Kitchen Floor Replacement During Vacation

 So after 20 years, it is time to update the kitchen floor.

So here is the cool tile floor we started with.

Shiloh was a big fan of the tile floor.  Excellent for cooling down on the hot days of summer.

So on Monday we started by taking out the tile.  Here is what the kitchen looks like before we moved the fridge and stove out.

So tile out, now the cement pad below.

So Monday night and somehow Karyl has the energy to go to band and I started working on the cement board that was below the tile.

This is the layer where I should have worn a mask.  Lots of cement dust in the lungs, which is not a great approach to longevity.  So we worked until 10 pm and had about 1/4 of the cement board up.

Sub floor below the cement board.

  So Tuesday morning, at 8:20 a.m. Ethan from Dave's Floor Sanding shows up. Ethan tells us that not only do we need to take up the cement board, but we need to take up  the sub floor below.  So Tuesday we worked from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.   Around the middle of the afternoon we finished with the cement board out.  We kept hoping that the next layer would be easier.  No so much.  So the sub floor needs to be sawed into chunks and then pried up with a huge pry bar.  We did not have those tools, so our progress was more modest. 

This is what the floor looks like on Wednesday morning when Steve shows up to install our new wood floor.  Dave's said, "No" and Steve was off to another job.  Fortunately for us Jeff at Dave's got a demo expert, John to show up Wednesday afternoon and in 90 minutes he got the rest of the sub floor out.

Post John, and with a Karyl clean up.

So finally, by Thursday morning this is what the floor looks like.  Fortunately for us, Jeff at Dave's was very patient, and despite us note being ready for work on Wednesday morning, Jeff had someone queued to show up Thursday morning and install our new floor.

Our new oak floor.

  Thursday morning Adam shows up and gets to work and does an amazing job of transforming our kitchen floor into a wonderful space.  No more walking on nails, sticking out of the floor, just a beautiful red oak floor.  Well done Adam and "thank you" to Jeff for patience.