Eco-Remodelers

The green renovation continues! I spent all day Sunday installing bamboo floors in our dining room. It’s the same bamboo I used in the 2nd floor bedroom/office. I had to run over to Lumber Liquidators to pick up 2 additional boxes to complete the work.

It turned out really well. One problem I had was the two additional boxes of bamboo. They were from a different batch - even though they were from the same company, there was a difference. The coloring was very similar but the new batch had a smoother and shinier surface.

I noticed right away and made two piles of bamboo planks. I would take a different plank from each pile and mixed them all together. I also adjusted the lengths of each row I would start so the entire floor has a completely random pattern of cuts to go along with the different looks on the planks.  I’m pretty happy with it.

I didn’t complete the baseboards or the transition pieces. I was too tired. I did the entire room, about 300 square feet, in 6 and a half hours. I made sure I completed anything I would need the pneumatic floor stapler for before I returned the rental to Home Depot.

Until I start on finishing our basement, that’s pretty much it for our flooring needs in the house. We’ve got recyclable carpeting and bamboo flooring (along with the new hardwood floors that came with the house.)

Next, I’m going to look into composting.

On to the dining room!

I’ve completed all the bamboo flooring in the office and I wanted to move on to add it to the dining room floor. But I also knew it was a good idea to paint before I put the floor down.

So, we shuffled off to Sherwin Williams again to pick out some more paint. Before, in the bedrooms, I had used the No-VOC Harmony brand. For the dining room, I wanted a darker, richer flat paint color. The color we chose was not available in the Harmony brand. It was the Duration brand. The good news was that it is a low VOC paint that has the “Green Sure” designation, which means it’s environmentally-friendly paint with the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

We chose a reddish brown color. The bamboo is a very light and bright yellow-ish color and wanted to contrast that with a darker color. I managed to get very good coverage in only two coats - which is hard to do with a red color over a white wall… Sometimes you need a coat of primer or three coats or more.

I did it all in one night, too.

I also put down the underlayment on the subfloor to get it ready to put down our bamboo floor over the weekend. I also need to replace the outdated ceiling fan with a new energy-efficient light fixture as well as light colored window treatments to soften the darker brownish-red color.

Next… we need to shop for a dining room set.