DIY Paper Bag Floor: Planning and Materials
See the first post about the project here.
Erin and I did a lot of research online about the best way to install a paper bag floor and came to a few conclusions....1. it is fairly inexpensive 2. we have the skills to do it 3. there are about a gazillion different suggestions online. So in the interest of reducing the bulk of these posts, I'll just tell you what we did and let you Google the interwebs for all the other suggestions and tips.
Right away we learned that a cement floor requires different process than if Erin's room was just wooden subflooring. The cost goes up a smidgen but not much. Paper bag material is ripped into small pieces, crumpled to get the characteristic wrinkles, glued to the floor with polyurethane, stained, and then coated with more polyurethane. Quite simple. No precise measuring needed. No expensive tiles that might get cut to the wrong size. No professional installers needed. No exotic materials only found in the far reaches of Italy. Paper and Polyurethane.
To get the supplies we did a tour of our local town to find all we needed. The local Do It Best (small town Home Depot equivalent) had most of what we needed. After sitting in the aisle debating all the options we had we settled on the color of stain she wanted and the quantity of materials.
The flooring materials are:
* Oil based Polyshades by Minwax - Erin wanted a dark color floor and not the natural paper bag color. This material combines the stain with the poly to make it easier to apply. One quart covers about 150 square feet. We got 2 quarts to be sure to have enough.
*Water-based Polyurethane by Old Masters - We wanted water based for the top coats because it dries much faster and has very low odor. Each gallon covers around 300 to 400 square feet. We bought 2 and are planning to do about 4 or 5 coats of the poly.
* Kraft Paper - We decided to buy Kraft paper rather than collect paper bags from the grocery store. It was easier and provided a more consistent look. It would definitely be a little money saver to just collect your bags. Finding this type of paper though took us a while. It isn't the painters marking paper you can find in the hardware store; that stuff is way too thin and not porous enough. We tried Michael's craft store and they were out. JoAnne's doesn't carry it. The UPS shipping store doesn't carry it. Finally Office Depot had what we needed. Each roll covers 50 square feet and we bought the last 4 rolls they had.
Tools to lay the flooring down:
* Brushes to lay polyurethane - we bought two to be used for the initial application of the paper to the floor.
* Lambswool floor applicator and a refill - will be used to apply the numerous coats of polyurethane
* Rubber gloves - gotta keep our manicure pretty ;)
* Paint Thinner - for cleaning up the brushes afterwards
Other Necessary Purchases: Root beer and vanilla ice cream for the root beer floats for everyone who came to help out and lend some support!
Go here for the next installment....What Does it Cost?
Erin and I did a lot of research online about the best way to install a paper bag floor and came to a few conclusions....1. it is fairly inexpensive 2. we have the skills to do it 3. there are about a gazillion different suggestions online. So in the interest of reducing the bulk of these posts, I'll just tell you what we did and let you Google the interwebs for all the other suggestions and tips.
Right away we learned that a cement floor requires different process than if Erin's room was just wooden subflooring. The cost goes up a smidgen but not much. Paper bag material is ripped into small pieces, crumpled to get the characteristic wrinkles, glued to the floor with polyurethane, stained, and then coated with more polyurethane. Quite simple. No precise measuring needed. No expensive tiles that might get cut to the wrong size. No professional installers needed. No exotic materials only found in the far reaches of Italy. Paper and Polyurethane. To get the supplies we did a tour of our local town to find all we needed. The local Do It Best (small town Home Depot equivalent) had most of what we needed. After sitting in the aisle debating all the options we had we settled on the color of stain she wanted and the quantity of materials.
The flooring materials are:
* Oil based Polyshades by Minwax - Erin wanted a dark color floor and not the natural paper bag color. This material combines the stain with the poly to make it easier to apply. One quart covers about 150 square feet. We got 2 quarts to be sure to have enough.*Water-based Polyurethane by Old Masters - We wanted water based for the top coats because it dries much faster and has very low odor. Each gallon covers around 300 to 400 square feet. We bought 2 and are planning to do about 4 or 5 coats of the poly.
* Kraft Paper - We decided to buy Kraft paper rather than collect paper bags from the grocery store. It was easier and provided a more consistent look. It would definitely be a little money saver to just collect your bags. Finding this type of paper though took us a while. It isn't the painters marking paper you can find in the hardware store; that stuff is way too thin and not porous enough. We tried Michael's craft store and they were out. JoAnne's doesn't carry it. The UPS shipping store doesn't carry it. Finally Office Depot had what we needed. Each roll covers 50 square feet and we bought the last 4 rolls they had.
Tools to lay the flooring down:
* Brushes to lay polyurethane - we bought two to be used for the initial application of the paper to the floor.
* Lambswool floor applicator and a refill - will be used to apply the numerous coats of polyurethane
* Rubber gloves - gotta keep our manicure pretty ;)
* Paint Thinner - for cleaning up the brushes afterwards
Other Necessary Purchases: Root beer and vanilla ice cream for the root beer floats for everyone who came to help out and lend some support!
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| Erin loves that I posted this picture of her with the weird face she is making. Bwahahaha! |
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