Return to Step 1: There was/is more stuff on the floors than you could possibly have imagined

Work on the house is, as you might expect, somehow both fast and slow at the same time. Although things are accomplished every day, and we are making plans for some of the huge changes (hello, new roof!), it often feels like parts of it will take forever. Like the floors.

You'll recall that I posted about removing the horrifying flooring early. We pulled up carpet in the whole downstairs, and removed some random paneling and plywood that were on the floors also. This revealed some incredible peel-and-stick tile in the living room, dining room, guest bedroom, and the entire upstairs. Lynn is basically an adhesive removing machine with the heat gun as her bionic hand, but it is slow work! Let this be a lesson to everyone - If you have nice hardwood flooring and don't want to refinish it, put a layer of something that is easily removed, like weird wood paneling or plywood down on the floor before you semi-permanently adhere linoleum to it. You will be happy you did if you later recant your objection to refinishing, and I would argue that if you could refer people to this blog that it would actually increase the resale value of the home. What are a few small nail holes between friends?

NB: If you use giant nails that leave 1/4" holes in the wood, no one will like you. You have to use something small that doesn't require a hammer, a pry bar, and a miracle to get out without leaving a huge chunk missing from the floor. 

This is early days in this project...

The heat gun in action!

After the heat gun, the industrial vat of coconut oil makes an appearance. It does a remarkably good job of un-sticking the last little bits of adhesive and the dog loves it! 

Ultimately the floors are lovely. Unclear whether they are stained different colors in different rooms, but we can work with that. 

Progress in the living room...

Massive progress in the study!