Update

The poly on the floor bubbled on application.  We fixed that by scraping up the bubbles and re-applying the poly.  It looks better now.  I wanted to upload some photos of my barn / guest house.  Both not projects being started now, but they have potential.

 

Apparently, the wood is distressed and antique. 

Poly Sealer Down

Here it is with the polyurethane sealer down.  Kinda cool.  Check it out.

 

Some of the photos have funny lighting, but the 2nd picture is pretty much the color it looks like.  

Last step is a putting on the wax coating.  Then we are good to go.     

Cutting The Concrete Floot

Today we used a grinder to free-hand cut what's supposed to look like big tiles into the concrete floor.  Let me know what you think.

 

You'll probably notice that it's a lot lighter in color than the pictures from yesterday.  When the concrete stain dries, it lightens up.  When we apply the polyurethane sealer, it will take on a darker, wet, glossy look.  

For now, I have to clean up all the dust.  Then, I'll apply one layer of the sealer, wait 6-12 hours, then apply another layer.  After the 2nd layer dries, then I'll put on a layer or two of wax.

Concrete Stain

After pulling up the carpet in the family room and pulling up the tile and thin set in the kitchen, we saw a concrete floor that was half painted and a couple cracks in the concrete itself, not to mention the tack strip concrete nail holes and random rough spots in the concrete finish.  We decided to put down a 3/8 of an inch overlay and let it cure for a week.

A week later, we sprayed with concrete spray.  That's where we are at now.  Check out the pics below and let me know what you think.

We are going to use a grinder to put in what looks like grout lines, so it'll have the look of giant, stone, free form slate.  Then, we'll lay 2 layers of sealer, then wax and it'll be done.

Over My Head From the Get Go

My wife and I finally found the foreclosure of my dreams : )  She liked it, I loved it!  The house is 4b 2b approx. 1900~ sq ft. with a small 1 B 1B guest house and a HUGE Barn on .76 acres.  The barn potential alone made it worth while.

Things we knew needed to be done ASAP going into the purchase were:

- Spot treatment for termites
- Carpet Cleaning
- Fence Repair/Rebuilding
- Purchase Appliances (All but dishwasher)
- Electrical work in the main house
- Replace all missing Base Boards (Who steals base boards?)
- Paint Interior - All walls, 'cept ceiling
- Replace all face plates on outlets
- Install internal gates for dogs
- Replace toilets
- Window Treatments
- Remove carpet in family room
- Remove tile in kitch
-Stain concrete in kitchen and family room
- Kill ants and Spiders (tons of them)
- Major lawn work (Remove termite infested huge dead tree, 30+ un-cared for fruit trees on property-some dead, irrigation lines tested and sprinkler head fixes, tons of leaves/dead fruit, etc).

Long Term Projects

- New sub-panel on barn to power it up
- Take guest house down to foundation and rebuild
- Potential Leach Line issue with septic tank
- Pave the back 60% of our U shaped driveway

I'll post before pictures next. 

Most of the work is being done by my wife and I, close friends and the occasional contractor when the work has a high probability that doing it myself will lead to my death or the death/destruction of someone else or the property itself.

Hopefully, the story of our trials and errors will be useful to those of you in a similar situation.