Applying polyurethane to the floors

After we sanded the floors, we were getting ready to apply the satin PolyWhey, a whey-based low-toxicity polyurethane. But we were delayed due to injuries, so two kind friends (thanks, E. and D.!) applied three coats of the stuff over a period of a couple of weeks. It looked great, but we decided to add an extra coat for better longevity, so we did that ourselves.

This involved sanding the previous top coat very lightly with hand-held 220 grit sandpaper, and then applying the PolyWhey with a 9-inch microfiber pad. It took about one hour for each 150 square feet of floor, not counting the sanding, which went a bit faster. The result is a finish that shows off the beauty of the wood, and is just a bit shiny, but not thick and glossy like a restaurant table.

Each step we take towards finishing the house makes it feel more like a home and less like a camping lean-to. Somehow, for me, the finished floors seemed to be a bigger step in that direction than usual.