Some sunshine for the floor

I've been keeping my eye out for a good flat woven rug for ages.  The problem that Ive had is the flat woven rugs I've seen are either too small (sized for a door entrance mat), too expensive (over £1000 from Skandium), or just not the right colour or pattern.

At last however, I believe that my solution awaits in this fantastic yellow rug available at IKEA from their new Stockholm Collection!    Its a little bit smaller than I would have liked, but I think it will work... now just to wait for it to be listed as in stock!

Bathroom Tiles Installed

I was away for the weekend in Edinburgh visiting friends, so my builders took advantage of the extra time available and cracked on with the tiling, finishing it all up on Sunday evening.  They ended up boarding the back wall with plywood too to get a flat surface to tile onto as it was bulging 30mm out of plumb from top to bottom! Without wanting to give away the grand finale too soon (they still have a week to go), here is a sneak peek of the tiling completed to date. 

Im super pleased with the result - the tiler did a really nice precise job and is apparently off to tile the new toilet area in the V&A Museum tomorrow!

The tiles are grouted with pre-coloured grout from Mapei. I didnt want to go with white on the walls as it always tends to yellow with age, and I thought a soft grey would both wear better and subtly tie in with the floor tiles.  

The colours I used were Anthracite for the hexagon mosaics on the floor, and Manhattan 2000 for the white gloss subway wall tiles.  

Mosaic Tile Samples Arrived!

At last my mosaic tile samples finally arrived! Ive ruled out the larger dark grey hexagon tiles in favour of the small ones. I really like the light grey ones with the subtle tonal differences between tiles which gives it a more natural look, but I think that with all the other white glossy surfaces (sink, cabinet, walls), it may all be a bit too wishy-washy and some contrast would be better.

I have therefore decided on these small dark grey mosaic tiles. I like their perfectly cut edges - it gives a traditional tile style a contemporary twist and I think they will look really sharp. As for the grout - it will be dark grey to match as close as possible so it doesnt look too busy.

Black Hexagon Floor Tiles

While looking on line for images for my previous post on floor tiles, I stumbled upon these black floor tiles. They wont work in my bathroom, but I think they look really great so Im posting them here as a reminder for next time. Love also the little medicine cabinet with the grey cross - now that is something I could incorporate.

Bathroom Floor Options

It's been a little while since I made any progress on my bathroom planning so I figured it was time to get that ball rolling again. One of the main decisions I still need to make is whether to leave the existing floorboards and paint them with a more robust, water resistant floor paint, or install these cute hexagon tiles in matt white with grey grout.

I like the hexagon tiles for their traditional look and for their durability over a wood floor in a wet area, but have been warned about laying tiles down in old buildings with bouncy, uneven floors, as cracks in the grout can appear over time. I imagine if I took up the existing boards and installed a thick enough plywood sub-layer it would be ok... but then there is of course the threshold issue. Tiles and a subfloor will be thicker than the existing floorboards so there might be a small step on which Id likely stub my toe regularly!

All in all, I guess Im still thinking about this one!

Kitchen Floor Before and After Photos

I remembered to take the 'after' photos of the kitchen floor toady so here you can see the difference that the wide, continuous new boards make on the space.

Floor Maintenance

I felt a little bit like Cinderella today... The plumber was in yesterday to make the new water connections and left dirty marks all over my kitchen and living room floor. They also had to lift a few of the floorboards in the living room to run the new line to the bathtub and consequently the paint on those boards had chipped off in areas. I ended up spending the afternoon sanding down the boards locally so when painted you dont see the chip marks, scrubbing the entire floor to give it a good spring clean and then doing some paint touch ups throughout.

Kitchen Floor Final Coat

Today I finally had time to put on the fourth and final coat of paint on the kitchen floor. I still have to do some caulking around the perimeter where the gaps between the skirting and floorboards are a bit uneven and touch up the skirting, but the bulk of the job is now complete. Before and after photos will come later as I cant walk on the floor for the next 4 hours and by then the sun will be going down... but for now here are some progress shots.

Filling Old Nail Holes

I wasnt sure about whether or not to fill the old nail holes, so decided to evaluate the situation after one coat of paint. The white finish makes the holes a lot more visible and I had no idea there were so many - the effect reminded me of 101 Dalmatians! I figured then and there that it was time to get out the 2-part filler and sand paper once again. I wanted the boards to match the existing boards, but this was a bit too much.

This afternoon I methodically filled and sanded the larger nail holes while listening to TED talks to pass the time.

First Coat of Paint on Boards

On saturday morning, with some much appreciated help, I got the kitchen and hallway floorboards throughly cleaned and the first coat of paint down. As the boards were salvaged they needed a good clean to get rid of all the dirt and grime - and in the bottom photo you can really see the difference!

Paint tests and a new brush

I have a new tin of farrow and ball stain block base coat, and a brand new paint brush so I can start painting on the weekend. During the week I also did a paint test to see how the paint would go on, and to choose between an opaque or translucent wash. I really like the Scandinavian white-washed look, but because the boards are so dark in colour I feel opaque is the way to go in this case. It will also match the rest of the flat. Im really pleased with how textured and figured the boards are and that you dont loose the grain when painted.

Drawer Liners

The drawer under the sink always tends to get a bit mucky as its where I store cleaning products, the bins and recycling. When the builders took it out to run the new plumbing to my kitchen sink I decided to address the problem. I had a bit of left over Bolon vinyl carpet without a home and so lined not only the drawer but also the cupboard beneath the drawer. This plastic lining will be a bit more robust than the melamine cabinets and hopefully extend their life and make it easier to clean.

Floor Progress

Im quite enjoying the change of scenery that these wide caramel coloured boards are providing. It almost wants to make me keep them natural, but I can save that for my next project! Interestingly, as you can see in the photo comparison, the darker colour makes the room appear slightly shorter, while the light paint makes the floor recede, thereby visually increasing the ceiling height.

Flooring Progress

I was a bit worried about the flooring as it started going in as the boards were quite rough and industrial looking in their half installed state. The carpenter even told me that he believed they were probably salvaged from a barn or old warehouse! Last night however the boards in the hallway were completed and Im really pleased with the result. I still have a step at the living room because the level difference was too great to mediate, but the other thresholds into the bedroom and WC are perfectly flush - AND Ive got rid of the annoying joint between the kitchen and hallway. I think once painted white they will look in keeping with the other boards.

Kitchen Floorboards Removed

This weekend I spent a few hours on Saturday removing the floorboards in the kitchen, and then a few hours on sunday morning removing them in the hallway. It was harder work than expected as the boards were nailed down really tightly, but I did get better at it as I went along. It took me on average half an hour to remove each long floorboard (including knocking out the nail heads and sawing them in thirds by hand). Luckily I have a builder coming in to lay the boards in the week while I recover!

Its crazy to see how much the existing joists have sagged over the years - they have all been furred out with deep wedges of timber to achieve a level surface. I was hoping to find treasure, (or at least another old newspaper) but alas all I found was 200 years of dust and debris!

Floorboard Setting Out

As I only have 10 boards and I want to maximise the number of long 4m runs I prepared a setting out drawing. Im lucky in that the central area I am replacing is exactly 4 boards wide so I wont have any funny thin slivers of board to deal with.

Floorboards Airing out

Tonight I met with the second contractor who is quoting for the floorboard installation. Their prices are similar so Im going with contractor number one as he can start next Tuesday! Floorboards need to air out and acclimatise to the humidity of the room in which they are being installed for 2 weeks so I'll be a few days short of that target but I think it will be ok. On Monday evening I put spacers between all the boards to ensure they can dry out properly.

Replacement Boards

Today Sergio helped me collect some surplus floorboards from a friend. I was lucky that he had a roof rack on his van as at 4m (13 feet) long they didn't fit inside. Getting up the winding staircase to the flat was the next challenge, but luckily we were able to maneuver them up the narrow gap between the stair balustrades one by one.

They are now happily drying out in my bedroom as they are slightly damp from being stored outside under a tarp. Now to go onto www.ratedpeople.com and find a a flooring specialist who can help me lay them.

Thank you so much Sergio!!

Flooring in kitchen and Hallway

I've been debating about whether or not to replace the floorboards in the kitchen for ages and have finally decided to go for it! The plan is to replace these non-original boards with nice wide 250mm width ones to match the remaining Georgian ones in the other rooms. There is an annoying joint between the kitchen and hallway where the boards are cut unevenly and the gaps only fill with crumbs which I plan to sort out in the process.

Tiles running up bathtub

I quite like the way the floor tiles wrap up and clad the side of the bathtub in this bathroom by architect David Mikhail. Like the image, I also intend to only tile the wall behind the tub to full height where I need it for the shower - the rest will just get painted.

Tiling the floor is a difficult option as the floor is sloped and uneven and Id need to lay down quite a thick layer of plywood to prevent any movement in the floor which might cause cracking - which means Id have an annoying step up into the room.