Finish
Posted by Chris
I chose Armstrong laminate for flooring, upstairs and downstairs. It looks real, it’s easy to clean, and more importantly, it’s easy as hell for a novice to install. Each level took about 5 hours to complete. In the bathroom I used “Edge” tile, a short-lived product that Lowe’s carried that attempted to make installing a tile floor as easy as installing a laminate floor. I had no complaints about it, but I read a lot on the internet about how they were prone to crack.
Finish carpentry was kind of a pain, but I was able to enlist the help of a carpenter from work. The floor trim upstairs was a bit tricky because of all of the corners. The bedroom doors were pre-hung, so the trim was already on them, and the windows had drywall returns, so they didn’t need trim either. That left only the pocket door for the bathroom, which was easy enough.
I hate painting. I hate priming more than painting, because it just seems like extra work (I know it is necessary). With help from friends, everything was painted after several weeknights of work. I was cheap and left the trim unpainted, though it did have it’s nice wite factory primer. I also missed a critical step of caulking all of the trim, which really makes it a finished product.
I went with brushed nickel for everything metal, including the doorknobs, plumbing fixtures (even the toilet seat hinges and the flush knob), the ceiling fans, track lighting, and more. I have always hated brass, and having nickel on everything is a nice touch. Only certain people have noticed the consistency. I had been ordering fixtures online for months, and it was great to finally install them all.
Sealing the brick was a huge pain, and a huge mess. I used abrasive drill pads to strip away the plaster from the surface of the brick and then used a liquid sealer called “drylok masonry treatment” applied with a brush. Two coats did the trick, but the amount of dust and debris kicked up while cleaning the brick was awful. This step needs to be done before framing, not after you’ve painted and done your flooring.
I left a lot of finishes undone, like windowsills, and a wood cap for the knee wall at the top of the stairs. Soon I was off to Iraq, and I had to focus less on the house and more the deployment.
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