OMG...this is VERY difficult. I don't know how you (and all the others) did it. I've realized I'm covering way too much surface and need to go much, much smaller. Of course, after I applied PA7 to another large space that I get to remove today. Yaay. So far, The Green Monster is winning this war. I can't seem to rinse off the brick well enough to remove all the PA7 and the paint residue. How did you rinse off the brick well enough and not create a huge puddle on the floor? Did you find any specific brushes/tools to be most beneficial? I've noticed the grout is soft and I have to not use any metal/wire brushes. Nylon only. I'd love any suggestions/advice as to techniques that worked for you. I'm going thru nylon brushes like M&Ms. Just how long did this take you from start to finish? Five years? Eight? I don't know if I can do this...it feels daunting. I'm not sure PeelAway7 is the right product for this. Take a look at the pics below. Fireplace with first coat of PA7: After...still needs more scrubbing and rinsing (w/out flash). This is after 3hrs of scrubbing and 2 coats (two 24hr segments) of PA7. Same w/flash: Got ambitious before I knew what I was in for. I get to remove this section today.

Yeah one finished room. (Of course still full of dust) They finished our bedroom yesterday. Still have to enventually come back and do the closet, but for now have moved on to the great room. camlan..Their doing the same thing here. Running the wood with no seams from room to room. I hope ours eventually "glow" right now they just glow of dust, but it still is looking nice. judydel. I like to buy rugs at TJ Max HomeGoods. Patty Cakes.. Oh no. The stairs is what inspired us to do this hardwood job. We just finished painting the stairs yesterday. The carpet that was on the stairs was old, dirty and ugly. It had to come up. My kids are teenagers, so hopefully safety wont be an issue. We'll see if they become too loud, etc., we can always eventually add a runner to them. beth..Your floors, rugs and house are beautiful. Thanks for sharing the photos and experience. work.. Thanks for the advice. I'll remember this for the near future. Id love a sweeper I could run on the floor and not have to worry about damage.

"Are you suggesting I paint the fireplace mantel, staircase, etc a totally different color like blue or green? " Yes,as appossed to re-staining because (A) re-staining is so difficult to do a lastng job,and (B) paint offer's unlimited shades and tones to work with. Matching colors is far easier than coordinating them,stain make's it even more difficult. Frankly I'm not certain what I'd do after seeing the home in person. I suggested blue and/or green based on your discription(which I believe is accurate) of red floors and orange elsewhere. Call major paint distributors to see if they have a consultant in your area. If not,consider asking a paid consultant to have a look or taking actual samples of wall paint,floor and other woodwork to their office. Alternatly,use a camera with higher color resolution. After hearing you are already pleased with blue gray in another area I'm confident you can hit a double or triple useing it again. A color pro might turn it to a home run or grand slam. In the interest of full disclosure,this is not my field of expertise,it's just something I injoy messing around with. I may also be underestimating your eye for color and your desire to accomplish decorating without consulting decorators. I do it all the time simply because I like the satisfaction of "making it my own" rather than doing it "according to the book".

I like the darker too. Not sure what your house environment is like but we have two giant malamutes that had to be considered to keep the floors from looking totally wrecked. We learned for wear and tear, keep the stain as close to natural helps hide scratches, and wire brushing and or light hand scraping can also help. Looks like the finishes are a nice matte. Only mentioning because you said you have kiddos, so whatever “wears” best would be worth considering since it’s quite the investment!