Master Bedroom: Part 1

Although our home (which I share with my wife, our 4 year-old daughter, one 3 month old Lab puppy, 7 year-old Chihuahua, and 6 year-old cat/crab mix) underwent an extensive remodel about 6 years ago, the master bedroom had the bare minimum of upgrades done because we had already been desperately over budget and schedule. Recently, what was supposed to be a routine carpet cleaning turned into a complete makeover that would test most of what I've learned about home improvement since the original remodel.

The plan was to change the floors from carpet to hardwood floors (to match the rest of the house), and to upgrade from a queen bed to a king. We planned on those two items taking up the bulk of the budget, with all the other items, such as paint and decor, only taking a small chunk of change.

Although the floors and bed were supposed to take most of the money, I was adamant about penny-pinching my way through, saving as much as I could, everywhere I could. This is where I would apply the first lesson in saving money: BE PATIENT! Don't buy from the first place you shop, and explore your options!

The first cold-hard slap of reality was that if we wanted to match the hardwood on the rest of the house, I'd be limited on choices on where and how I could do comparisons. Patience is of utmost importance when looking for deals, but I couldn't unnecessarily drag out this project either.

Here's my first endorsement:

Lumber Liquidators had a great selection, and were absolutely the cheapest I could find as an everyday retail shopper. Saved big in comparison to the big, local home centers.

So step one was ridding ourselves of old, stained carpet. Here are a couple of before photos. Most of the decor and bedding had already been removed here:

Nothing too exciting there, right? Mismatched hardware (because we couldn't decide which to use) and scratches from a feisty cat only added to out urgency to do something about all this.


I decided to do all the labor of removing the carpet and furniture myself (with some help from friends and family whenever a big item was moving) to save some dough. Removing carpet isn't that tough, it just takes some planning on how to handle the waste. All that carpet and padding doesn't exactly fit in the waste bins.

This is the only picture I have of the bare floor. At this point, I HATED it. It took an eternity to remove all the staples and tack strips from the carpet installation. That handy little rolling stool, some extra long needle nose pliers, an operational TV, and plenty of liquids made it bearable though:

To install the new floor, I took a risk and scoured craigslist in search of an installer. I had planned on taking on the task myself, but after I had saved some money on the materials, the decision was made to splurge and hire a pro. If there's one place you don't want a botched up rookie job, it's on the expensive floors (or so my wife insists). Of course, the installer quoted an unbelievably low price over the phone, only to adjust the estimate once he arrived. It wasn't different enough for me to send him packing (I'm on a timeline, remember?). Still felt like it was worth the investment to have a pro do it, especially since the total cost of materials and installation was less than just the material cost at the aforementioned home centers.

Technical Sidebar (TS):  [ Every now and then, I'll stick in these sidebars, where the technical aspect of a portion of the project is discussed in further detail. Feel free to skip these if you just wanna get to the punchline of the story. ] With the hardwood, I decided to go without padding and have the 3/4 inch hardwood floor nailed directly to the plywood floor. This is an upstairs bedroom where we don't plan on having drinks (or any other sort of introduced moisture), or tap dancing. We are generally barefoot, so noise isolation isn't a big priority. The floor we were matching to didn't have any padding installed under it, so this way the height of the two would remain consistent.


Here is the beginning stage of the install: (The floor is Maple)

 I know what you're thinking: "Hey, I thought this was supposed to be a blog about a handyman, not someone who contracts people!" I know. Not the best way to start. My only defense is that my wife's happiness is paramount, and if this floor wasn't perfect, she wasn't gonna be happy.

Notice that the floor outside of the door jamb is old flooring, and that the new floor was the right size, and color, even if it had more of a "natural" feel with the extra knots and variances.

The TV also moved from the top of a dresser (which wasn't returning), to the wall. The mount is a straightforward installation for now. The only noteworthy thing there was how cheap I found the mount on craigslist. The store that carried it was actually a photography studio and it was a cash-only price, but for $35, I couldn't complain.

Notice the back of the closets? Yeah, they're painted. More on that later...

Here's the room with the floors done. It made the area feel HUGE. Definitely worth the time.

Our daughter (Isabella), took advantage of the home dance-studio for a day:

The closets were a quick side project. We already had closet organizers installed. In order to get the carpet out, and the new floors in, the closet organizers had to come out. Since I had a free-day between carpet removal and floor install, I decided to paint the backs a darker color. Only took a pint of paint, so we feel it was worth the time investment.

Warning!: If you have a professionally installed closet system, be aware that they are not "easy" to remove. They can get damaged pretty easily. If you decide to take them out yourself, I advise on having a second person there and being very patient. Label all the pieces and take plenty of pictures before you remove anything, as it may be some days before it gets re-installed.

 Here they are with organizers back in (before the doors were re-installed).

Up to this point, our total investment was still under $1800. Remember that the floor is 3/4 solid hardwood, so other options can vary the budget up or down significantly.

In the next part, we begin furnishing, moldings, wire routing and decor. Feel free to let me know what you think so far. Remember, I'm pretty handy, but knowing when to hire a professional can be the difference between a stressful, arduous project and a relaxing afternoon watching the pro... and learning how to do it for next time...