Fancy NEW Bedroom Floors!

After finally deciding on a color (well not really, I picked 3 different colors that they are going to mix and pattern together to create my new faux wood laminate floors) I set the installation appointment for Friday, December 31st, 2010! I was so excited that Carpet Outlet Plus was open and able to get my job booked during my break so I didn't have to take any time off work! On Wednesday the 29th I went and bought semi-gloss paint because my bedroom was done in flat paint that was impossible to keep clean and I figured if my floors were going be shiny and new so should my walls! I splurged on the low odor paint and by the time I finished it looked AWFUL! I was so upset and sore...I'd never seen paint go on so poorly--it was streaky and looked matte in some places and glossy in others!? So Thursday morning (now running out of time to paint and let dry before the workers show up on Friday) I went back to Sherwin Williams and told the guy that for a high quality paint it was lousy! He had me describe my problem and then tells me that because they use a spray gun to apply the flat paint they only do enough to cover the drywall and don't use primer at all! So essentially I'd used really good paint as a primer--So frustrating!!! The guy assured me that if I do one more coat everything would cover evenly and look great. Thank goodness it did because I probably would've gone postal on the guy if it didn't! The second coat was on by early afternoon and I'd pulled all the tape off that evening and crossed my fingers that it would be dry enough for the workers! I woke up early new year's eve in anticipation of the workers coming and then the guy calls me and says they won't arrive until 10am (when I'd expected them by 8am)! I found myself with time enough to finish cleaning out my garage so that they could work in there and have breakfast! Once they showed up it seemed like they had everything torn out in seconds and the blue underlayment put down! I tried to stay outta the way but snuck down the hall or through my sliding door (from out in the back yard) to get pictures every once in a while so that I wouldn't miss out on the progress! At the same time, I found it hard to watch because I had chosen 3 different colors (a dark almost black, a chocolate brown, and a honey colored laminate) and I was worried that I'd scrutinize the pattern! In the end, I walked into my room and LOVED it instantaneously (which was a good thing considering I'd already paid for it)! Before I moved back all my furniture I wanted to go around and re-paint all the baseboards so they too looked shiny and new! Painting the baseboards terrified me because I didn't want to ruin my new floors with paint so it seemed to take me FOREVER! When it was all said and done everything looked great! Thanks to mom for helping with the painting--she did ALL the cutting in (a part I don't enjoy doing) and then while I painted baseboards she went around and got all the door frames! By Sunday everything was dry but there was one board that I wasn't happy with (it had a funny streak all the way down the board were the gloss looked dull) so I was afraid to put the furniture back until I knew how they'd fix it. My installer called me back on Monday and assured me it'd be fine to put in the furniture because if he needed to replace the board he could take it right out of the middle. It took over a week for him to "fit me in" but amazingly the streak rubbed out with a pink eraser?!?!? I was happy that it was a simple fix because I'd already tried cleaning it to no avail and was sure he'd have to cut it out and glue in a new piece! I'm now enjoying my new floors and with a simple sweeping it comes clean and I use my little mini-vac to suck up the debris. I only need to use the cleaner about once a week to really get the shine back! Now it's time to save my money so I can do more of my floors! :)

Man Made Carpet Catastrophe!

For years now, I have had cool mats for Baylie (especially in summertime) because she has so much hair and tends to run hot anyway! I've always bought the Canine Cooler brand and had never had problems with them before. Once I had Ginger too I decided to buy one for each of them and I found that the Cool Bed III was cheaper (NOW I KNOW WHY!!!). Ginger's barely lasted a summer before it began leaking because she tends to be rough with things, but Baylie's was nearly 2 years old before I caught it oozing water! During Christmas break I got online to try and order new ones in hopes that the off-season price would be low enough to purchase the Canine Cooler brand again. I was able to get them for better than half off but this is NOT where the story ends! When I went to get her old one outta the bed room I lifted it up to realize the WHOLE underside of it had green and black mold spots all over it!!! The smell was overwhelming the minute I lifted up the vinyl bed--I almost gagged! I spent the next week carpet cleaning with special cleansers made to remove mold smells and when that didn't work I resorted to bleach in hopes it would kill the smell. Sadly all the bleach did is make my bedroom smell toxic and the moldy smell was mixed in! It was unlivable and the girls and I were displaced into the spare bedroom for most of my vacation! Knowing it was hopeless after pulling back the carpet (after the 4 attempts to shampoo it) and seeing the HUGE stain I decided it was time to come up with a plan B! I went to a few different stores getting quotes and suggestions for flooring and decided to go with the faux wood laminate. I began by taking home sample after sample trying to decide upon a color. Once I did, I set up an appointment for the earliest possible--for two reasons; I was still off work and could be home and because I really wanted my bedroom back! Stay tuned for the upcoming photos of my new floor!