I had the strangest dream. There was this top secret lake of high quality black oil under North Africa. Enormous, it was, perhaps five thousand miles long, and constantly replenished by great silent ‘water’ falls of slick oil. I was President Obama’s agent for the security of the lake and it was under attack by…
And then I woke up, swiftly to forget the detail. I do remember that President Obama was a really nice, understanding guy, though.
So, shaved and showered and off to Swansea for a DIY and provisioning shop. Graham bought a bloke’s workshop vacuum cleaner for himself, to take the load off of the domestic cylinder model that’s superb but can’t handle concrete dust.
The hall floor is coming along nicely, all the cork laid and looking superb. And the feel underfoot is so cosy, quiet and comfortable, and clean!
Cork tiling -- all finished
The next phase is to refinish the wood trim, and then redecorate. Then, sea grass on the steps and on to the upper hall. The timber doors will need refinishing–they’ve been savagely abused about during the twenty-five to thirty years of their lives and they now stand in need of a bit of TLC.
We’re happy with progress. Graham is working to the highest standard he knows, and taking the job slow but sure. This place is going to look like a Conran survival from the 1960′s, I suspect.
Not a not else to report. I had sausage and egg inna bun for my morning snack while Graham was in the big DIY store, and roquefort and a crispy crunchy baguette for lunch. It’s Friday. Fish day for us this evening.
I love the hallway!I never knew cork could look so good.himself has done a wonderful job.
Ooh! I was firsties!!!
The floor looks wonderful. You and Graham have quite an eye for renovations. Love seeing the progress.
I have been watching your weather lately . Looks like you got some of our N. Illinois snow.
That floor looks beautiful! Please send Graham over to do ours.
Graham is fantastic. That is excellent workmanship.
Stunning floor!
Absolutely gorgeous floor.
Oh wow. That is fabulous. Well done, Graham. VERY well done!
You know – I’ve never seen a cork floor till now. I’ve heard all about them, but never had the privilege of seeing one installed. It’s really beautiful and so shiny. What do they use for the gloss effect?
Just lovely, guys. Good job, Graham!
Warm, inviting and practical, all at the same time–in short, everything an entrance hall should be. Well done, indeed.
The cork looks fantastic! What a beautiful job.
I don’t understand the reference to “sea grass” though.
The floor looks great! Much, much nicer than the old one. And cork is a wonderful material…. not too expensive, beautiful, warm, soft, and easy to handle. Which makes me think that I could use this too….
Further evidence of the former colony having too much influence around the world when John is dreaming about meetings with Obama.
I suspect Obama figures very nicely into quite a lot of dreams these days. In one of mine he very politely offered a cigarette to my husband from the pack one could see outlined in his shirt pocket. “a really nice, understanding guy.” Oh, how hungry we are for something to make us feel good. . .
but that cork floor is another!! Cheers!
It is a lovely floor. Warm and welcoming. Great job Graham!
I’m with Kate & Jim though – I wasn’t expecting it to be shiny. Is that standard or a Graham flourish?
The tiles come pre-sanded and with a coat of very strong water-based polyurethane varnish, so they’re pretty shiny. Graham will apply a further coat of varnish when the whole job is done, to seal the joints. We generally reckon cork flooring should be shiny. That way it takes little more than a duster to keep it clean and a wet floor mop to wash it when necessary. We’d expect each coat of varnish to last about five years at which point the floor will get a light sanding and another coat. Overall life expectancy with normal wear ought to be about thirty years, possibly longer.