The Floor pt 1

Remodeling, adapt and plan. The original plan was to skim-coat the linoleum and lay tile right on top of that. but after a lot of research the floor was too loosely attached to the floor for that plan. When the 1930's linoleum went in they glued a heavy felt paper down and then floated the linoleum sheet on top of that. Plan B was to tear out the linoleum and lay the tile on the existing subfloor. It was a happy day when we got certified asbestos free, I didn't have to wear a hazmat suit or get the blacklung. The linoleum came up super easy because it wasn't glued down; it was getting the felt paper up that was the problem because it was. With enough scraping the adhesive came off, but it wasn't worth all the effort. Plan C do a new underlayment.

With the old linoleum out we noticed the original floor was tongue and groove wood floors like we have in the upststairs. It was like an archealogy dig, remove a layer and try to figure out things were like back in the day. The location of the old kitchen cabinets (that are now in the mudroom) was filled in with rough pine boards. The old stairs from the second floor had been cover in drywall and plywood sheet, so that must have come out later. All the old wood shavings from when the planed the baseboards to the floors were stuffed in under the pantry cabinets. We found a few random items under the pantry. Sadly, the most frequently found item was an obituary cut out of the paper and the date written on it. Reminds me of the story from the artist Andy Goldsworth, he was walking around his small village in england and noted that he could name the families and the children born in each house. He related that story to an elderly woman who had lived in the village for many years, she replied that were he sees the people born in those houses she sees the deaths of those who lived there previously. Rebirth and perspective.