Posted by C.J.
This week, we’re having new flooring installed. It sounds simple enough. Choose the flooring. Pay for it. Schedule the installation. Install. Done.
Apparently, it doesn’t work that way.
It took Noriko and me a good three weeks to figure out exactly what kind of floor to put in. Hardwood, laminate, or engineered wood floors. Maple, what I thought would be our natural pick, doesn’t work with our cabinets–too pink. (Who knew that maple has a pink tint!?!) Birch works well, but we had about six different birch floors to choose from. What to do? What to do? We opted for middle-priced, easily-installed engineered wood floor. Done.
On to the installation, right?
Nope. First we had to clear out the main floor of the house. All furniture had to go. Then I had to pull out the old carpet, which wasn’t hard, but it was time consuming. Here’s the process:
- Cut carpet into strips, roll it up, and take it out.
- Pull up cheap, crumbly padding, roll it up, and take it out.
- Pull every stupid staple that the carpet layers used to hold down the pad.
- Clean up the debris that our home builders left behind under the carpet: piles (yes, piles) of sand, nails, and razor blades.
Here’s my handiwork. Thank goodness I didn’t have to pull the vinyl out of the rest of the house. (Note the playground ball; nothing is more fun than playing in a room stripped bare.)
Finally, the house is prepped for the new floors. Installation will be Thursday, Friday, and Monday. We don’t know yet where we’ll go when the installers are here, but we’ll figure it out. It will all be worth it in the end. Right?
