Why is the Suburban taking so long?

[LockDoc]

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Well this is part of the reason why It's taking so long to finish it up.

The local historical society bought the old county jail after a new one was built and they are turning it into a museum. The building was built in 1915 and had living quarters for the Sherriff and his family. The society is trying to restore the building so I volunteered to sand and refinish the hardwood floors for them. The floors had glue down carpet installed and were in really bad shape. Most of the following pictures were all taken in the same area to show the transformation. Considering the poor condition of the floors they came out pretty darn good. Picture #1 shows the building, #2 is after the carpet was removed, #3 is after the rubber backing and adhesive was removed, #4 was taken after the first sanding with the edger (I do this to check for any left over nails or staples), #5 is after the first pass with the big sander, #6 is after the last pass, #7 is applying the sealer, #8 is after one coat of sealer and two coats of finish, #9 is looking towards the front door from the stairway. It was actually a fun project.... Now all I have left to do is to install some vintage looking floor covering in the kitchenette and adjoining bathroom. I will post some ptctures of that in a few days.

LockDoc

[LockDoc]

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[YBNORML]

Nice work! I love refinished older floors. They have a style and warmth that can't be duplicated.

[powerdriver 1958]

Nice , That beats carpet any day

[Dieselwrencher]

Leon, you do awesome work! That floor looks great!

[Stocker]

Fantastic! It's great to see the step-by-step progress, really makes you appreciate what it took to get the floors looking so good!

[krazy_texan]

That looks really good

[Sillyoldman]

Thats a hefty job. Nice work.

[richard2717]

Great to see these places restored to their old day charm. Great work Lock Doc

[68C15]

#2 and #7 are the only ones where I see you working. I think the rest is a scam and you spent the time sitting at home watching soap operas.

either way your crew did a good job.

[old Rusty C10]

great job.. in one of my houses i had a similar situation with the glue on the floor, although i think it was more of a vynal flooring glue on the old fashioned linoleium.. they guy had to spread a chemical on there to loosen it like three times.
In most of our old houses we have the wooden floors.. they really add alot of value to the home and look great. Its nice to see that the trend is restoring lately and not covering up like it was when i was growing up

[TennesseeZ]

Great work Leon, and thanks for helping to save some history. I know it means a lot to you to do so, and I appreciate your attitude.

[ETsC10]

Lovely results Leon and very cool building!
Kinda like our trucks...old school quality never goes out of style.

[67swb72klb]

u cant find that kind of craftmanship anymore good job !!

[CG]

Wow, that looks like a ton of work. Looks great now. Funny how so much hard wood got covered with carpeting.

[Z16]

That looks great. I know how much work it is to refinish hardwood floors. But can you imagine how hard it was to do that floor originally in 1915, before power sanders!

[LockDoc]

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Thanks Guys & Gals. I appreciate the input. Yes, I'm into saving the old stuff. They have a lot of neat things to put in it. I think I could just about stock the whole building myself...

Hey Todd, no soaps for me. I like Retro-TV. You know how us old folks are.

LockDoc

[low'n slow]

Very cool. Having lived on hardwood floors, they can be cold in the winter, but they are beautiful.

You volunteered? That's a big job.

[kingsolver72]

That's a lot of hard work right there from start to finish. It's good to see the work of someone that has the integrity to do an excellent job. Seems like there a too many hacks who don't care about the end result anymore. Great job Leon.
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[big_al_71]

that floor looks amazing.....

[special-K]

Leon,are ya standing up straight,yet? What a nice job. It seems there was a time when wood was a bad word for many...so un-modern. We share the love of all things old. I redid my daughter's floors in her 1910 house a few years ago. Hers was heart pine. It's very gratifying and you should be proud. I actually set my older son up in the floor finish/refinish/install business about 10 years ago.

[GOPAPA]

Very Nice ,,brought it back to life ,,lots of corners I noticed, always harder to get to ..maybe some day when I get on that road trip that we have planned ,,you can show this to the wife and I in person .. like others have said ,,You did a good deed and a good job..

[kingsolver72]

Hey Leon,guessing you couldn't save the old Q-round???

[68C15]

Originally Posted by special-K

her 1910 house a few years ago. Hers was heart pine.

ooohh, heart pine. my old house was built from a kit in 1916 with heart pine. I wanted to save it but the floors were all cut up for improved heating (natural heat rise floor vents) and radiant pipes it was just way too much work/cost

[special-K]

I would also like to get out there and see the floor myself. Who knows,maybe even look Leon up,too. ha ha

Originally Posted by 68C15

ooohh, heart pine. my old house was built from a kit in 1916 with heart pine. I wanted to save it but the floors were all cut up for improved heating (natural heat rise floor vents) and radiant pipes it was just way too much work/cost

I love that Heart Pine. Now that you mentioned it,part of doing her floor required some patching. The house originally had a big central heat register in the archway between the parlor and living room. The previous owner had patched that up real shady-like with some other wood when they put the new furnace with dist work and floor vents all around the first floor. The back room upstairs was a bedroom until they put a bathroom in and left it an L-shaped room (originally had an outhouse). I cut the floor out of that room,patched it in with 3/4"plywood,and laid new hardwood over that. I fingered-in the original heart pine and now you can't tell it was ever cut out.