Adventures in Home Repair

Now that I’m back from vacation, the time has come for me to put up or shut up when it comes to all the different home repair and improvement projects I’ve had on my slate for this summer. The tools are purchased, some supplies are already available, and I’m running out of summer. So I decided to take my first step yesterday by repairing a piece of flooring in my entryway. Back when I took out all the vinyl flooring that had been there (revealing the original wood floor beneath), I’d noticed one section that was just particle board–some of the floor boards had been cut up to make a hole for who-knows-what. Well, clearly I couldn’t leave it like that, so I finally got around to fixing it.

All told, I feel like it went quite well. I used a Dremel Multimax to saw into the floor boards that were there, taking them out in a staggered pattern, then I used my new chop saw and a borrowed table saw to make some replacements out of lumber I had on hand from last year. Some extra trimming with the Dremel to get a more exact fit, and voila! Done.

It’s not perfect, but for a first solo project, I’m happy with it. Once it’s been sanded and stained, it should blend in nicely with the existing wood. So . . . now I have to sand and stain the entryway. The plan is for sanding to happen Thursday, and staining Thursday or Friday evening, depending on how long sanding takes me–and how long the stain takes to dry.

Wish me luck!