DIY White Washed Wood Floors For Less

Okay so I promised I would share with you my how to on our porch floors.

So here goes.

DIY Plywood Floors

1. We started with sheets of CDX plywood.  (The Cheap Stuff.) Tip: If you try this make sure to pick through the lumber pile to pick the best pieces.  Try to get the sheets with less ink writing on them.  If the sheet has a little ink...don't worry no biggie, you can sand it out.
2. Travis cut each sheet into 6 inch wide pieces. 
3. Then he laid the first piece against one wall to make sure they were all cut square. 
4. Then he staggered his cuts to be laid out like a traditional wood floor would be.  You do not want all your seams lined up in a row.  Trust...this is my hubbies pet peeve!
5. I wanted an aged rustic lived in cottage look, so I wanted the seams between the boards to have a little gap.  About the size of a penny....maybe just a touch bigger in random areas.
6. We simply nailed the floor right over the original sub floor.  To stay with the aged look I didn't even fill the nail holes.

White Washing a Wood Floor

First.....let me just tell you I'm a first timer! 
It actually wasn't too bad of a project.

1. Start off with a white satin finish paint.  I have a thing for Behr paint from Home Depot, so that is what we went with on this one.
2. You need to mix about 2 cups paint to 1/2 cup water.  (Stir it up!  The paint will sit at the bottom.  You will need to continue to stir up the paint as you go as not to let the paint portion over power the mixture.  It will leave the floor uneven and too heavily coated in white paint.
3. We used a roller to roll on the paint.  Be careful not to leave the floor too wet in one place.  Even it out to avoid streaking.
4. Our floor took a total of 2 coats.  In some areas we painted and wiped the paint away where it seemed to be just a little heavy.
5. Do not paint yourself into a corner.......obviously;)
6. Wait 24 hours before walking on or placing furniture back in the room.

And......we did it all for under $150 bucks!
Viola!!!!  There you have it folks! 

Our budget friendly white washed wood floors!

Let me know if you try this one.  I'd love to hear about it!

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DIY Weekend at The Corson Cottage

Here is a little sneak peak of what's been going on at The Corson Cottage.

We have been working on refinishing our hardwood floors.

Our Office

Lucy had to be the first to check out the finished look of course.

Our Maser Bedroom

Ewww! 

Here is quick look at the condition some of our floors were in before the refinishing project.

Here is the How to Guide.

1. You need to remove all of the old finish from the floors.

We used a drum sander for this step that we rented from Home Depot.

Be sure to get one with a bag to collect the dust and keep it moving constantly as not to create grooves in the floor.  You will also need an edge sander to get close to the wall and corners.

(We started this step about a month ago.  Little bigger project than we anticipated.)

It is really messy. 

I recommend lots of plastic to block off the area you are working on from the rest of your home.

2. You will need to get quit a bit of sandpaper for the machine.

(36, 60, 80, 120 grits) 

Use the smallest grit first and work up to the highest towards the end.

It will take several passes.

Tip: This is where the cost can begin to add up!

Check into this cost before beginning if you are on a tight budget.

3. Be sure to run the sander with the grain of the wood.

Do not go against the grain.  Use a shop vac to pick up loose dust as you go as not to pick it up on the sand paper.  The paper will last longer this way.  It is helpful to have one person run the sander and one for clean up along the way.

4. You will need to repeat this with each grit of sand paper and until floors are clear of all old stain and down to the original hard wood.

5. Once the floors are completed you are ready to add a stain if you choose or a clear coat of poly.

We chose the clear coat of poly.  It saved us a bit on time and budget.

6. We added the poly using a long handle attached to a pad. 

You add the poly then let it dry for about 3 hours and repeat this step 3 times.

On the third coat let it dry for 24 hours before walking on it and up to 3 days before placing furniture back on it.  (Honestly, we cheated a bit on the furniture and so far so good.)

So that's what up around here. 

Getting closer to the fun stuff, decorating!

Summer Sunday Drives will return next weekend for anyone who's interested.

It's been crazy busy here.

Carrie