This is the lower level, which came with beautiful oversized walnut parquet floors. The upstairs living room/family room/entry had always been carpeted, as in many Mid-Century homes. Wall to wall carpeting was considered to be the most luxurious floor, and became hugely popular. We struggled with the decision, but with 2 cats, and the fact that we like to go in and out to the canyon throughout the day, we felt that carpet would be too hard to keep clean from dirt tracked in and kitty mess. The existing carpet, although cleaned recently, was light colored and showed every spec of dirt, plus old stains were coming back. We looked at all kinds of flooring, but felt it all looked too "2020" and not in keeping with the woodsy look we wanted to keep. Finally, our carpenter found us a company in Florida, Hurst Hardwoods, who would replicate our walnut parquet floor - and it turned out the price, although expensive, was in keeping with other real hardwood floors. We decided to for it!
We carefully measured (several times) to make sure we got exactly the same size, and sent photos to the manufacturer. We placed the order and were told it would be ready in about 6 weeks.
A bit over 8 weeks later, (not bad, as Thanksgiving slowed things down a bit) our shipment arrived! Two huge pallets.
After letting the wood sit for a month to acclimate to the humidity and climate, it was ready to install.
We opted to have each support for the fireplace wrapped in walnut so the fireplace would appear to float. Originally, the supports were wrapped in black shiny granite. Can't wait to see the final result!
John built a trim piece to go around the opening of the spiral staircase
Installation Done!
Final step - floor finisher came to fill, sand, and seal the floor. After filling all the cracks by applying a putty all over, the floor was sanded several times, then a penetrating oil was applied to deepen the color. This has to dry for several days. Finally, 2 coats of satin finish polyurethane with a UV protectant were applied. The whole process took about 10 days.
The finished product! It will mellow over time, turning more orange as it ages.
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