One great thing about having had a starter house is that I tried out a
number of projects there first, and then I learned and then I did them again at
our new house. (Think two bathroom models in less than three years.) But I also
learned hardwood floor finishing the, um, hard way in our current house. 
In fall 2008, we refinished our hardwood floors on the main floor of our
house. We rented the equipment and did them. They look OK, but we really
learned a lot the first time. In July 2009, we refinished our floors upstairs.
