As you may know I came up with the name for my blog Jarrah Jungle from all the jarrah that is in the house, the shelves inside the linen cupboards, the wall cabinet in the kitchen, but most of all the jarrah floorboards that run all throughout the house (apart from the bathroom and laundry which is tiled).
When we first moved in we ripped out all the old carpet, filled the nail holes and sanded and sealed the floorboards. But we're not really happy with the finish, they're not super smooth and dirt gets down the cracks between each board. So now as we paint each room we're redoing the floors. The door stays shut for about a week after its oiled to let it set fully before dragging any furniture in and for the strong oil smell to go away. This is the lowdown from start to finish ....
The carpet is ripped up, the nail holes filled and it gets a sand with a heavy duty sander and the edges with a smaller edging sander.
The carpet is ripped up, the nail holes filled and it gets a sand with a heavy duty sander and the edges with a smaller edging sander.
Then all the dust is vaccumed up so not a spec is left before it is ready for its first coat of Tung Oil to seal those raw timber boards. But once the oil is dry you can see those gaps between the boards really stand out .... so that's when we decided to do it again.
We filled every freakin gap between every freakin board throughout the whole freakin house (sorry but it was pretty tedious as you can imagine!)
Then sanded it all back again
Then vacuumed all the dust up so it was spic and span and sealed it with Tung Oil which is painted on with a brush around the edges and then the rest of the floor is done with a woolen mop. It is really strong smelling oil so we usually stay over a friends house the first night, and just keep the door closed for about a week until the fumes dissapper.
All that work and this is the finishing product ... these boards now look like a mirror they are so shiny and full of character. I still can't believe they spent their whole life hiding under carpet until now!
Each time we do a room they seem to come up shinier and shinier or maybe we've just had lots of practice now!
So that my friends is the Jarrah Jungle namesake
If anyone needs any tips on restoring floorboards, ask away I'm happy to help
Wow gorgeous job - your floors are BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for posting this :)
ReplyDeleteWow, those floorboards look amazing!
ReplyDeleteLoved this post. Your floors are truly beautiful, and worth every bit of dust, sweat and tears. Well done. I can see how much hard work has gone into your rooms. Jarrah is such a beautiful colour.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing I love more than a great house makeover! This is amazing. I loveeee the wood floor in the end result. So beautiful!
ReplyDeletewell, havnt they come up an absolute treat!!! I have those floorboards at my place too..... but alas my little kids have made short work of them!! ps. Jealous of your extensive dress collection, too!! x Nicole - Bubby Makes Three
ReplyDeleteYour floors are beautiful! Great job.
ReplyDeleteYour floors are stunning! We ripped up carpet to reveal oak floors when we first moved in, but they'll need a refinish soon. They've taken a beating from our boys. Love the deep rich color of your floors. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe floors look amazing!! I wish we had floors like that in our house - let alone in bedrooms! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! What a JOB and what a so worth the work result!! Thanks for sharing all of the details and the wonderful before and after pics!
ReplyDeleteYou guys are so clever!! Seriously. And so patient.You really do OWN your home now ... how special.
ReplyDeleteYou have some seriously gorgeous floorboards Michelle (you have done a spectacular job, well done!)
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your week end
Claudia xo
Wow! I am so impressed! They look amazing.
ReplyDeleteYour floors look fabulous. Great job. I hired this out for a little cottage house I had and I don't think I could have handled that big machine. I may try and tackle it next time. Yours look awesome.
ReplyDeleteOMG gorgeous- totally worth the work, right! After we redid our floors I wanted to get down on my knees and kiss them!
ReplyDeletebeautiful job michelle! well done! they look amazing! the hard work does pay off!
ReplyDeleteHey how are you doing? I just wanted to stop by and say that its been a pleasure reading your blog. I have bookmarked your website so that I can come back & read more in the future as well. plz do keep up the quality writing
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