Layers and layers and layers of floor...

We've officially had the house for just over a week, and we clearly have our work cut out for us. I have to admit, there were a more than a couple of times over the last several days where I looked around the house and felt like we weren't making any progress - we were only making more messes. But, I've quickly learned that's the way it goes, and with all of our hard work, it will start to payoff and we'll start making progress...

...Like today! Jeff came over to help us out, and he and Dan took on the task of tearing up the kitchen floor - which consisted of a layer of tile, cement backing, another underneath layer, not one but TWO layers of linoleum tile, and a wooden sub-floor with about a thousand screws in it... all on top of the original hardwood. Apparently, whoever lived in the house before us was even more indecisive than I am and had a tough time deciding on flooring. :)

Here's the before:



The guys got the tile up pretty quickly - and loudly - with hammers and prybars. I helped a bit in between stripping the wood on the fireplace mantle. I'm sure our new neighbors are loving all the noise we've been making...




We made a GIGANTIC mess, which I was surprisingly excited about:

After cleaning up all the tile, we were left with the daunting task of getting up the 2 layers of linoleum. We all stressed out a little over how long it was going to take to get it up, but I found a tip online that suggested using a heat gun to melt the adhesive - and it worked!! I would STRONGLY recommend it to anyone tearing up a floor. Tomorrow, we should be able to finish it up and have the floor ready for someone to refinish!