It all started a few weeks ago when my wife met me at the door when I got home from work.She was exicited and for a minute I got my hopes up.....you know thinking she was glad to see me.....but alas I soon discovered she was excited because she had bought a new roll of linoleum at a yard sale that was just the pattern she was looking for! She wanted me to haul it home for her and all the while enroute to get it she chattered on about what a great deal she got....only $25.00 for a 12 X 30' roll of Armstrongs finest cushioned linoleum that would look great in our kitchen, hallway and bathroom after WE got it put down.And think of all the money she had saved by finding it at a garage sale instead of buying it at a carpet store!
As I struggled to load the heavy roll into my truck....I couldn't help but think of what kind of job she had got US into-I didn't even know WE were in the market for new flooring-and even though the tile in the kitchen was worn in a few places and had a few cracked tiles where the floor had settled over the years-it looked ok to me.Wisely I kept these thoughts to myself as Linda assured me that WE could get it installed in a night or two after work in the evenings.
When we got home and I more closely examined the floor-my fears were realized as there were uneven places and cracked tiles that would make it impossible to just cut and lay the rug-I would have to fit a 1/4 " underlayment on top of the old (although it still looked good to me) tile floor before laying the new rug.The next day found me at home depot buying 12 sheets of underlayment (11.00 per sheet) as well as a couple of pounds of drywall screws and a new cordless screwdriver (about $85.00)
The next 3 nights were spent measureing, cutting,and screwing down the underlayment taking care to countersink each screw.I also had to remove all of the baseboards-breaking most of them in the process.The next night I filled all of the countersunk screws and underlayment seams with wood putty (About $10.00 worth) and the next night sanded it all smooth after buying 3 packages of sandpaper for my beltsander ($5.00 per package.I was now 4 hard evenings into the job and was finally ready to install the linoleum.
I worked until midnight carefully trimming it to fit then rolling it up and spreading glue ($12.00)before unrolling it again smoothing it out as I went.When I was done and stepped back and looked at it-ignoring my aching knees and stiff back-I must admit it looks good-more importantly LINDA thinks it looks good!
Now all I have left to do is buy all new baseboard and trim and install it (I figure about another $100.00) and the job will be completed.
Linda loves her $25.00 floor but is a little concerned that it doesn't quite match the kitchen cabinets and countertop-She is going to keep her eyes out for cabinets she likes at future garage sales!
Gotta love um!
As I struggled to load the heavy roll into my truck....I couldn't help but think of what kind of job she had got US into-I didn't even know WE were in the market for new flooring-and even though the tile in the kitchen was worn in a few places and had a few cracked tiles where the floor had settled over the years-it looked ok to me.Wisely I kept these thoughts to myself as Linda assured me that WE could get it installed in a night or two after work in the evenings.
When we got home and I more closely examined the floor-my fears were realized as there were uneven places and cracked tiles that would make it impossible to just cut and lay the rug-I would have to fit a 1/4 " underlayment on top of the old (although it still looked good to me) tile floor before laying the new rug.The next day found me at home depot buying 12 sheets of underlayment (11.00 per sheet) as well as a couple of pounds of drywall screws and a new cordless screwdriver (about $85.00)
The next 3 nights were spent measureing, cutting,and screwing down the underlayment taking care to countersink each screw.I also had to remove all of the baseboards-breaking most of them in the process.The next night I filled all of the countersunk screws and underlayment seams with wood putty (About $10.00 worth) and the next night sanded it all smooth after buying 3 packages of sandpaper for my beltsander ($5.00 per package.I was now 4 hard evenings into the job and was finally ready to install the linoleum.
I worked until midnight carefully trimming it to fit then rolling it up and spreading glue ($12.00)before unrolling it again smoothing it out as I went.When I was done and stepped back and looked at it-ignoring my aching knees and stiff back-I must admit it looks good-more importantly LINDA thinks it looks good!
Now all I have left to do is buy all new baseboard and trim and install it (I figure about another $100.00) and the job will be completed.
Linda loves her $25.00 floor but is a little concerned that it doesn't quite match the kitchen cabinets and countertop-She is going to keep her eyes out for cabinets she likes at future garage sales!
Gotta love um!
I enjoyed your story, thanks for sharing. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas) 