Extreme Home Makeover

I am kicking myself because I didn't really get a good "before" picture.  But remember this carpet?

Not only was it coming up in the hallway, but it smelled like old people.

And it really need to be replaced.

So did the kitchen laminate.

So...

I convinced Ben I could do it with his help.

He's such a good husband.

D-Day was Friday, Feb. 17th.  We got the walls mostly painted beforehand late at night, but that day is when the younger kids went to Aunt Gwen's for a few days.  She's a gem, isn't she?

Once Ben and the kids got on the road, I took out the laminate in the kitchen.  Then I started pulling up the carpet.  Guess what I found underneath in the dining room and kitchen area?

3 more layers of flooring.

That makes 4 layers to come out, total.

The linoleum across the top of the picture was the top layer, then the speckled stuff at the bottom of the picture was the next.  Then on the bottom we had the wonderful asbestos tile from the early 60's.  The black stuff along the right is the adhesive they used to stick it down - the tile itself is stuck on the green paper underside of the linoleum above it.  Lovely.

Ben had a little trouble finding his way home, so by Friday night, I had only gotten the flooring up in the kitchen/dining area and the hallway.

Note the tack strips along the walls for the carpet.  I hate them.  They are a pain in the neck to get up and leave craters in your floor when the nails come out.

And here is my rearranged kitchen/dining area.  All the appliances got moved around for this one.  At least we were able to keep the fridge plugged in!

And this picture shows where Olivia spent Friday evening: watching movies on the pushed-together couches.  You can see the cement floor on the bottom left side, and the carpet we hadn't got out yet adjacent.

In fact, Olivia was so comfortable that she asked to sleep there overnight.  We let her do it.  And Trixie.  Special occasions call for special privileges, right?

Saturday morning found us at Panera for breakfast, then back to the house to finish prepping and cleaning the floor.

Just for the record: carpet is disgusting.  And so is everything under it.

Finally, around lunchtime, I started laying the floor.  Since it's a floating floor where the pieces adhere together, I didn't even have to line it up with the walls right away.

And it kept growing...

And growing...

And growing.

By 11:52 p.m. on Saturday night, we had gotten the kitchen, diningroom, and most of the livingroom done.

That just left us the foyer, hallway, and laundry room.  Of course, I hadn't pulled the floor out of the laundry room yet...

We finished up all but the laundry room on Monday, and Ben and I picked out an area rug. Well, Ben picked it out.  I'm officially deficient in the decorating area.  I think Trixie was the most excited.  She made herself comfortable and wouldn't move.

Look at that tail go!

By the time the kids came back on Wednesday night, we had the floor down, most of the baseboards in, half of them caulked, and a bunch of the trim painted.  We still have more to do, but I needed to take a week off to give my hands a chance to recover.  (I forget I have carpal tunnel until I overdo it.)

We have been enjoying the makeover, though.  What do you think?

This one was taken at night.  Hence the overpowering lamp.

Can't forget the hallway, but someone did forget to turn the hall light on when he took the picture...

And after a week of being lived in, it sure shows the signs!

Down to every last hand print.

Next year I'm going to tackle the kitchen...