You may have noticed that I used the Roman Numeral for the number 3, only because I didn’t know what the numeral was for somewhat finished. That’s right SOMEWHAT! The floor is done and there were lessons to be learned.

I think we might have chosen one of the most competent handymen in the area so confident are we in his work and attitude that we will be using him again on various projects as we turn this 30+ year old house into something more modern. Don’t get me wrong, we are not looking for something young and hip (do they say that anymore) but into something my wife and I can look upon with pride.

Back to the floor. Handyman arrived right on schedule…First good sign. After surveying the job, he indicated that the side we were working from was the wrong side. OK, I feel kinda dumb, but there is one correct way to lay laminate flooring and it was not the direction that I had torn out in an attempt to make repairs. OOOPS! What he had estimated in time was based on having the extra laminate we needed, under layment in place, and going the right direction. OK…two out of three isn’t bad, but it can cost you money. His patience was impressive, he neither threw anything, nor did he become abusive with language.

He took a few minutes and explained the problem and began working. I brought in more laminate and it appeared that they would come in at the half day mark as estimated. Noon came and went and the job was not completed due to a problem brought on by both of us. We knew we had several boxes of laminate (left by the previous owner) the problem was that some of the wood grain would not match, so here we are sorting and trying to get things looking like a million bucks…and all the time, I’m thinking “What’s this gonna cost” and “Why did I ever tear out that durn divider”?

My lovely wife made a couple of trips out for things that were needed and I continued to supervise a job I apparently knew nothing about. Three o’clock came and we suddenly realized that we needed a threshold for a sliding door. Didn’t have one, so trip was in order. With threshold in hand, our handyman began making the final cuts and adjustments and by five we were settling the bill. His apology for the additional time was accepted as he reduced his bill from what it would have been to a lower figure, one that I felt really good about.

I guess there are several lessons to be learned from the project. First, it might be better to be informed as to what type of task you have ahead of you before you began taking things down and then question your own carpentry skills. Second, just because the internet is full of good advice on most DIY projects, check with a pro, someone at one of the home improvement centers and attempt to fill in the blanks where you have a short fall. Third, make sure you have a loving and understanding wife. Of the three the latter might just be the most important.

While this sounds like the end of this DIY story, it is continuing. We have walls to texture, some repair to do and a lot of time to spend with the Professionals at a home improvement center.

To everyone that has installed, replaced sections of or have worked with laminated flooring, I doff my hat to you! Unless you have a better grasp of carpentry than I, this can be a nightmare.

With a gap in the floor where the old room divider had been located, it was time to repair the floor. I watched videos on “You Tube” and read the “How To” in one of our Do-It-Yourself books. The concept is really quite simple…kinda like that of a child building something with Legos! Well, when I was a kid we had building blocks that did not have tongue-in-groove.

The intent was to take up the boards that had been cut and replace them, however after reading we found that you should not try this (I’m sure that there are experts that can…I couldn’t.) What was required was removing the quarter round and removing boards to where the last row would be that would give you a straight edge for the entire length of the repair. OK! Boards out, now my 4-6 inch wide gap was 31 feet long by 9 feet wide. OK, I must admit that I have always been better tearing things up than fixing them, but this was a bit much. In addition, I had damaged the finish on a couple of boards that caused the last row to come out.

After checking the book and re-watching some video, I thought I had it cold. Simply attach the tongue, snap it in place, use a flat piece of 2×4 against the edge and tap the piece into the groove . On the first board, I ended up with some splintering followed by a rather sharp snap and the tongue on the board I was attempting to install turned into dust! I was using a standard hammer and not a sledge and I was amazed, but removed the board, cleaned up my mess and tried again with the same results. I then tried attaching two boards (not attaching them to those that were still installed) in an attempt to see how difficult it would be to do if there were no restrictions. WOW, this is simple! Several attempts and no successes later, I called my wife into the living room and showed her the mess. She is not one to let a little challenge ruin a project and she got down on her knees and attempted the same steps I had tried with the same results, short of breaking a board.

Decision time! Time for a meeting of the minds. Did I attempt too large a project for someone that can handle many tasks, but this one seemed overpowering. Our decisions on how to proceed in Part 3!

I don’t know what your experience is with remodeling an older house, but I must admit it is easier reading about than doing!

As background, we bought an older home about 18 months ago and truly love the house. It is near 2000 square foot and was built in the late 70’s. For two people, we feel it is nearly the ideal size, whereby being retired, one of us can be in the kitchen and the other in the bed room and not disturb each other. Another huge advantage is when we have company, there is plenty of room to entertain. (Our nearest child is about five hours away.)

When we purchased the home, the 20X20 living room was divided from the dining room by a 4 inch by 3 and a half foot high divider, with spindles to the ceiling. While I am sure that the person that installed this divider was quite proud of their workmanship, it was not what we intended. Opening the dining room to the living room would give the term Great Room a whole new meaning. In fact, it would give us an “L” that would be some 31 feet long and would create an open and airy area.

That divider has been a constant source of conversation between the two of us for 18 months. My wife has been texturing some walls (entry way, hallway, etc) and finally I decided to get rid of the divider. Off to the Home Improvement Store to buy a reciprocating saw and within an hour of returning home, WALL DOWN! That’s right, by cutting the spindles, I was able to bring them down from the ceiling and from there, removing the divider was a piece of cake. The wall behind the divider was to be textured, so leaving a rather ugly verticle stripe where one of the spindles had been was not a problem.

The problem came on the floor. The floors are covered with Pergo and having a strip between the two rooms on the floor became very noticeable. Redoing a section of Pergo Flooring is not difficult, according to the internet, just lift, lay and away you go.

PART 2, THE FLOOR IN DAYS!