Who’da thunk? Pt. 2

by Ed, 12:47 pm

It’s been a roller-coaster the past few days at Ruxbin, trying to figure out how to fix the dining-room floor. After seeing the carpet under the wood-floors first hand, my first inclination was to run over to the hardware store, pick up some crowbars and start yanking out the boards.  Vicki started having 2nd thoughts about this approach, (I think it started happening after she saw me looking up DIY Youtube videos), and both her and Jen were concerned that I might just make the situation worse.  Thankfully my 2 partners went to consult Mozart and he was able to send a member from his crew, Ian, to asses the situation.

Ian Coming up with a Plan

So with Ian as our guide we were able to come up with a plan that made sense. Jen, Vicki, and I would spend the next few days ripping up the floorboards as gently as possible, salvaging as much as we could, (which would cut costs, and be in line with our desire to use reclaimed products as mush as possible) rip out the carpeting, prep the base floor as best we could, and at that point we would figure out how much new flooring we would need.

Hard at Work

Jenny like a proud mama showing off her first board, at this point we're still bright-eyed and bushy tailed

This board is screwed in tight with a 6" screw that has a stripped head, leading to a lot of frustration and heartache

Fast-forward, many hours later, a tired and disheveled man

It took Jenny and I all night, and in the end we were able to save about 70% of the wood-flooring. When Ian came the next day he saw what we had to work with, and where most would see a problem, or come up with a sloppy solution, he saw an opportunity. Ian is more than just a great craftsman, and he saw this as a chance to flex his artistry as well. Ian’s idea was to lay the walkway with woods stained in a variety of colors that would tie in thematically with the patchiness of the rest of the floors.

We started at 10 am the next day and truth-be-told, Ian did all the work. I just stood there and watched as the sawdust filled the air. The first thing Ian did was lay down a new sub-floor, and he suggested that if we wanted we could tag the boards up. We felt that this was a great chance to make Ruxbin just-that little bit more personal, and on the sub-floor, that few will ever see, Vicki, Ian, and I decided to sign our names, write down our hopes and wishes, ask for good-luck, and threw in a few quotes that Jenny sent us via text, which we thought were poignant.

An important message

A great quote

Well wishes from Ian "Best of Luck Ruxbin"

Breaking his back, and fueled on a handful of beef jerky, a bag of Sour Patch kids, and a 2 liter bottle of Dr.Pepper, Ian busted his butt to get the job done as soon as possible. 14 hours later he created something special:

Original Floors with Carpet Underneath

Sneak Peek