Tomorrow I get to indulge

[SeaCat]

Tomorrow I get to indulge my destructive tendancies.

We will begin tearing out the rugs in the place. Of course this is but the first step. We shall tear out the rugs in the den and living room, as well as the linoleum in the kitchen. When we have all of this out I shall slowly and carefully inspect the underflooring with the intent of repairing/replacing any damaged areas.

Once this is done the underfloor will be painted with a Mildew Resistant Paint then covered with Laminate Wood Flooring.

I suppose I should mention that while I am doing this I will be creating at least one hatchway so I can easily reach the areas beneath the Trailer.

By the time I'm done there will be no rugs in this trailer. The bathrooms will be tiled, the kitchen will have either linoleum or slate flooring, and the rest will have the wood flooring.

Cat

 

[oggbashan]

But where will the fleas and the other bugs have to live?

You are surely not putting them all out in the cold?

Og

 

[SeaCat]

But where will the fleas and the other bugs have to live?

You are surely not putting them all out in the cold?

Og

But of course we are.

Out in as cold as it gets here in South Florida.

Cat

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Tearing up rugs and flooring isn't fun like knocking down walls. It's tediuous and a real hassel. I hated doing that in our house about fifteen years ago. If I ever buy a house that needs the flooring redone I'll be tempted to pay someone to do it.

 

[Tegan_Rourke]

swoons You're such a handy man, Cat.

 

[fairysong]

Have fun with that, Cat!

(how are you and the mrs?)

 

[SeaCat]

Good God. If I ever catch the person or persons who put in the rug in the front room I'm going to take great pleasure in thumping them.

We cleared the furniture out. (All except the Book Case, which we'll move some other time.)

Everything was all set, I had spare blades of rthe utility knife, we had plenty of large trash bags. I even had knee pads.

I started by cutting the rug. Nope, no dance steps involved but plenty of rather loud vocals as the razor blade kept encoutering pieces of metal in the rug. I sliced, I diced, I sectioned the rug into one foot wide by eleven foot long strips. I went through half a dozen blades then took a breather.

I grabbed the end of the first strip and attempted to pull it up. I couldn't get a grip on it. Okay no sweat. I have Vise Grips. (Every Redneck has at least one set of these right?) I grab hold and pull. Damn but that grip strip is holding well, but slowly I feel the rug pulling away from it. I get enough to get a good grip on the rug and heave, my intention is to pull the rug section away from the Grip Strip. The damned thing barely moves.

I change my grip and brace my legs. Now it's war. I intend to find out why this rug isn't pulling up like it's supposed to. I heave again, I'm pulling straight up using every muscle in my body. I feel the rug slowly coming up with a strange popping sound. I pull up about two feet and stop to check it out. There in the floor are staples which have been driven through the rug. Many many staples per square foot. I grab one with the Vise Grips and pull it out. The damned things arms may be wire thin but they're over an inch long.

It took several hours of grunting and straining to pull up the carpet. It took several more hours to get all of these damned staples out of the floor.

Why did they put in all of these damned staples? Were they bored one week?

After all of this work the floor actually looks kind of neat.

I'm happy to report that there is only one small section that I'll have to cut out and replace. About six inches wide and three feet long beneath one of the windows. (Not a surprise as I already know I'll have to rebuild that wall.)

I'm also happy to report that the Living Room Rug doesn't appear to be held down in the same manner.

Cat

 

[SeaCat]

Tearing up rugs and flooring isn't fun like knocking down walls. It's tediuous and a real hassel. I hated doing that in our house about fifteen years ago. If I ever buy a house that needs the flooring redone I'll be tempted to pay someone to do it.

What's funn here is it looks like I actually have something like three floors under the den. (Part of one of the vents has pulled away so I can see inside.)

Shall I keep it as it is or should I tear it all out and start from scratch? Big Question isn't it? I'll know better when I start cutting out the bad section.

One thing I plan on doing is cutting/creating a hatchway through one of the floors so I can get in under the trailer. Right now there is no access. (We don't have the snap on or screw on skirting. We have cement skirting which is solid.)

The floors will be a bit of a pain, but not too bad. What will be a pain in the ass will be the windows and the walls. One wall section at a time the windows will be pulled and the walls ripped out. The wall strips will be inspected and replaced as needed. Then comes the fun. The walls themselves will be replaced as will the window frames.

The walls in these places were made from three inch thick Particle Board. Cheap and not overly strong to begin with. Let some water or damp get in there and they seem to melt. I will be replacing this with a sandwich of 3/4 inch Plywood with one inch of styrofoam insulation. (Plywood, foam, plywood.) This will strengthen the walls by a factor of about ten as well as giving me some insulation. The window frames will be screwed together, not nailed together. A lot of work but not overly hard and well worth it when I'm done.

Cat

 

[Katyusha]

What's funn here is it looks like I actually have something like three floors under the den. (Part of one of the vents has pulled away so I can see inside.)

Shall I keep it as it is or should I tear it all out and start from scratch? Big Question isn't it? I'll know better when I start cutting out the bad section.

I wouldn't tear it all out, as appealing as it might sound to start from scratch, unless you're planning on having it done professionally. We had this ugly, ugly, UGLY flooring in our basement when we bought this house and we decided that instead of putting the new vinyl tiles on top of them, we'd just pull the old flooring up and put the new tiles down. Project would probably take a week or so.

WRONG! The problem with old flooring being pulled up is that one, it's just plain hard to remove, two, it leaves little pieces that must be removed, and three, it leaves its adhesive residue that must be removed before the new flooring (unless it's carpet) can be properly installed. The hardest part was removing the adhesive. You can use adhesive remover, which works very well, but it leaves an oily residue which must also be removed before putting any new flooring down, whether it be vinyl/linoleum, hardwood, or ceramic tile. The reason being is that the new flooring won't adhere to the floor properly and you'll start seeing problems with separation and/or cracking within about six months.

We scrubbed that floor with adhesive remover, then tri-sodium phosphate, for weeks with steel brushes, one square foot at a time, before it was prepped enough for the new tiles. And there were STILL places we had trouble getting parts of tiles to stick so when and if we sell this house we hope the new owners don't want to remove that flooring because those little spots were glued down.

Now, if you'd hire professionals to pull out that flooring and then prep the bare floor underneath for the wood laminate, that's a whole different story. But for me personally, it's not something I would ever do again myself, nor would I recommend that others do it themselves.

 

[SeaCat]

I wouldn't tear it all out, as appealing as it might sound to start from scratch, unless you're planning on having it done professionally. We had this ugly, ugly, UGLY flooring in our basement when we bought this house and we decided that instead of putting the new vinyl tiles on top of them, we'd just pull the old flooring up and put the new tiles down. Project would probably take a week or so.

WRONG! The problem with old flooring being pulled up is that one, it's just plain hard to remove, two, it leaves little pieces that must be removed, and three, it leaves its adhesive residue that must be removed before the new flooring (unless it's carpet) can be properly installed. The hardest part was removing the adhesive. You can use adhesive remover, which works very well, but it leaves an oily residue which must also be removed before putting any new flooring down, whether it be vinyl/linoleum, hardwood, or ceramic tile. The reason being is that the new flooring won't adhere to the floor properly and you'll start seeing problems with separation and/or cracking within about six months.

We scrubbed that floor with adhesive remover, then tri-sodium phosphate, for weeks with steel brushes, one square foot at a time, before it was prepped enough for the new tiles. And there were STILL places we had trouble getting parts of tiles to stick so when and if we sell this house we hope the new owners don't want to remove that flooring because those little spots were glued down.

Now, if you'd hire professionals to pull out that flooring and then prep the bare floor underneath for the wood laminate, that's a whole different story. But for me personally, it's not something I would ever do again myself, nor would I recommend that others do it themselves.

LOLOLOL

Believe me I understand what you are saying. BTDT.

If, and this is a big if, I decide to go from scratch it will truly be from scratch.

We'll see what we have to do when I cut out the bad section of the floor. Then I'll be able to look at the underpinnings of the floor. If these are damaged and/or have dry rot then the whole thing will come out. Yep it will be a job but nothing I can't handle. You have to remember I live in a Mobile Home. The underflooring is 3/4 inch or 1 inch Plywood over 2x4 joists anchored to the frame.

With all supplies on hand it will take roughly one day to completely replace the underflooring and joists. The hardest parts are drilling the bolt holes in the joists, and making sure the holes for the ductwork are in the right places.

Of course if I do this then I will do it to my specs. A double layer of 1 inch plywood screwed together for strength, each layer painted on both sides with Mildew Resistant Paint. I will also cross brace the joists to increase their strength. (Hey I live in Hurricane Alley.)

By the time I am done with this trailer it will be one of the very few hurricane proof trailers in the state. (I have already planted six of twelve new anchors, and have the straps for all of them.)

Cat

 

[R. Richard]

You might want to talk to someone about the wood flooring. The problem is that wood tends to wear. Of course, it is not too bad if you keep it varnished. You might want to find out how often you will need to re-varnish. You might also want to find out about Pergo.

[Warning! You can cover a wood floor with indestructable synthetic coatings. However most of said coatings tend to be very slick. Go down to your local skating rink for a slick trial.]

 

[Weird Harold]

...as well as the linoleum in the kitchen. When we have all of this out I shall slowly and carefully inspect the underflooring with the intent of repairing/replacing any damaged areas....

How old is the linoleum?

I dont recall the time frame -- 1930's to 1940's I think -- but This Old House's new season encountered linoleum made with Asbestos. In fact the whole kitchen on that project had Asbestos laced tile mastic, asbestos laced linoleum, asbestos laced paint, and asbestos in places you'd never think to worry about it.

Other than that rather obscure caution, have fun.

 

[SeaCat]

You might want to talk to someone about the wood flooring. The problem is that wood tends to wear. Of course, it is not too bad if you keep it varnished. You might want to find out how often you will need to re-varnish. You might also want to find out about Pergo.

[Warning! You can cover a wood floor with indestructable synthetic coatings. However most of said coatings tend to be very slick. Go down to your local skating rink for a slick trial.]

Actually the finished floor will be covered with Pergo. (Laminated wood flooring.)

Cat