Tales from the subfloor

Surfacing with an update on flooring, for those fascinated by the subject.

Gluing down hardwood is a nasty, smelly, sticky process. The sealant is noxious and weirdly tacky and porous underfoot, and the adhesive is unpleasant and thick and has to be cleaned with mineral spirits. The mineral spirits start to burn your hands after a time and it doesn't wash off well. Cats and children are fascinated by all these substances, which might explain why my recurring dream last night was of trying and failing to keep small creatures out of stickiness.

That said, here are some pix.

Box inlay in the small hall between the kitchen and living room. This was a bitch to lay. You can see in the lower left corner where, at the end, we wound up with a small gap in the corner despite our best measuring efforts.

After spending five hours yesterday just laying out our box, today we realize that flooring goes a lot faster when you aren't trying to do fancy-schmancy stuff.

If all goes well, we'll finish up a good portion of the kitchen tonight and be able to get the fridge and the table out of the living room.