This week has seen nice progress on the second floor bathrooms, the flooring on the second floor, and the basement concrete floor. We also had our HVAC contractor deliver the 2nd floor furnace and water heater for full installation over the next week or two.

During this week, our tile contractor has completed laying tile in both the second floor master bathroom and hall bathroom. In the hall bath, you can see in the photo below that the shower lip has not been tiled. This is because of the weight of the glass panels, as well as occupants stepping on it, will eventually cause tile to crack in these locations. Instead, we will have our countertop contractor provide a thicker slab that will better support the weight placed on the shower lip.

Next, our hardwood flooring contractor had a busy week sanding, patching and staining the floor boards on the second floor. Sanding is done to smooth out any imperfections, but it also helps even out the new floor boards with the existing flooring. Next, our contractor applied a wood putty anywhere he felt there were wood imperfections, nail holes, nicks, etc. He then came through with the sander again to give the floor a smoother finish. Once this process was complete, he came through and applied a thick coat of stain. The floor takes several days to cure, after which we’ll continue with milwork, doors, and hopefully on to paint!

Finally, in the basement, over the course of the week, the concrete has been ground and polished to its final smoothness. After the final polish, the contractor applied a liquid densifier / hardener to the concrete. This product helps protect the concrete from stains, scratches and moisture and it gives the floor a nicer shine to it.