We are going to be going through this in about 4-5 weeks. We are starting our kitchen remodel and opening a wall. We have hardwoods all on the main level. I don't look forwrad to the week they do it. They tell you it takes a week but the floors really take 3 weeks to cure. They tell you it is not a good thing to move heavy furniture or put area rugs on it til it is cured so all my furniture (china cabinet & contents are the worst to move IMO) will be stored for a minimum of 10 days and we will stay in our basement which has a bedroom, den & kitchen but will not be able to be on the floors for 7-10 days. I know I will feel like I should have just moved but hopefully it will be worth it and i can enjoy everything by the holidays!

Thanks goodgal - yeah the whole 'living in a different part of the house' could be a problem if we extended the floors to main living area...we have two large dogs, and entry to the upstairs and/or the basement would require traipsing over the floors. There'd be no way around that.

Are they refinishing your floors before new cabinets are in or after?

we are having our hardwood floors refinished in conjunction with our kitchen reno. Floor guy is doing 2 coats before cab/appliance install and then a final sanding and coat after installation. we've installed all the hardwood floors in our house and have never stayed off of them for a week after install. i think we moved furniture back in after a day of drying and have not had any issues. i guess the longer you can wait the better.

it is a nightmare of a process, but i just keep reminding myself it will all be over eventually!

We had unstained white oak floors that had yellowed quite a bit after 10 years. Our floors were sanded, stained and then had 2 coats of poly put down before the cabinets were installed. Final coat of poly went down after all the appliances were in and the kitchen was mostly complete. We chose a satin finish that wouldn't show scratches as much.

I found the smell unbearable, made worse by it being winter and not being able to open the windows. The first coats of poly made me so ill that I learned my lesson and moved us into a motel for 2 days after the final coat.

Before, prior to sanding:

After, stained with Minwax English Chestnut:

The cabinet guys here seem to do floors after the cabinets are in. They remove the old shoe molding and put new shoe molding after it dries. I have heard it done both ways.

Stretchad - I feel your pain. As beautiful as golden oak hardwood floors are to a lot of people, they were like a thorn in our sides that we could not get around whenever we wanted to do anything to our house. It felt like they were holding back all the furniture choices and paint colours that we really wanted. So I know exactly how you feel.

I would recommend that you refinish because the purchase of new hardwood and installation of new floors would probably be more expensive.

Here's some answers to your questions:
1) We stained our floors prior to any cabinets being installed. We had the cabs installed over the hardwood, which most people recommend since the floors are levelled and it just looks nicer (they may be even more reasons which I didn't mention).
2) The staining took two days.
3) We did not live in our home when the floors were refinished. The stain and the polyeurethane (top coat varnish) were water-based, which don't smell as bad as the oil-based ones and dry faster. The smell is still very strong. We stayed with my parents and we went to the house everyday to open the windows so the stain could go away quicker. I believe we must have been out of the house for two weeks. Another thing that helps is to put fabric at the base of your doorways so the smell doesn't seep into certain rooms like your master bedroom.
4) I honestly cannot remember!! We live in Canada so perhaps the rate would be different than in the US.
5) Astoundingly happy. It was THE BEST remodeling decision we made during our kitchen reno in terms of the impact it made, and how much we enjoy the results. Yes, we'd do it again if we ever moved...which hopefully we never will!

I forgot another point (what is it with me remembering other points after I've submitted the post?? LOL). The staining happened, then one coat of poly, then the cabinets were installed, then they screened it (buffed it) and put two last coats of poly. This last step is important as some scratches and nicks happen during the installation process. Ours was a pain as they got all this gunk on our floors as we/they didn't cover them properly. Look at the Lessons Learned on my renovation website if you want to read more!

erikanh, can I ask the year of your house and where in the country you live? Your before photos of your dining room look very much like ours. We're in a 1940 CA bungalow - and houses of this era in our neighbourhood all have the same dining room look.

I'm thinking of opening our family room to our dining room in the same way that you have done from your kitchen - I don't think we have the space from the kitchen to do it. We want to make the dining room not so enclosed, but still keep the 1940 wainscotting etc.

Hi canicci, our house is pretty new, built in 1996, I believe. We live in New Hampshire. Many of the homes around here have a Colonial look from the outside -- 2 stories, shutters, steep roof, center entrance, etc. But like many builder's grade homes, the interior had no architectural interest -- minimal crown molding, skinny baseboard moldings and trims, that swirly stuff on the ceilings. Over the years, little by little we've tried to upgrade the finishes and add architectural interest.

Previously, we didn't use our dining room at all. It got the best sunlight in the whole house, but it was too small and closed in by a pocket door, not inviting. It became a dumping ground. We decided to knock down the wall, increase the size of the dining room and add an arch, making it open to the kitchen. We eat dinner in there every night, and now I'm looking for a larger square or round table so that we'll be able to seat 8.

I adore the bungalow style! Do you have any photos of your home that you could share? If you could also post your current layout including the kitchen, dining room, family room and surrounding areas, I bet you could get lots of great suggestions about ways to achieve to open up your dining room while preserving that wonderful bungalow style.

I just noticed that you asked me about Crown Point's pricing on the other thread. It's hard for me to give you a price point since there are so many variables. I would say that they are on the higher end, though. They will give provide you with a design at no charge, so why not get a free estimate? They are located about 2 hours from me, so it was very easy for me to work with them. I do know that they have had quite a few West Coast clients and others all around the country. I can't say enough about their attention to quality and customer service, but there are so many choices out there including local cabinetmakers.

Looking forward to reading more about your renovation,

Erika

Erika,
I posted about our kitchen here and there are some photos, but not really good ones of our dining room. I need to get the house plans to show the complete layout. I just did a rough layout on graph paper of the kitchen/laundry/2nd bath.

We need to look at what our options are for the remodel - talk to architect, KD etc. As we get closer to knowing what we want, I'll look at Crown Point cabinets. Nice to know that they give a design at no charge. I love the look of the inspiration picture you posted. I will look around at other cabinetmakers as well.

Do you have any other pictures of your remodel to share?? I'm getting a lot of ideas from everyone's kitchens.

Nicci

Oops..forgot the link to my either post.

Here is a link that might be useful: My current kitchen layout

Strechad,

It took two weeks because of trying to find the perfect
dark color. My floor guys were wood purists and stubborn.
We lived in the house. The fumes were horrific. I won't
do that again. I will go to a hotel and let my DH stay here to oversee everything.

I had the floors done last in my kitchen reno.
We did 1/2 of our house the rest will be done this
Sept, by the same guys. Same color. We love the
new darker color.

Here are the pics....

Before and I was sick to death of this golden oak.
{{!gwi}}

After

Boxerpup,

I love the color of your floor--what brand and color stain did you use?

Thanks
Nancy

Hi Nancy,

Thank you for the compliment.
It is Bonakemi stain oil based color called
English Chestnut mixed with Mahogany. On top of both
these stains is Ebony. Satin Sealer by Bonakemi.
My floor guys were a bit stubborn and fearful about going
so dark. They had to be pushed a bit but it is worth it
as I love my floors.

~boxerpups