Getting used to new flooring downstairs

Getting used to new flooring downstairs

Last week the fitters had been and I was starting to sort out where everything would now go.  We’ve been getting used to new flooring downstairs and it’s such a delight. If you’ve been following my house renovations story, you’ll know that we’ve been in chaos downstairs since October really.  First the fireplace was removed, the wall re-plastered and the skirting board was replaced. This took us up to Christmas, when everything was put on hold until the new year.

In January I got a bit nifty with the paintbrushes and transformed our staircase from dark brown to white gloss.  Then carried on re-doing all the gloss work downstairs and emulsioning the walls. By the end of February we were ready for the next phase, it was time to rip up the carpet in the hallway and cloakroom and get ready for the fitters to prepare the floors for the Karndean flooring we’d decided on.

The guys from Carpet Trader in Bicester arrived bright and early.  Once they’d filled in the holes left from the carpet gripers which had been nailed into the concrete floor they were ready to screed the floor.  At this point I left them to it and met a friend in Stratford for the day, to ensure the floor had set before my son and I returned from school.  It was looking better already.

We’ve been getting used to new flooring downstairs, and even as things stood at the end of day one, it was a vast improvement.  A couple of days later and the guys were back ready to lay the flooring, which comes in strips. I left the guys to it and cracked on with some work, not realising that Brewster was upstairs rather than outside.  There was a heart wrenching moment when said cat trundled through the living room with adhesive all over his paws.  I’m not sure who was most shocked, me, him or the fitters.  Thankfully the adhesive is water based and a walk through a wet garden saw his paws restored to normal with no ill effects.  Cats!  Who’d have them.  Once that little drama was dealt with, the fitting was completed in a couple of hours and oh, what a difference.  It was love at first sight.

You know when you just look at something and can’t quite believe it.  It’s been such a long time getting to this point and I knew instantly I’d made the right decision.  The long-term plan, when we’ve won the lottery and can afford to update the kitchen, will be to carry this flooring into the kitchen too.  It’s easily achievable as the Karndean flooring can be lifted by individual strips and weaved into the new floor to make it all rather seamless.  That’s the future. Now we’re getting used to new flooring downstairs and just enjoying the first stage.

The Karndean flooring is so easy to keep clean and perfect to have with a 7-year-old boy wandering in and out with muddy boots.

We had a few days breathing space before we needed to tackle the living room.  The room needed to be totally clear before the carpet fitters returned last Tuesday.  With Daddy P only being around properly on Sunday’s it meant all hands to the task to get the room cleared as much as possible then. So I set him to work cutting up and removing the carpet and underlay before we started playing furniture jenga in the kitchen, spare room and garage.  The kitchen was so full we couldn’t reach the cooker, so dinner out was in order.

We decided to leave the sofa, armchair and TV until Monday much to my son’s delight.

I’d avoided painting the ceilings downstairs previously as I have a few issues with my neck, but an almost empty room and a sunny Monday morning, saw me buying an extension pole for the roller and getting it done.

Getting used to new flooring downstairs

Painting done, it was time to move the sofa and armchair into the garage overnight but it didn’t deter Monkey from watching a bit of before bedtime TV whilst sitting on a dining chair.  We’ve noted that they really aren’t that comfortable!

Getting used to new flooring downstairs

I packed the TV, Sky box and table away before I headed to bed and in the morning the fitters arrived bright and early to get the new carpet laid.  I’d made enough room for myself in the kitchen to be able to work on the laptop whilst the living room was being transformed.

They called someone out from the office to trim our living room door as the new carpet has a lovely pile to it and within a couple of hours my new living room was ready.  Wowsers.

The guys at Carpet Trader had done a great job, it’s so nice when you can use a local family business isn’t it. They are currently banding up a segment of the carpet into a mat for us, which we can have inside the patio door.  Again to stop muddy paws and boots making too much mess.

We’ve been getting used to new flooring downstairs, and having a carpet that bounces under our feet, it’s a revelation.  Of course, this is me, so nothing ever goes quite as planned.  I have a lovely floor to ceiling oak display cabinet that I love.  As soon as the fitters mentioned that we needed our living room door trimming, I knew we’d have another issue.  My cabinet comes in two halves and when Daddy P and I tried to sit one on top of the other, we started to scrape my newly painted ceiling.  Damn.  So now I’m on the hunt for a carpenter to trim the edging down enough so it fits!  So, I’ve still got boxes everywhere, and things are totally where they should be, but I’m loving the new look downstairs.  It’s just fab. It’s amazing the difference new flooring can make isn’t it?

 

5 thoughts on “Getting used to new flooring downstairs

  1. I love how Monkey is checking things out and then gets a chair . The look on his face is “I’m not moving Mummy”
    Brewster looks like he’s comfy even before the new carpet has been out down .
    It really does looks lovely. Well done .

  2. Looks great Mary, and you’ve worked so hard to get it all done by yourself! I can’t wait to get new carpets here but need to wait to all the decorating is over!!

  3. It has certainly been worth the time and effort and things look fab now. Beautiful flooring, enjoy!

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