Late last week we finally began installing our hardwood floors at the new house. We’re doing the work ourselves, and while progress is steady it’s also time-consuming — not ideal when you’re short on time. We’re scheduled to move in this weekend and hope to finish four bedrooms and a long hallway before then. Once we’re further along and breathing easier, we’ll share a full play-by-play of the process. For now, here’s a still-dusty photo of the first room we officially completed: the master bedroom (we still need to install baseboards and quarter round).
As stressed as I’ve been about the timeline, that worry paled in comparison to the anxiety of the first major step: getting the wood home. Lumber Liquidators called to say our order was ready for pickup. Clara was napping, so Sherry stayed home with her and I went to rent the $19 truck recommended by Lowe’s/Home Depot to transport the materials. The order was too large for our car, and renting a truck was cheaper than having the store deliver, so it made sense.
I stopped at Lowe’s first to buy quarter-round molding for the bedrooms and hallway — Lowe’s requires a purchase to rent a truck, so it worked out. Then I drove to Lumber Liquidators to collect the flooring.
When I arrived, I was surprised at the sheer size of the stack of boxes being lifted by forklift. Was that all for us? Absolutely. I was glad I’d rented the truck.
That relief was short-lived. As the load was lowered into the truck bed I noticed one tire sagging slightly under the weight. It wasn’t flat, but it made me nervous. The staff arranged the load to reduce pressure on that tire, and we agreed it looked safe enough to drive slowly the three miles back to the new house.
The drive felt endless. The load was somewhat unbalanced, and the boxes were stacked high and not tightly strapped. Every turn made the stack lean, so I took corners at a crawl with my hazards on. After a few turns I learned how to shift the load toward the center, which calmed my fears of a disaster on the road.
Then it started to rain. I hadn’t noticed the storm clouds rolling in. A sudden downpour put dozens of cardboard-covered boxes at risk of getting wet. Fortunately, a previous renter had left a large plastic drop cloth in the truck bed. I pulled onto a side street and covered the load before it soaked through.
Not long after, the rain stopped but the wind picked up, causing the makeshift cover to flap loose. I had to stop again, remove the drop cloth, and secure things. By then I’d only gone about a mile from Lumber Liquidators.
The remaining two miles were thankfully uneventful. I arrived at the house a little shaken but with the flooring intact. Then reality hit: I had to unload everything. I’d failed to plan for this step. Sherry and Clara were still at our old place, and I was alone. Without a forklift I started carrying each box off the truck one at a time. There were 50 boxes in total.
It took about an hour to unload them all. Each box weighed roughly 56 pounds and measured about five feet long. I hauled them from the truck bed up a few steps and through a narrow garage doorway, stacking everything in the dining room to acclimate before installation. Moving all that wood upstairs would have to wait for another day. Between the stress of the drive and carrying approximately 2,800 pounds of flooring inside (yes, I did the math), I earned a break.
Here’s Clara enjoying the new flooring the day after it arrived. We’re hopeful she’ll love it even more once it’s out of the boxes and fully installed — that’s the goal for today. Woot!