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This is the week for DIY/home improvement projects, I guess!
Sarah has been doing all the things at her new house and Joy’s new couch inspired us to work together on a living room redo.
Meanwhile, I’ve been pretty busy pulling my life back together too.
The flood.
So it wasn’t a Noah’s ark, 40 days and 40 nights kind of flood, but waking up at midnight to water cascading through your house felt a little ark-ish, if you ask me.
Back in March of this year, we were about a third of the way through a pretty large addition project. My husband, JM, and I had decided to add two bedrooms and another bathroom to the second floor of our house (along with a small closet for the washer and dryer). Our kids were getting bigger and we just needed more than one bedroom for the four of them.
Things were going swimmingly until we woke one night in the middle of a heavy rainstorm to the sound of cracking. We didn’t think much of it initially since tree limbs often fall in our neighborhood during storms – until we heard the sound again a few minutes later.
We both got up to check on the kids, and as we walked down the hallway, it was like the heavens opened. The tarp over the addition had gathered so much water that the ties securing it to the new framing broke away and a flood of water cascaded into the rest of the second floor of our home. We stood in shock as we witnessed the avalanche and then jumped into action, pulling our kids (who got soaked in the process) out of bed.
Long story short, we ended up heading over to my in-laws’ house in the middle of the night and have been dealing with the absolute nightmare of the flood recovery, insurance negotiations, and many, many decisions that have to be made as the damages are repaired.
I’ll have lots more to say about that in the coming weeks – our work is far from over!
This week’s project
Before the flood, I had several projects slated to prepare for when the addition was completed. One of my plans included repainting the wooden bunk beds so they would feel brand new in my sons’ new room.
These bunk beds are great. They are a nice sturdy wood and have full stairs with the built-in drawers for added storage. But I didn’t love the slightly orange-y stain.
Just before the flood, I had begun the process of repainting my dining room table. A friend had recommended Varathane gel stain.
I had experienced success using it on the table, though I wasn’t able to complete the polyurethane coat and actually use the table/test it out for an extended period of time.
The table wasn’t quite as orange to begin with, but I figured the same process that I used on the table would work for the bunk beds as well.
I was right! The paint adhered wonderfully to the bedframes.
We are still at least a month away from returning to our home. (We’ve been staying with my in-laws since the flood happened in March).
The ground floor, which was also damaged by the water flowing down from the second floor, is still pretty much gutted, but the new addition is nearly complete. We figure the house will be livable once the second floor is all set since it’s still summer here and we can prepare most meals outside.
It has been exciting to work on some of the “finishing touch” projects like these bunk beds in anticipation of our return home. It makes it feel like we’re that much closer to being there!
Have you ever experienced a major disaster like our full house flood? Let me know in the comments below!