Patina

Looking ahead a few weeks, after we return from our vacation, at a time when I assume that I'll be rested and ready to start a new project--no, not the big Pagoda project in the yard, but the minor and deceptively simple job of fixing the cracks in the hallway walls and getting the surface textures right, and then replacing the damaged floor boards in the hallway and my office.

The previous owners just smeared wood putty into the damaged areas of the floor, something that lasted for a while. But who really gets down on their hands and knees to inspect a floor when buying a house? The floor in the kitchen was horrible, and the owner was offended when I pointed this out, but by the look on Cheryl's face I knew that she was in love with the house and would be crushed to not get it, so here we are.

Notice how the wood putty has crumbled to dust in one sections while a little of it still remains to the right, a sign of some severe termite damage. These boards must go. I have plenty of replacement boards in the garage. But here's where the tricky part comes in. I want to keep the general patina of the floor, that look of character that comes only with time, not unlike the charming picture I see in the mirror, that sea of countless defects and cruel jokes, not that I care, but at least I can do something about the floor.

So I'm researching once again, this time to find the best approach for refinishing the floors while keeping the patina and blending in some new boards. Vacation first.