Done for the Weekend

Spent most of the weekend at the house and was able to complete some key tasks.

1. Toilet flange removed and new one installed
2. Bathroom floors sanded and will be covered soon to protect them
3. Front door painted and hardware refinished, house numbers installed
4. Bathtub installed!
5. All plumbing complete for the bathtub including a crazy fix I needed to align the overflow drain.  No leaks!

The next step in the bathroom will be to hang the cement board in the shower and around the rest of the room.  Also, a few small things to take care of with electrical outlets.

Floor Finishes

We have been investigating some stain colors for the floors.  Generally, I wouldn't want to stain that beautiful wood, but there are various "issues" on the floors that we believe will be hidden with a darker stain.  I have always like General Finishes and have used it on many projects in the past - especially their Seal-A-Cell wipe on formula as a go-to finish. 

With the floors upstairs being pine, there is always a danger of blotching when using a stain on a soft wood such as pine.  One way to avoid blotching is to use a wood conditioner to control the absorption of stain and even it out.  Check out the video below for a good demonstration of blotching and the benefits of using a wood conditioner.

Using a wood conditioner is an option, but requires another step in the floor finishing process.  As an alternative to wood conditioner, a gel stain can be used to also control the absorption of the stain.  General Finishes offers a great gel stain with some nice colors including their extremely popular Java color.  I have never used a gel stain before, but will be giving it a shot in the coming weeks.