Morning, everyone. Welcome to the Saturday Morning Home Repair Blog.
Saturday Morning Home Repair is where we talk about fixing houses, the things in them that are supposed to work for us, and fixing them up. An ad hoc cadre of building professionals and gifted amateurs attempt to answer questions that arise from readers, and offer encouragement and advice for those inclined to do things for themselves, if they can. We all do a lot of things, collectively, and can probably help out with insights from our vast experience and plentiful past mistakes. ;-)
Or sometimes, we just gab.
When we moved into this house 10 years ago, it had newish, crappy, cheap berber carpet. Gray. Awful.
We didn't have much money then, so we were glad that the carpet would hold up for a bit. Except that it really didn't. It got runs in it. It frayed at the wall edge. It was, well, just - ~ugh.~
So. What to do? Finally, 10 years later, after having put rugs over the carpet for several years to hide the "ugh," we decided on a cool-looking maple laminate.
I wrote in a previous comment thread about the quest for flooring. Of course, real wood is great. But the wood floor that came with the house is an old heart pine that needs TONS of work and is horribly compromised in the living room. Plus, the floor that would have been put in this house after that would have been the standard 3 inch oak boards that are, forgive me but, completely unremarkable. They're as classic as they are dull, in my book.
There were other reasons as well. When you look at flooring these days - well - these aren't your Granny's laminates. They look darned good. They've actually made some real progress in figuring out how to get the texture right. This 10mm laminate has a lifetime warranty. Tremendously moisture resistant, if installed correctly. Completely cost effective both in product price and install price. ;-) And, I'm finding out on a daily basis, it's nearly completely childproof. Legos. Hotwheels. Wood blocks. Not a single dent, scuff, chip, ding or scratch.
Anyway, based on a bunch of stuff, we threw tradition to the wind and came up with what we think is a really lovely alternative. Once again - I will let the pictures tell the tale, for the most part. This is the last project that we accomplished while my brother-in-law was here before he joined my sister back in Sudan. (A moment of silence for our foreign service workers, if you care to...)
So! The tear out of the carpet. I cannot even begin to tell you how satisfying it was to begin ripping out that dull old crap.
B-in-L starts the project rolling along.
The floor underneath will make someone happy someday. There is some nice old wood under there.
Sorry. A bit out of focus. After MrCJB joined the fun, there was quite a bit of this action. Sitting and working with the boards prior to beginning the install. Figuring out angles and testing out methods of fitting the boards together.
Once they got rolling though, they moved right along.
It's not easy work. The fit is incredibly tight. Lots of Mallet work.
The last piece of that awful stuff!
I mentioned a while back that a friend of Doofus Boy, the previous owner, got high and chopped up the living room floor to burn it. This is the spot in the southwest corner. So damned sad. I think that some future owner can repair it if they put their mind to it and take wood from another room. An upstairs bedroom, maybe. Staggering the boards will be work, but it's doable.
The final corner goes in.
Here is a gratuitous shot of the wall where the woodstove used to be. MrCJB recessed the stove pipe, painted and plastered. Like new. He does some nice work.
The view into the dining room from the kitchen. It still surprises me.
And a final look.
We're really happy with the result. The look is a bit bold when the room is bare, but with the rugs and furniture in place, it's just nice and warm looking. And SO much easier to clean!
What's going on at your place, today, friends?