Why hello there, it’s been a while! I have been up to my head, literally, in boxes, demo scraps, and trash, up in here! The floor demo is complete and we’ve spent the week moving, way too much, SO. MUCH. STUFF. out of Sweet Gum into Circle Hill’s garage, until the new floors are laid down. It has been chaotic and a logistical mess but we will get through it, not without a few breakdowns though I must admit, haha! I still have my potted plants, a few bikes and the trampoline and basketball I somehow need to figure out how to get in my Tahoe, wish me luck!—Update: Jess and I got it done by shoving it all in my Tahoe in two trips, hahaha!!
Anyhoo, this post is about the flooring demo. While I felt broken for about 3 days after, I much rather do this work than packing/moving…I HATE IT! So, first off we had to demo all the tile which we did with a 20lb demolition hammer. We tried to get a 27lb one too, but it didn’t have a handle and after several trips back and forth to Home Depot tool rental, they gave us a big mamma jamma on a cart, which while you didn’t have to hold, was so heavy that it was difficult to move around because the cart wheels didn’t pivot so you could only go back and forth and had to pick it up to turn. We had a break in work when our brother-in-law came to smudge the place, to cleanse and clear the place of all negative energy before we moved are stuff in. It smelled like we had a smoke out and learned that our smoke alarm talks to us when it started going off, hahaha!
All hands were back on deck after they left. Mike was on demo duty with me in between demo and tile debris hauling with the kids. I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel at first, but once we found our groove, we made it happen! Thank goodness our good friends, the Renchs, showed up. Benjy helped us so much by doing the dining room and kitchen nook area, while Erin and the boys helped with the hauling. I wish I would’ve captured a picture when they arrived all decked out with their gloves and masks! 🙂
The next day was Monday so Mike had work and the kids school so I went hard at it and got the kitchen, hallways, and bathroom done. I’m still not exactly sure where I got the strength because I could barely hold the darn thing the day before.
In the evening, Mike finished off the tile and the kids and I went to work with removing baseboards and carpet.
The next day Mike started working on the thinset left behind while scraped carpet glue and removed leftover nails from the baseboards and carpet tacks. The thinset removal was slow moving and was going to take FOR-EV-ERRR, with Mike only having time after work to do it. I tried, but I was either dead from the rest of it or just not strong enough, because it did nothing when I went at it. So we hired our handyman to finish it and it took him two whole days just to remove the rest of the thinset.
After the thinset was gone, we swept, swept again, vacuumed, then mopped and thinset powder was still around, so Mike had the great idea to put down paper since we were going to have to live in here for a bit without flooring. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t happy with the idea of spending money on paper and tape that was just going to be thrown away–because I’m a cheap-O, but it was the BEST idea! Plus, what other floor can you draw on…BONUS! (Drawings courtesy of Drew) 🙂
I have to say I am so very thankful for all the help our family and friends have been. I’m not very good with asking for help and I think they know that, so they would just show up! 🙂 We had friends who helped me load stuff while here on vacation, my mother-in-law cleaned all of Sweet Gum to get it rent ready, friends folding my curtains, of course the demo, and my sweet sisters here for moral support and weeding, and everything in between. We are pretty lucky for being surrounded by people who love us, and we love them too!
Circle Hill Farms 