life in a fixer – the floors | where the green things grow

Replacing the floors became one of the first major tasks that captured our attention on the interior of the fixer, after painting the walls and exterior. The original materials included laminate flooring from the 70s (dirty and falling apart), and shag carpeting that smelled of pet urine. Some of the sub-flooring needed to be cut out and replaced due to water damage. Brian was able to tackle this situation full force during his unemployment.

We knew that our budget required that we carefully choose the new materials. Brian discovered a recycled building supply store a few hours from us, and after two trips with my mom and a friend (we did not have a truck ourselves) we hauled stacks of leftover douglas fir wood flooring at less than $1 a square foot.

In keeping with our other non-toxic finishes (we used Yolo Colorhouse paint on the interior), we decided to use pure tung oil for the wood flooring rather than the usual wood floor finishes. This allowed us to move in while the oil was still drying, and avoid inhaling any harmful fumes as we finished up the project.

During this transformation, glimpses of hope and renewal spurred us on. As the walls were washed and painted and the floor planks wedged and pounded in place, we started to realize that this place could become a cozy home. As soon as enough of the flooring was installed, we moved in. It took another couple of weeks for the rest of the floors to be completed.

Our unfinished wood floors have held up beautifully over the past year and a half. With two children and a dog we have the occasional dent or mark, but it tells a story much more eloquently than stains on carpeting would. It was a cost-effective and lasting choice for our home.