I Am Still Here

No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I've been working on some upgrades, but nothing related to automation. I've been replacing our downstairs carpet with laminate flooring, and while that's been going on, the wife & kids have been helping me repainting too. I know, there are hardwood snobs out there who think laminate flooring is like linoleum. Granted it's not hardwood, but we already have engineered hardwood in the kitchen & nook areas, and it's been gouged to death by our previous and current dog. I'm not going to pay $20,000 to have the rest of the house done in hardwood, only to see it gouged up in days.

I've finished about 700 square feet and I'm down to the last 100-150 square feet, but have been delayed by the uneveness of the concrete subfloor. So, I've been using leveling compound on the floor, and it's been a 2 week hit to my project. I hope to finish it up this weekend.

One thing I discovered when looking into laminate flooring is that they all tend to have formaldehyde, which will emit gas (off-gas) after the floor is installed. One of the reasons I ripped out the carpet is that my son has asthma, so anything making the air quality worse isn't going to work. I discovered DuPont's RealTouch laminate flooring, which is GreenGuard certified as having a minimal impact on indoor air quality. It's held up great so far even with our Australian Shepherd racing around the house with the kids. Not a scratch or gouge.

We also went with GreenGuard certified paint, Dutch Boy Refresh. Again, this means it will emit a minimal amount of noxious gasses while it dries, while at the same time, minimizing noxious gasses in the bathroom ;)

Update 6/24/10
Finally, I was laid off yesterday as expected. As soon as I walked in, I saw facilities and HR people in the building, so I went straight to packing up the last of my stuff. It's good timing since the weather's great, I can spend time with my kids and besides, I've got a floor to finish and walls to paint.