Floored

Our previous wooden floor -visible again as we packed up
to move house last year.

Perran - happy with carpet in his new bedroom.

It was exciting doing up our first flat thirty years ago, the very tight budget made it a real challenge. 

However, now on our sixth house, the thrill has palled. 

From the moment we bought this house, we knew we didn’t like the floor – a worn laminate with a loud pattern mimicking badly distressed wood.  It badly distressed us.

Yet I was prepared to put up with it rather than suffer more upheaval.  But it wasn’t to be.  The floor was standing in the way of progress.

“We could build in a coats cupboard under the stairs.”

“Although we’ll have to do the floor first.”

“We need to build in some shelves in the sitting room.”

“Can’t do that until we’ve done the floor.”

So  it looks like now we’re doing the floor.  

Once, we would have asked detailed questions and examined each quote minutely.  Now, as soon as we get what seems like a fair price from somebody with an honest face, we give the go-ahead. 

All the fight has gone out of us.

So we have driven out for the day, leaving  Brakow and Alexandrov laying the floor.

“Should we have specified thicker planks?”

“Not sure.  Should we have asked them what they’ll do around the fireplace?”

We have “Bought floor in haste”.

We are now “repenting at leisure.”

However, it’ll all come out in the wash.  When we moved into our last house, we were the first of our friends to put in a wooden floor.  We went to great trouble and expense and installed beautiful, high-spec solid oak boards. 

When our friends came round, one of them tutted and said, “Still bare boards?  I’d have thought you’d have got your carpets down by now.”