I’ve come to the tip of week three of engaged on my walk-in closet and laundry room mixture. And whereas progress appear to have slowed fairly a bit this week, that’s solely as a result of I hit the a part of the method that takes the longest. However these tedious steps are additionally crucial for getting a beautiful remaining end result. I spent all day yesterday sanding, and sanding, and sanding some extra. And I’m so completely happy that by the tip of the day, I had the entire cupboards sanded, the entire mud vacuumed up, and now I’m prepared for priming and caulking.
I had already performed a ton of wooden filling, utilizing wooden filler to fill each single nail gap, screw gap, and joint. I went by one complete massive tub of wooden filler (this is the one I use – affiliate hyperlink) simply on that a part of the undertaking alone. That’s along with the 2 full giant tubs of wooden filler that I had used simply prepping the person items of plywood since I made a decision to make use of a lesser grade of plywood in an effort to economize.
And since it slows me down significantly once I hook my little 5-inch orbital sander to my shopvac, I made a decision to forgo the shopvac and simply let the mud fly in order that I may get it performed sooner. Fortuitously, the temperature exterior was fairly good, so I used to be in a position to shut off the HVAC, open the home windows, and shut the doorways to the main bedroom suite to maintain the mud contained in that space of the home. There are few issues that I hate greater than having to work with gloves and/or a masks on however not masking up wasn’t even an choice yesterday.
After sanding all day and prepping the cupboards for primer and caulk, that is the mess I used to be left with on the finish of the day…
It was fairly a job to get all of that mud cleaned up, however cleansing up the mud was nonetheless far simpler than attempting to sand all the pieces with my sander hooked up to a shopvac all day.
Earlier than I stop for the day, I had most of it cleaned up. I’ll nonetheless want to present the entire cupboards and cabinets a fast wipe down earlier than I can prime them, however that shouldn’t take lengthy in any respect.
I’m nonetheless not completed with the tedious prep work. Every thing nonetheless must be caulked, and that can in all probability be an all-day job, or no less than a most-of-the-day job. It’s additionally my absolute least favourite a part of any undertaking, nevertheless it’s such an vital step to get that good (or as near good as doable) end that I try for.
As you may see, I didn’t get the gorgeous molding hooked up but. So right now, my objective is to get the remainder of the ground sanded across the cupboards to take away the present end after which get the entire fairly molding (baseboards and crown molding) put in.
As soon as the nail holes within the fairly molding are all crammed and sanded, I’m going to go forward and prime the entire cupboards.
After the cupboards are primed and dry, then I’ll give the cupboards a fast sanding by hand utilizing 220-grit sandpaper after which caulk all the pieces.
The rationale that I’ll prime all the pieces earlier than I caulk is as a result of utilizing caulk on primed wooden and wiping off the surplus caulk is a complete lot simpler than utilizing caulk on naked wooden. If you use caulk on naked wooden, it tends to soak into the naked wooden extra and seize on, which makes it a bit tougher to get these good, clear caulk strains.
So the primer creates a barrier between the caulk and the naked wooden, conserving it from soaking into the wooden an excessive amount of, and making it a lot simpler to get these fairly, clear caulk strains.
I additionally discover that it’s a lot simpler to see the areas that should be caulked after the cupboards are primed. When I attempt to caulk naked wooden, particularly on such a giant undertaking as this one, it’s straightforward to miss areas, after which these missed areas are fairly manifestly apparent after the primer goes on. So once I caulk naked wooden, after which prime the undertaking, I all the time discover myself having to return and caulk areas that I missed. I’ve simply come to comprehend, after years of expertise, that it’s a lot simpler to prime all the pieces first after which caulk.
However the entire main sanding is finished, and I’m so glad to have that massive step checked off in order that I can transfer on. I actually am hoping that by the tip of the weekend, I can no less than have all the pieces primed. That’s the objective. I’d love to really get paint on these cupboards this weekend, however I feel that is perhaps too lofty of a objective. Possibly, on the very least, I can get some paint samples on the cupboards and make my remaining shade determination.
However let’s revisit the flooring. Yesterday, throughout one in every of my breaks from the entire sanding, I discovered a Visualizer Tool on the Bona website that permits you to add a photograph and see what every sealer shade will appear to be in your room. Sadly, it received’t permit you to select the particular species of wooden that you’ve got, however no less than it may give a common concept of what every sealer may appear to be. So listed below are the pictures that it generated.
First up, that is the Bona NordicSeal, which is the lightest, brightest shade.
I actually suppose that that is too mild and shiny for our home. I take pleasure in seeing it in different houses, and I feel it’s actually lovely. However for our home, I choose a contact of heat to the wooden.
The following one is Bona NaturalSeal. I feel this nonetheless provides a contact of white whereas additionally permitting the pure wooden shade to come back by.
I discovered a number of real-world examples of this on crimson oak yesterday, and it’s very fairly on crimson oak, but additionally very mild.
The following one is Bona ClearSeal. This one is only a easy clear sealer that preserves the pure shade of the wooden.
I additionally discovered many real-world examples of this one on crimson oak. It’s very fairly as properly.
Subsequent is Bona ClassicSeal. This one could be very well-liked and works very properly with crimson oak.
I actually love the look of this, however there’s no assure that it could look precisely like this on my crimson oak flooring.
And at last, this one is Bona IntenseSeal, which provides a little bit of a hotter tone to the wooden.
On the ground visualizer, that is my favourite. However I’m having hassle discovering real-world examples of this one on crimson oak flooring.
Simply going off of the images from the Ground Visualizer, my favorites are the ClassicSeal and the IntenseSeal.
Based mostly on the generated pictures, both a type of would loosen up the ground significantly from what I at the moment have, whereas additionally nonetheless giving me the heat that I like.
Right here’s my present ground in comparison with the ClassicSeal…
And right here’s my present ground in comparison with the IntenseSeal…
So I’m nonetheless choices and trying to find extra real-world footage of those merchandise used particularly on crimson oak. Simply this morning, I discovered this example of the ClassicSeal used on red oak, and it appears to be like actually fairly. Nevertheless it additionally appears to be like completely different in each room they present relying on the lighting within the room, so it’s actually exhausting to inform what the precise shade is.
If I have been simply going by these generated pictures, I’d in all probability select the IntenseSeal. However that title alone scares me a bit. 😀 It sounds a bit overbearing. I don’t need to undergo the entire hassle to redo these flooring solely to wind up with them too darkish once more. I came across this video yesterday, and he’s utilizing IntenseSeal, however he doesn’t specify which species of wooden he’s working with. It appears to be like like crimson oak to my untrained eye, and it additionally appears to be like darker than what the Ground Visualizer reveals. I don’t need my flooring that darkish.
Although my favourite with the Ground Visualizer is the IntenseSeal, I’ve a sense that the ClassicSeal would be the one I’ll find yourself going with. It’ll give me that heat that I would like with out making the flooring too darkish. However I’m going to present myself a pair extra days to make my remaining determination. I actually need to get my tasks ordered ASAP, although, as a result of I can’t transfer my washer and dryer into the closet till the flooring are redone.
UPDATE: I needed so as to add the pattern of the paint shade that I’m planning to make use of together with the flooring shade. Right here’s the Valspar Matt on Monday paint shade with the Bona ClassicSeal ground sealer. I feel that is attractive!!! Oh my goodness, simply seeing these collectively makes me so excited!
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I transform and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You can learn more about me here.
Trending Merchandise
