Late last week we were finally able to start installing our hardwood floors at the new house. It’s going well (we’re getting it done with our own four hands), but it’s proving to be a time intensive project – which is not necessarily the type of project you want to take on when you’re short on time (we’re scheduled to move in this weekend and would like to be completely done with four bedrooms and a long hallway by then – egads!). So once we’re breathing a bit easier and a bit further along, we’ll write up a play-by-play of how it all (literally) is going down. ‘Til then, enjoy this still-dusty pic of the first room we have officially completed: our master (well, we still have to get the baseboards and quarter round in).
As much as our timeline has me sweating bullets, it’s nothing compared to the Cathy-comic style perspiration that I was feeling during the first step of this project: just getting the dang wood home. Allow me to paint sketch you a picture. Lumber Liquidators called me to say my order was in and ready for pick up. Clara was napping so Sherry stayed home with her and I ran off to rent the $19 truck from Lowe’s or Home Depot that they suggested to pick up our lumber (it was a pretty huge order that definitely wouldn’t fit in our car – and renting a truck from blue or orange was cheaper than LL’s delivery service, so they recommended that). Off I went to Lowe’s, where I purchased all of my quarter-round molding for the four bedrooms and the hallway we were tackling (Lowe’s doesn’t let you rent their truck unless you’re making a purchase, but since I needed that stuff anyway it worked out well). Then I headed down the street to Lumber Liquidators.
Now, I knew my order would be bigger than our kitchen’s cork floor (which I was just barely able to fit in our Altima, btw) but I was still a bit shocked when I saw the massive stack of boxes being trucked out on a forklift. Was that really all ours? Gulp. It made me very glad I had rented the truck….
…that is, until they started to lower the load onto the truck bed and I noticed one of the tires was squishing down a little more than the other three from the added weight. It definitely wasn’t flat, it was just a little lower than the others on air. Which was enough to turn me into a Nervous Nelly (not to be confused with regular Nelly). But the Lumber Liquidator guys were great and forklifted my materials in a way that seemed to take the brunt of the weight off that tire – and we all agreed it looked okay enough to take it slow and drive the three short miles down the road to the new house.
Well, it turned out to be one of the longest 3 mile drives of my life. First of all, the load proved to be pretty unbalanced. Between my worries about the tire and the fact that the boxes of flooring were stacked pretty high (and not strapped together as tightly as they initially appeared to be), every time I turned I could see the boxes lean one way or the other. And this was despite taking turns at like five miles per hour with my hazards on in the right lane.
After a few turns I got a sense of how to shift the load back to an even-ish center, which thankfully squelched the visions that I had of myself in an overturned Lowe’s truck watching my new hardwood floor boards get strewn across the road and crushed by oncoming traffic. And since there were just a handful of turns between me and home, I figured it would be smooth (albeit slow) sailing the rest of the way.
Then it started to rain.
In all of my stress about the unbalanced load, I failed to notice the storm clouds that had rolled in without any warning. Awesome. It wasn’t just a drizzle, it was a sudden downpour… and I had dozens of boxes of hardwood floors being protected by nothing but cardboard in my truck bed. Hello blood pressure spike!
Luckily a previous occupant of the Lowe’s truck had left a large plastic drop cloth in the truck bed (something finally went my way!) so I was able to pull off onto a side street and cover everything before it got too wet. Of course it took me a few more death-defying turns to get off and back on the main road, but crisis mostly averted.
No more than one stoplight later, the rain stopped. Stupid thunderstorm. But it was still a bit windy, so my hasty cover job with the drop cloth was now coming back to haunt me and the plastic was starting to flap loose from the truck bed. Cue a few more turns to stop and remove the drop cloth completely.
I had barely made it a mile from Lumber Liquidators at this point.
My pounding heart was probably visible through my rain-soaked shirt, but fortunately my next two miles were far less eventful. I soon arrived to the new house, a few hairs grayer but with my hardwoods and truck perfectly upright and intact.
Then it hit me that I had to unload the darn thing. I had completely failed to think about this step in the process. I was alone. Sherry was still with Clara at home – where it never even rained (cue me screaming “What?! Was the cloud just over my truck?! Am I Eeyore?!”). Clearly I didn’t have a forklift at my disposal, so I sucked it up and started wrestling the boxes one by one off the truck and into the house. All 50 of them…
I think it took me a good hour to get them all unloaded. They were heavy (56 pounds each, I later learned), unwieldy (each one is about five feet long), and they all had to come down from the truck bed, up a few stairs and through a narrow doorway in the garage, before I could stack them in the dining room to acclimate before installation. There was no way in heck I had the energy to take them all upstairs at that point, so that would have to wait for another day. Between nearly giving myself a panic attack driving them home and then hauling 2,800 pounds of wood inside (seriously, I did the math) I figured I earned that much.
That was Clara enjoying the new flooring the day after it arrived. Here’s hoping she enjoys it as much once its out of the box and laid across her floor – because that’s what we’re working on today. Woot!
Laura says
Did you rent a floor nailer? How much was the learning curve?
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll be writing up a post all about installation in a few days! Can’t wait to share all the details :)
xo
s
mp says
I admire you for taking this on, John. I just pay the delivery fee and let someone else do it.
Laura says
I saw a few somewhat less than gracious comments. Just to encourage you I want you to know that it is obvious you are hard workers. You pull your own load and are frugal. Lovely values from a past age. Keep it up. I can hardly imagine how much time the blogging takes out of your day.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Laura! One thing we’ve learned over 5 years of blogging is that a dozen people would renovate/move/decorate/blog in a dozen different ways, and there’s beauty in that! Thank goodness we’re all so different (clone houses and blogs sound terrifying). :)
xo,
s
KC&Co says
That is one of the funniest stories I have ever read on your blog – and the artistic pictures are so cool John. What a stroke of fortune there being a drop sheet for your immediate use when the rain came. I think we have all had similar experiences on trips to and from the hardware store ;o)
Good luck with house number three – we are following you every step of the way as we are currently tackling house number one – down under in Australia!
Cheers, Col
Marissa says
Love the post! I can’t wait to read the play by play post of the wood floors. You guys rock!!!
MC@ThousandStoryKitchen says
Nicely done! I love the recapping sketches- I think you should incorporate these into more projects… Floors are looking great!
Sarah G. says
The plastic flapping in the wind got me! I laughed out loud at work. Oops! Will you pay for delivery next time or was the extra workout worth it?? :D
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve picked things up with a Lowe’s/Home Depot truck a ton of times without any issues, so I think in the future we’ll still try picking it up (our success rate has been around 5 easy trips for every complicated one, and it adds up to a good amount of savings :)
xo
s
Erin says
OMG that sounds awful! I’m such a nervous nelly anyway, I don’t think I would have made it at all. I would probably still be sitting in traffic just crying.
Dani says
Ahhhhahahahahahaha! Reading that was the perfect way to start my Wednesday morning. Loved the pictures, and can’t wait for the story of how you went with the floors :)
Kendra says
When do you have time to do all of this AND sleep?!! Amazing!
Dana says
This made my day! I’ve been in similar situations when I think, “someday this will be funny. But Not. Right. Now. ” :)
Michelle says
The floors look fabulous!!! I love the dark, rich color!!! Pretty!! I can’t wait to read the details on how you installed it. It is something we have never done before. We want to put hickory floors down in our main level. I have heard/read we need to pull up the underlayment. Sawing up the luan they installed over our subfloor, trying to cut around our kitchen island… I see a messy job! I would love to replace the cabinets. Lowe’s prefinished stock hickory cabinets are better quality than what the builder installed in here 9 yrs ago.
I have to say, we have been in that situation before too, though with a too weighted down trailer. I bet it was a huge relief once you got to the house and got it unloaded.
I am not asking how much you paid, but just wondering what LL’s prices are like compared to Home Depot or Lowe’s. HD has a prefinished hickory floor that I really like. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bruce-Hickory-Country-Natural-3-4-in-Thick-x-2-1-4-in-Width-x-Random-Length-up-to-84-in-Solid-Hardwood-Flooring-AHS601/202653989#.UaUxd5w8mBU
YoungHouseLove says
We have always found that LL’s prices are better, and actually posted about how much we paid here. Hope it helps Michelle!
xo
s
Brittany says
It looks like it’s coming together nicely!
Lolo says
Best. Post. EVER!!!!!!
Bonnie says
I can’t wait for the post of re-installing the baseboards and installing the quarter-round. I pulled up all my quarter-round when I re-finished my hardwood floors. The trim still sits in the garage and I haven’t quite figured out how to go about re-installing it. Maybe seeing you guys do it will inspire me to be more brave!
Briel K. says
Well done John! I guess you just never know how something is going to go do you? Loved the drawings to go along with your story though!
Steph Nelson says
HA HA HA HA HA!!
Love the guy (John) glaring at the tarp picture! That is some nice drawing talent you have there.
I’m sure you guys are tired as can be from laying the floors but I am sure they are turning out beautiful! Prayers you get them at least mostly done by move in day!
Julianne says
What an eventful day! Lol. I’m so glad that all worked out for you…at least you don’t have to visit the gym for a couple of years after hauling all that weight ;0)
Kitty says
Beautiful floors! Now I want to break into your house and Swiffer them! ;-)(Totally kidding, not a stalker, I understand that it makes sense not to do a lot of cleaning until after you have moved in.) I can’t wait to see what paint colors you’re going to choose!
Jesse says
Awesome recap! Of course you know it will all be worth it in the end! keep ya head up!
Theresa says
John- if someone ever gives you flack for discussing fabric or light fixtures or something of the such, then just refer them to this post. Any doubts of your manly-ness will then completely go away. ;)
Theresa says
…And what I mean by that is- you are a beast. My husband needs to read this and get off his butt haha.
Dawn says
I just have three words: Funniest. Post. Ever.
alivicwil says
I inherited my grandparent’s dinner table & chairs last year – and moved move them from Sydney to Canberra (about 175 miles).
We had a similar experience with a sudden downpour, and the side of the freeway trying to wrangle a tarp, then horrible flapping as the tarp worked its way lose from the tie-downs! (Is “tarp” an Aussie word? Plastic ground sheet.)
The sad part of out story is that there’s a chipboard “rim” around the underside of the table, and it got wet in a few places. The table is still more than usable, but certain spots leave flakes of chipboard in your lap when you sit there… We need to get some kind of sealant to stop the flakes, I suppose. (I feel bad that the table had 40 years of use, then I break it before I even get it to my house!
I’m glad your wood survived – and reckon you should pay the delivery fee next time! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! I hope you can fix it up as good as new :)
xo,
s
Megan Poletti says
HAHAHA your face in the storm cloud/Eeyore illustration is hilarious!
Cassie says
Haha! I love how your stick figure face gets more and more angry! Reminds me of The Duck Song! :)
Leatitia says
LOL!! Such a funny post John! You made me laugh out loud many times. Happy it turned out ok at the end! :)
Erin says
Lmao love the drawings!!
Brenda says
I literally went, “oh man!” when I realized that you were going to have to unload all those boxes one by one by yourself. What a nightmare, ouch. Great story telling : )
Sherri says
Oh my gosh, I was looking at the picture of the truck being loaded and thinking to myself how is he gonna get it unloaded??? Glad that it all worked out!
haley says
I LOVE THE CARTOON DRAWINGS!!! This is how I feel during every project. You should definitely do the drawings more often
Idontmindifyoustalkme says
I hear a helicopter.
That’s a filler.
Lauren says
Oh, I feel your pain! This is totally our life! My husband has always had a pick-up truck so we have moved a lot of things. Twice we have moved large pieces of furniture, in the rain, and on a five hour drive! I can’t even remember how many times we had to stop and check on it or readjust. I’m glad you made it to your new house safe and sound! I was thinking half way through reading, ” how is he going to unload it all”? But, it’s done now. BTW, the drawings were great and made me think of my grandpa who used to do drawings like that for us in our birthday cards and other times!
Mindy says
Love the Eeyore comment!!! I reference him all the time, only to be met with blank stares from my (clearly) less mature friends. Good luck!
Priscilla says
John, you are quite the artist. I laughed so hard at your facial expressions. The floor looks great!
Abby @ Just a Girl and Her Blog says
It can never just be easy, right?! Your drawings had me cracking up! Kudos to you for getting everything where it needed to be, even with all of the mishaps along the way. I can’t wait to see the finished floors–it looks like they’re going to be beautiful!!
~Abby =)
Katy says
Those illustrations are dynamite! Sounds like one of those situations where you almost can’t believe all of those unfortunate things are happening at the same time. The floor looks great so far though :)
Maha says
How the heck are you guys packing up the old house and continuing to work (putting up daily posts, checking comments, etc.) while laying hardwood floors?? I am beyond amazed. I am moving in 3 weeks and am overwhelmed by just the packing and moving parts.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Maha! We’re trying to just put our heads down and get ‘er done! Packing is never easy so we just keep reminding ourselves that it’ll all be over soon. Wahoo!
xo
s
valerie J. says
The drawings are awesome. :)
Margaret says
Not going to lie, I read the whole story picturing Sherri before I realized it was actually John! HAHA! Poor rain-soaked Sherri hauling/unloading wood was a pretty sad sight in my head. Glad it was the man of the house!
Lauren says
I have been laughing hysterically at John’s stick drawings since this was posted, and even went so far as to imagine stick drawings for everything I have done today. That, combined with random hyperlinks to Eeyore and Nelly? YHL comedic gold!! Keep up the amazing work, both on those lovely floors and brightening our days :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Lauren!
-John
Tamara says
Great art and a great story! I really can sympathize, though, since that’s how most of my DIY stories go! Just remember that the end is totally worth it and now you have this great story to tell! :)
Sarah says
Eeek, excited for you guys that it’s almost moving day! Remember the monthly photo of Clara on top of a moving box? It would be too cute to do another photo on the same-sized box to see how much she’s grown from move #1 to move #2!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, that would be so much fun!!
xo
s
Megan says
I’m a new younghouselove-ian (?) and have to say thanks for this post today. I’m a new homeowner and so many other sites show just the before and after. It’s nice to see the real life in between. The comic-al reenactment didn’t hurt either! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Megan!
xo,
s
Ginny says
The way you tell the story is so funny, although as it was unfolding, it was anything but. All’s well that ends well, right?
JG says
Oooph! That’s a big job. Please tell me you are using a compressor and pneumatic nailer! And well-padded kneepads!
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll be back with all the details, but we’re definitely not nailing each board in by hand :)
xo
s
Susan says
You brought back some memories for me, John. We ordered our wood flooring online, and the freight company called me an hour before the truck was scheduled to arrive at our new home to deliver it. I left my office in my dressy blouse, slacks and high heels, drove to the house and eagerly awaited the delivery. My husband wasn’t able to get away from his job, and why should he? It was just a delivery, right? The driver used a pallet jack to get the 37 boxes off the truck, but the pallet was cracked down the middle from the weight of the flooring boxes, and the driver could not get the load from the pavement up over the lip of the driveway due to the broken wood dragging on the ground. He said he could do no more, and he left me with the pallet on the street in front of our home. I had to get back to work but there was no way I could leave several thousand dollars worth of flooring sitting unattended outside on the street, so…I carried each one 50 feet up the driveway into the garage while wearing my high heels. You might wonder why I didn’t just take my pretty shoes off and make the 37 trips a little easier. It was August…in Phoenix…and the temperature was 107 degrees that day. Heels were better than frying my feet on the cement. Other shoe options were at our existing home, not at the new home because we hadn’t moved yet. I was a hot, sweaty mess by the time I got back to the office. Your story brought back it all back to me in a flash! I can laugh about it now, and boy, can I empathize with your adventure!
anna says
ooh, they’re such a pretty colour!
we just had bamboo flooring installed in our new place, and my hubby had to help unload the boxes from the truck – there were 96 of them, about the same weight as yours if i’m doing my maths right (pounds is weird. just so you know… ;) ). let’s just say there were some very colourful bruises and scratches resulting from such lift-and-drop-carefully activity.
and our girls tried to do exactly the same thing clara’s doing…
Kate @ This Wandering Life says
Oh. My. Gosh. I have to echo everyone who thought this was a hilarious post. The writing was excellent- but the faces in each of the cartoons, and their progression from happy to flustered is so darn funny. You should frame them haha.
Jennine says
I just purchased 55 boxes of flooring last month. 2,920 lbs. of goodness. It was worth every penny of the $192 shipping charge to have the freight guy wheel it straight into my garage! I couldn’t imagine installing it myself after using all those muscles to haul it. Ouch!