of nails and my thumb is swollen and sore.

Solved the problem of how to fit with the last board by cutting a board in half. Sounds easy but was some work to match the size. I was pleased with myself since the difference between the gap from one end to the other was only 1cm meaning that I managed to keep the boards almost completely straight as I moved across the room. I had a fear that I would end up with boards at 45 degree angles to the room!

Wasabi almost got entombed in the floor but stuck his head out in time for me to remember he was down there. Apparently I used the wrong nails. I used 'cut clasp' nails instead of 'floor brads'. They both look pretty much the same to me but in the DIY encyclopedia I chanced upon a passage that recommended using these only where extremely strong fixing is needed as they are 'extremely difficult' to remove. Lucky Wasabi, would have been nails on his coffin!

In case you are wondering why the boards are all different colours, there are three colours:

1) dark brown -- these are the original boards, face up. for some reason that I haven't yet worked out the builders used to put a coat of tar on the pine surface. Oddly some of the boards are fully tarred while others are only tarred on the edges.

2) light brown -- these are the original 70 year old floorboards but flipped over to reveal the underside. I like to do this when the underside is in good shape and not too damaged by the lifting. Usually the edges are tatty so I cut them off and use two original boards to make one re-furbished row. Its important not to mix old and new in the same row because the new ones are slightly thinner and would leave a gap if but alongside an old one.

3) very light: new pine boards. I suppose I could have ripped all the old ones out an replaced them with new pine, but I like the idea of keeping the originals. If they survived 70 years, why not? Probably won't add value to the house, but makes me happy. Also saves some money!

So, you ask, all very nice and pretty coloured, but wont these colours make the floor look funny later when its varnished? Ha! wait until I hire the mega sander and see these boards conform! once the top 2mm are shaved off everything will change. True, the old boards will still be more dark than the new ones ( I know from experience upstairs in the bedroom). How we gonna fix that? AHHH! Wait and see...

Its incredible to see how primitive my house really is. Once I ripped out the floorboards and saw nothing but the concrete foundations below, I realised that the structure I called home is really brick cube with a roof and two sets of rafters with floorboards on top. I think I probably got ripped off. Don't think this shack is actually worth anything near what I paid for it.. but then what is in the UK except maybe the tea? The upside of this is that there is probably nothing that I could not fix myself in the house with the possible exception of the gas system or electrical system (which I have a primal fear of since I got electrocuted once when I connected the wrong wires)

Paula baked some fantastic 'chocolate volcanoes' and to celebrate the floor completion we ate them in the new room.....