The day we put in the flooring was the day that changed everything.

It’s so funny how the decision to put in flooring happened. Sam and I had gone to Lowes to do some research…to investigate out our options in terms of flooring, lighting, hanging options, etc. We had no idea we would leave the store pushing a cart with eight boxes of red cherry laminate flooring (and the do-it-yourself supply kit to help us put it together ourselves!). We has spent some time talking with a young women who assured us that we couldn’t install anything that would look as nice in our price range. We believed her (like we often do) and bought everything she told us to buy.

We quickly realized that we had no idea what were doing. One of my roommates, Laurie, offered to ask her brother-in-law, Mike, if he could give us a lesson on putting in laminate floors. Mike agreed and said he’d meet us at the Garage on Friday night.

When Mike showed up that Friday night, not only did he come to offer us some wisdom and insight on the flooring process…he brought us three power saws that he said we would need. After a lesson on how to use the saws (which neither Sam nor I had ever used before), Mike showed us how to interlock and lay down the laminate boards. We did two rows together, feeling very grateful for Mike.

The next day after wandering through the local market, Sam and I returned to the Garage with a bag full of warm, homeade donuts for our friends. Folks soon began arriving, and we got to work. After two hours of not being able to fit together the next three pieces, we thought that the Garage was never going to happen and that we might not be friends for much longer. A miracle happened, and things started to fit. Amanda took charge of hammering everything in, I worked fit the pieces together, and Sam measured and cut end pieces for each row.

Before we knew it, the Garage was full of friends, assisting with various tasks and making steady progress. Somehow, we got the whole floor laid down in five hours!

The most incredible part of the day happened as we were putting in the very last row of boards that needed to lay right against the brick. We were prepared to take on the messy task of trimming the boards so make it fit into the remaining space. However, we sat there in shock as the last piecese snapped right in place, fitting exactly against the brick wall. We shouted and shook our hands and gave thanks. It’s one of my favorite Garage memories so far.

It’s hard to believe that the Garage started out as a dirty single-car garage when we first had the idea to transform it into a creative space. Starting the renovation process was a scary and exciting day.

Sam, Amanda, and I started wiping, scrubbing, bleaching, and chiseling on one hot July day. We soon realized that we needed help. Without saying a word as to what she was going to do, Amanda looked into the contacts on her cell phone, pressed call, and stepped outside of the dusty garage into the street. She returned a few minutes later with a smile on her face and announced that she had rented us a powerwasher. It was ours for 24 hours; we had to pick it up immediately.

After a day and a half of powerwashing and chiseling up the tar bumps on the garage floor, we had a damp but slightly cleaner garage. We were so happy.