Mar 6, 2015

New Hardwood Floors - Demolition

I was sick as a dog yesterday. In fact, I was so sick that I actually slept through all the scraping and nail-pulling happening on the other side of our house as our old maple floors were torn out in preparation for installing the new oak ones. 

This morning I felt better, enough to crawl out of bed and snap some photos of the post demolition for you.

It's always a shock to see your house torn up, but I'm getting to be kind of an expert at it. My first thought was that I was happy to see the guys had taped off everything well.

  These are the original 105 year-old Douglas fir floors that were beneath the maple ones. (See those in my previous post here.)

 After a lot of discussion with the flooring experts we decided this soft fir just wouldn't hold up to everyday wear in our high traffic areas, and we decided on white oak instead.

 Now that we see them gouged, cracked, paint spattered, stained, mismatched from terrible past repairs (such as this one where a bedroom wall was removed to make the living room larger) and just generally abused, we're feeling okay about our decision to cover up the poor things again.

 This was where a closet wall was. 
  
 Here, you can see the mix of wide and narrow boards which was a common practice to save money in the old days. The wider, cheaper wood went under the rugs where no one would see it. 

It looks like the boards beneath the rugs weren't stained or waxed, either. It's interesting to see how the people who went before us lived here. (Sorry, but they were kinda sloppy.)

 Now that we know the mysteries beneath the humps and bumps in our floor, our contractor thinks he can even them out a bit before laying the new one. We'll also be moving our heat vents and cold air returns to the outside walls for more efficient heat in our always chilly living room. And a really nice bonus to getting new floors is they'll be screwing down the subfloor tighter so the squeaks will go away. 

  Here's our old floor piled on the front porch. Bye-bye! (I'm happy to say this maple was given to a man on Craigslist who will re-mill it for new flooring.) 

Next week comes the installation of the new floor. I'm so excited but nervous about picking the right stain color. Any input on colors from my wise readers would be appreciated very much.

Now, I'm going to crawl back into bed and snooze some more.

I hope you have a great weekend!


Read more about our new floor saga:

New Hardwood Floors - Preparation

15 comments:

  1. Oh no - you're sick too! I hope you are feeling better Laurel! So excited for your new floors and I am looking forward to seeing the color you choose. Take care and get some rest!
    Shelley

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  2. It will all be done soon. You can put your home back together. And enjoy new floors.
    Brenda

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  3. Very exciting Laurel...it will be done before you know it and then the fun part begins...decorating!! Hope your feeling better!

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  4. I'm so sorry you aren't feeling well ~ my doc said this crud is decimating the area!

    Sending thoughts for gentle healing ~

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  5. Oh no, so sorry you are sick! But your new floors are just going to be amazing and that will surely put a smile on your face. Take care Laurel!

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  6. How exciting and I sure hope you feel much better soon!

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  7. You must have been sick to sleep through all the racket of pulling up old floors! It's always interesting to find the history of a house through demolition. I'm so glad your old floors are going to be used again! I hope you feel better soon, Laurel!

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  8. Hi Laurel, Hope you feel better soon. Getting your new floors done will be so exciting and then putting your room back together will be the fun part. For the stain, try several samples pieces before make a decision.
    Have a nice weekend and feel better.
    CM

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  9. So sorry your sick. Get plenty of rest. Can't wait to see the floors and color

    Cindy

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  10. Laurel you homes is going to look amazing with the new flooring. I love Boise Idaho I have traveled there many times. There are a lot of great historic buildings and homes there. I hope that you are feeling better today the sun is out in Bountiful Utah and it feels like Spring is on it's way. Have a beautiful weekend. Jo

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  11. I hope you're feeling better by now Laurel!

    The new floors are going to look great. As for colors? I like anything that isn't too light or too orange. So over that. :)

    I'd have a tougher choice on the sheen.... that's where I struggle.

    good luck!
    gail

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  12. I know it's a huge job, but wow, those new floors will be incredible. We need to do this in our kitchen. I'm sure not looking forward to it, but I know it will look so much better. glad you're feeling better and hope you get some sunshine!

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  13. Laurel, I hope you get to feeling better soon. What a hard time for you with all the floor remodeling. It looks like you are well on your way to getting new floors. It will be worth all the trouble!

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  14. Laurel!!!! I am so excited to find your blog by backtracking from your comment! You have a wonderful blog here and I have been through so many of the remodeling things that you are going through right now!!!! It is so rewarding when it is done. Sorry you haven't been well- I had the worst winter of my life- ugh-never sick a day until this winter. Anyway, I am your newest follower and I already put you on my sidebar so I don't miss any posts. I am really looking forward to getting to know you. xo Diana

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