Don’t get me started

Well, it looks like we will get our new floors next week!! They will be finished on site – meaning the wood will be nailed down, then sanded, then stained. I’m so excited…just not excited about the process. It’s going to take a week total, and we’ll have to be out of the house quite a bit.

I have no idea what I’m going to do with the cats, the dog, the fish or the humans. ;) I’ll just take it day by day and expect a total mess. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Stop laughing. :)

When we had our laminate installed (almost) five years ago, I had them put it through to the mud/laundry room:

But I didn’t have it put under the washer and dryer just in case we ever had water issues. HA! Little did I know the refrigerator would be the culprit.

And if we did have issues with the washer, I’m sure it would have extended out beyond that little transition piece. ;) Whatever. I was trying.

We have learned throughout the years that laminate in the mud room (right off the garage) was not the best choice. The laminate was still OK – no buckling – but was so tired of worrying about our wet boots in the winter.

So with the new floors coming,  my plan was to pull up the laminate, and eventually put a tile or a peel and stick tile down instead. I could have done it any time – but I was hoping to get it done before the floors were put in.

And time is dwindling. :)

The other day, as I was walking to the garage to grab some spray paint, a few thoughts ran through my head:

“Hmmm…I wonder how hard it would be to just pull up this laminate super quick.”

“No. Sarah. Keep walking.”

“But really, now hard could it be? It could be fun.”

“FUN? Whatareyoucrazywoman?”

“I’m gonna try it.”

“Spray. Paint.”

“Oh come on…just pull up one piece and see what happens.”

Famous last words. You can guess which side won out.

I started with the transition piece:

 

And my first surprise came. :) The installers used liquid nails to glue down that piece.

And a few others. I actually like the vinyl we had put down when we built the house, so I was hoping to just keep that for a while till I figured out what I wanted to do with the floor.

The glue threw a bit of a wrench in that. But I figured I could get it off.

I moved on to pulling up the laminate:

It took some muscle and a really good pry bar. It was a bit difficult to get the first piece out, but after that it was like butta:

But I noticed something else as I removed the laminate. The underlayment was cut into pieces. I have no idea why.

And I’m not sure why it seems like they put a full piece down, then used a razor to cut it into pieces.

And I’m not sure why they decided to do that right over the perfectly good vinyl:

Cutting a gash in it the length of the room. I mean, I guess they didn’t think we’d ever pull up the laminate and want vinyl again? I don’t know.

But it threw another wrench in my plan.

The vinyl wasn’t glued down, for the most part, so I started pulling it up:

I saw the wood flooring, and though maybe I could just paint it in the meantime. How fun would that be?!

SO fun. But it wasn’t happening:

That vinyl glue is SERIOUS stuff. Insane. Like, they could glue buildings together with it.

I gave up after one piece. There was much sweating. And maybe some pulled muscles. And maybe a swear word.

See that spot by the door? I was right – water had been seeping under the laminate for years. It wasn’t moldy, thank goodness.

Sooo…my simple walk through the laundry room for spray paint turned into a distress call to our handyman. ;) He is AWESOME and was able to come out the next day and lay down new plywood (or whatever that stuff is). I could have left it as is for a while, but that splintery stuff made me nervous with the Bub and the dog.

Once we had decent floors again, I took a trip to Lowe’s to see what our options were. And I found the PERFECT solution.

It’s called Novalis peel and stick tile -- the one I picked out is the copper slate finish:

You can find it online here. It’s 18 by 18 inches and 18 by 18 inches of AWESOME. I am so giddy about this stuff!! And it’s only $2 a tile – crazy good for such a great look!

The back is sticky, so you peel the backing off and stick it to the floor. That’s it:

OK, well not that’s it – but really, it was SO EASY to install. It took quite a few cuts, but even those were easy. It’s vinyl, but it’s way thicker than vinyl on the roll. And it’s hard – each piece is really sturdy.

Our handyman showed me how to disconnect the washer and dryer, so I was able to get it down throughout the whole space. I started it late Saturday night and finished up Sunday – total it took about two hours. And that’s me doing it alone – it would go so fast with two or more!

After I was done, I called the hubs in to see it. He loved it too, and then asked why we don’t just put it throughout the bottom floor instead of the hardwoods.

Uh…

Crickets.

I got nothin’.

It looks THAT good:

You would never know it wasn’t real tile, right?

You can even grout it – which I did…kinda. I’ll show you the whole how-to in an upcoming post.

For now, it’s kicked off a mini redo of the laundry room. And I was just trying to get some spray paint!! People…THAT is how I roll.

And yes, my husband is ahhhhmazing to put up with me.

;)

I’ve needed to finish off the beadboard in this space for years now. I had the handyman take off the remaining baseboards while he had the washer and dryer pulled out. So the next step is to finish up the beadboard, paint it, repaint the existing beadboard, and paint the room. Oh, and reinstall baseboards. And add some crown molding.

(Spray. paint.)

I’m thinking of pulling a color out of the floor for the walls – I’m SO excited about the potential for this space! My plan for about a year now has been to move the washer and dryer out of this room, but that’s on the back burner for sure now. Moving the water, electricity and the gas line for the dryer is not going to be cheap.

So for now, the floors are making this room feel completely new and shiny!:

I can’t wait to get started on the other stuff. I just have a few other rooms to finish up first. ;)

Have you tried this peel and stick goodness? One of my BFFs actually has this exact tile in her mud room and I’ve loved it for years. I didn’t think there was any way it would still be available, but there it was! She said she loves it so much, she would put it throughout her kitchen in a heartbeat.

I’ve also seen the peel and stick “hardwood” floors – they look surprisingly real too. I know many of you have used that and love it!

So…that’s how a trip to the garage turned into a complete room redo. Eventually. At least we’re not walking on splinters. :)