Our story so far: Tyler scored a deal on enough polyurethane to cover the floors of the converted church and then some.

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The floor of the Hall of History presented a unique challenge. The Hall of History, you’ll remember, was the fifteen-foot-long hall that led from the sanctuary to the back stairway where we imagined we could hang pictures of the church throughout history on its expansive, now drywalled walls.

But, oh the floor. The pine planks were certainly original to the 1894 construction of that portion of the church and had once been part of the entryway. Count how many feet crossed that threshold on the way to Sunday school or worship services! Imagine the Sunday best shoes worn by parents holding newly baptized babies or couples freshly married! Several repairs and patches in the flooring were evident. Besides ground-in dirt, it was covered in paint of various colors—yellow, red and aqua—and sported huge gashes, divots and seams. One had to squint hard to see the potential.

We considered an affordable wood-like tile or perhaps carpeting, but we hesitated spending good money on a hallway floor that would most certainly be mostly covered by a rug runner. So Tyler tried sanding it, only his goal on this floor was to reveal its history (appropriate to the Hall of History) and even it out.

It wasn’t exactly attractive (or perfectly level) when he was done, but we found the character we hoped to feature. With new thresholds and baseboards, the rustic floor might be described by a forgiving critic as charming.

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Tomorrow: Chapter 33 opens. The beginning of the end. Read it here.