Liam and I previously had removed all the carpeting, carpet strips, nails, staples, screws, etc. from the hardwood floors.
However, removing the subfloor(s) from the kitchen was something like removing the seven layers of hell.
We started with a grease splattered, moldy, filthy, stinking linoleum. That peeled up fairly easily, however it left behind a water logged, stinky, moldy paper adhesive backing. We sanded that up in areas using a dragster sander with 50 grit sand-paper. Beneath that we reached the wood backer-board/subfloor. At that time, we had to remove the board to bring the kitchen floor back down to the same level as the rest of the first floor. We took a prybar and began ripping it up. Nails and staples went flying. Wood splitters shot into the air. Liam did most of this dangerous work while I hammered staples and nails back into the bottom subfloor/vinyl tile (the floor beneath all the floors). The vinyl tile as you will see was covered in a black mastic and more mold. Armed with 3 "Mold Blaster" bottles, I blasted out the mold. Then, I scrubbed using chemical resistant gloves, until the mold was killed and only the unattractive purple residue was left behind.
AT LAST, we cleared away all the debris, swept up the floor, and finished hammering down all the staples and nails so we could have a smooth, level surface to lay our new flooring. Then we brought in the experts...to help us lay down the laminate- a job that would have taken us quite possibly two months if attempted on our own. Instead, with help, our floors were down in a little over two days.
BEFORE & AFTERS.....
No comments:
Post a Comment