View with a room

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

“Wow, you’re really into that home improvement stuff,” says my boss. She wasn’t surprised that I’m creative outside of journalism. Probably more impressed that I just never turn off.

So, I started to write this column on Friday, but I knew a lot of things were coming to a head this weekend, and I knew some readers would want to know how they turned out. Friday night, after work, I finished prepping for the concrete floor stain in my downstairs room. I was up til 1, hanging plastic and masking. Saturday morning, Hunter and I started with the acid wash first thing. The manufacturer underestimated the necessary amount by half. I was freaking, knowing a half-ass job would sink the ship. I diluted it by half, but got pretty close to the promised results.

With that in mind, I bought double the stain the manufacturer recommended. It was exactly the right amount. I also bought double the sealer, but I actually only needed half the amount recommended by the manufacturer, and that was for two applications.

There are a few imperfections, mainly caused by little bits of glue left from the acid wash. The floor appeared dry, but I think some of the acid reacted with the stain. I’m going to touch up with paint. But the floor is already far cooler looking than I envisioned. And I think, minus my time, it only cost about $100. If you’d include my time, it’s probably about $2,600. Someone once estimated staining my concrete at $4 per foot, which would be about $800, so I did about my usual do-it-myself cost savings.

But that was like tapping the first in a long line of dominoes. I’d promised myself I wasn’t going to get a new Blu-Ray player until I finished the floor. There’s method to that: The room downstairs is going to be a combination media room/jungle with grow lights. And now I’m streaming Netflix movies, internet radio and television—a bit of a disincentive to finish the room.