Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Home Sweet Home

If you are on Facebook as well, you know that I am tearing up and replacing the floor in my dining room. Well, not me, my Uncle Skippy is actually doing all the labor. Let me explain...
I live in a 60+ year old home. I am the second owner. The original owners, the Johnson's, built this house. He was an engineer of sorts who "rigged" more of the home than follow directions. It wasn't in the best shape when we purchased it. The entire house was painted in this odd powder-y paint that rubbed off like chalk when you touched it. I'm sure it was full of lead. There were no overhead lights, just power outlets wired to the switches for lamps. The kitchen walls by the stove were covered in thick grease from years of frying. The A/C unit was original, and no one in our town could even service it. (A current employee called his dad out of retirement to come take a look.) And did I mention the wall to wall carpet in every room!!! It had to be 50+ years old itself. And it was FILTHY. (I do regret, I have no pictures of my home in its before stages. No idea why we didn't take any. Maybe it was just that bad..)
The repairs have been on going. We did what was necessary over the first 2 months to make it live-able. Repainted every nook and cranny. Pulled up the carpet and did what we could with what was underneath. 2 bedrooms had nice hardwood floors. The rest were not so lucky. So we just deck stained and polyurethaned the rest of the hallway and living room. The master bedroom floor was bad, so we put down an easy Pergo floor. The kitchen, dining and office space got peel and stick tile.
In the 3 or so years I have lived here, the dining room floor, which is smack dead center of my home, started to feel like I was walking on soggy bread. We put a rug down and called it a day. This past Mardi Gras though, it seemed everyone who came over noticed the sinking floor. So we decided to call in the big guns (Uncle Skippy) and fix it. One day project, right? Right!?!
Sunday night I pulled up the sticky tiles. Needless to say, the rotting floor came up with the tiles in spots. It was gross. Monday, the pro shows up bright and early and begins to cut into the floor. I go shower and finish getting ready for the day. Before I leave for work, I stick my head in to inquire. I am met with my uncle standing in a hole in the middle of my dining room, just shaking his head. It was worse than he thought. The entire floor was rotten all the way through the floor and subfloor. One of the joyce's that runs through the room and basically holds the floor up was cracked as well. YIKES! So you're telling me the floor was waiting to collapse, that I really could have fallen through the floor!!!!!!! My paranoid soul was flying high. Please please check all the other ones in the house too!!! (All good BTW)
So, poor Uncle Skippy's one day project has turned into a 3 day affair. He has to brace the joyce, replace the subfloor and floor and then place down the new Pergo floor we picked out. He is a miracle worker!
My floor is reinforced well enough to have a baby elephant parade across it. The floor is made out of treated wood that is guaranteed not to rot! And the Pergo is going down nicely.
Now that all the furniture is out of that room, I am trying to decide how to decorate the space! I never did anything in that room, it just has white walls! I'm thinking a retro wallpaper... I just need help to hang it!! I am a terrible DIYer!!

1 comment:

  1. Wow! Keep me posted~~Uncle Skippy has been a "miracle" worker for you and Poochie this past week! Love you!

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