We all enjoyed putting down the first-floor engineered hardwood flooring – well, at least I did – and we did a fine job. But the planks for the second floor are only half as wide, which translates to double the installation time. With Terry pretty much unavailable anyhow, Colin sought a subcontractor to complete the second floor. He got quotes from several professional floorists (I just made that word up), and eventually he hired Don, who took care of the job in about a week.

Don installed bullnose flooring on all the stairs. He oriented the rest of the flooring to match the long edge of the steps, which is orthogonal to the orientation of the first-floor planks. (Not sure if anybody planned it that way.) Unlike the distressed look of the first floor, the second floor uses smooth bamboo stained medium-dark. It appears all the pieces are the same length, making it harder to achieve our desired random-looking layout. But Don done good.

Top o’the stairs.

Landing. (Protected bullnose on steps.)

Spacers at edge of room.

Colin installed a few more light fixtures. I really like the pendants over the kitchen island. There’s a snazzy under-cabinet light next to the fridge, and upstairs two swinging wall-mounted reading lights flank the future master bed. Baby steps indeed, but always towards the finish line.

Kitchen island pendants. In the foreground, trim pieces are primed and drying on sawhorses.