the remaking of a kitchen

today everyone worked very hard to get all the wood in place so sanding (yuck) could begin in earnest on monday. alas, didn't quite get it all done, so john will be here in the morning to finish off the area around the stairway to the basement. did i mention that to our surprise the hallway to the bedrooms is already oaken?? the guys suggested today that the living room had probably been oak when the house was built, but wall-to-wall carpet was the big thing then, so the wood was probably removed to facilitate laying the carpet. times do change!
the hallway wood is layed directly on the diagonal sub-floor while the new floor is on plywood over the sub-floor. this means that the hallway is 3/4" lower than the new flooring so a transition board crosses the hall just past the bathroom door. i think it will all look quite lovely, and i wish it were all over. next week is the dreaded sanding, staining, polyurethaning experience. hmmmmm
the other accomplishment of the day was choosing the stain color.......we agreed! yea!