My evening job as a stripper.

Sorry if I just gave you heart palpitations, ma. I'm talking about stripping paint off of perfectly lovely solid wood doors. Well, one door anyway. The door to the master suite looked like this:

Please ignore the utter filth of the basement.

The picture makes it look like it's in much better condition than it is. The door itself is fine, but the paint was chipped and cracked in hundreds of places.

I applied a generous coat of America's #1 Stripper Brand, and before I could even finish the application over the whole door, I got this:

Thanks, Klean-Strip.

If I hadn't been able to smell the awful fumes, I might have mistaken the lovely crackle effect for a delicious lemon merengue pie.

Mmm, pie.

One swipe of the plastic scraper:


This is the door by the end of the first pass:

Not too shabby for 45 minutes of work.

If you have a paint stripping project in your future, I suggest you get somebody really smart to do it for you. Not because it's difficult, but because they can probably spare the brain cells they'll inevitably lose while using the stuff. I'll make a second pass at the door with Klean-Strip tomorrow, possibly in a better ventilated area.

I did get a few other little things done this evening. I added insulation in the hallway area and dragged out the door I wanted to use for the bathroom entry. I had planned on framing the doorway tonight, but decided not to because I'm not sure if it will work. All of the doors we have at the house are 32" wide. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave enough room for trim around the doorway unless we do something either 1) chintzy or 2) kinda crazy. I'm certainly open to suggestions and creative ideas, even though I think the answer will probably be just to suck it up and buy a new door.

Flooring options

Cruising the fancy schmancy showroom websites like I always do, I came across a pretty good deal on laminate flooring. I just got a coupon in my inbox that entitles me to 20% off my next purchase, which if I can apply toward that flooring (available online only), would make it a really good deal on laminate flooring. [We plan on putting it in the attic room, and maybe even use it to make treads for the spiral staircase we're planning.] But always the deal-monger, I've looked online at other feasible options. Here are some that I like:

From the fancy schmancy showroom.

$1.70 per square foot ($1.37 if I get the 20% off) with free shipping. Pergo brand. I like the fact that it comes in 3.5" widths and is supposed to look more individualized than a lot of other laminates. I hate it when you can tell it's the same 3-5 woodgrain patterns.

Source.

Balterio brand, which I've never heard of, but only $.99 per square foot and comes with a 25 year residential warranty. The planks are 7.5" wide, which I'm not crazy about but will make installation go faster. This website also offers a free sample so I can tell if I like it.

Source.

This is about $1.58 per square foot. It comes with underlayment, so that saves time and money in installation. I love how dark it is, but I don't know if it will go with the rest of the flooring in the house (which needs to be sanded and restained anyway). Am I going too dark for a room that gets very little natural light?

Source.

Another from Sam's club, priced at $1.50 per square foot. I like the reddish undertone it has. Also has the underlayment. I know that my 2 readers (hi Mom and Marian!) have experience with this sort of DIY project. Any recommendations or pearls of wisdom?