Kitchen Floor Replacement

Looking good Brent...guess I need to put up some more updates, I'm getting behind here. I doubt you guys want to see the pics of the old timing chain from the Tahoe I spent most of last night changing out.

Changing a timing chain would be a HUGE job. Just putting screws in the floor still to stiffen things up.

So far it's making a big difference in the floor, and my knees and back...

And now you know why I told you to get the Senco from Rennie.
Nothing better than screwing down a floor standing up.

BTW Darren, I think seeing your progress is what got us off our duffs and doing stuff.

Was the timing chain replacement preventative? Or restorative?

Don Baer said:

well I guess there is the proof, well maybe if you can believe some pictures of someones floor, don't really know if it is Brent's and Sharon's or if it was taken today or last year.
OK maybe I'm being a bit knit picky

Click to expand...

i will voch for that floor being brents.. i saw it once and it was just like that..he showed yu..

Chuck Thoits said:

And now you know why I told you to get the Senco from Rennie.
Nothing better than screwing down a floor standing up.

Click to expand...

Too True.. I've got the main floor screwed down and what a difference it made. They didn't put a lot of expense into nailing down the subfloor, that's for sure. Looks like they had nailed the corners and stapled hap hazardly here and there in the middle of the sheets to the joists.

Screwing down the floor really made a difference in how solid the floor feels now. When we get close to replacing the carpet, I'll pull it up before the installers get here and rent a screw gun to stabilize the rest of the floor.

Still working piecing together the underlayment, then I'll get that screwed down, and then I'll be able to get started on the laminate.

It's always the prep work that kills you I think. But good prep pays off.

larry merlau said:

i will voch for that floor being brents.. i saw it once and it was just like that..he showed yu..

Click to expand...

Thanks Larry!

Brent Dowell said:

I wish I could say it was real tile, but the floor we have is a little too 'bouncy' and I think that the tile and grout would crack.

Click to expand...

I have the same problem, but I think I found a solution. A local flooring dealer carries a ceramic tile bonded to a plastic webbing. Each tile locks to the next (perfect spacing for grout) giving you a floating tile floor. The grout is a special mix that maintains flexibility so it will not crack. We plan to use it in our upcoming kitchen remodel.

Rennie Heuer said:

I have the same problem, but I think I found a solution. A local flooring dealer carries a ceramic tile bonded to a plastic webbing. Each tile locks to the next (perfect spacing for grout) giving you a floating tile floor. The grout is a special mix that maintains flexibility so it will not crack. We plan to use it in our upcoming kitchen remodel.

Click to expand...

Doh! Now you tell me!

Oh well, we've had this laminate for a while. It was on sale when we got it. Kind of got talked into buying it, then we had second thoughts and thought we'd do real tile, then we opened up a box to look at it and said, well, it looks pretty good, and if we don't like it, we can always take it up pretty easy later.

So down it goes... Tomorrow!

Well, got the OSB 'Underlayment' down.

It's amazing what all the screws and the osb has done to stiffen the floor. Still, the floor joists in this old house are 24" on center, so probably still too bouncy no matter what for tile. The laminate should be pretty durable, even with bucky, so that's what we gots, that's what we'll use.

But tomorrow. Time to whip up a batch of chili and watch some scary movies...

Brent Dowell said:

Still, the floor joists in this old house are 24" on center, so probably still too bouncy no matter what for tile.

Click to expand...

twenty-four-inches!

Crawlspace? Well you could always try fitting in some more joists...
Yeah, right.

yeah, I guess standards were a little lax out here in Washoe County in the late 70's....

Brent Dowell said:

Was the timing chain replacement preventative? Or restorative?

Click to expand...

At 199K, I think it was both.

Been having a problem with it stumbling at about 60 mph, but has gotten where is does it around 2000 RPM's under any load, made moving fun with this happening. Almost seemed like a fuel issue. I've done the fuel filter, fuel regulator (this required removing the entire engine harness and top of the engine, timing chain was a breeze compared to this), EGR valve, now the timing chain. Still having the issue, but had a bunch of slack in the chain, so only could have helped...and it did...not stumbling as bad. Next weekend I'll be swapping out the distributor, which was next on the list (least expensive to most expensive). Need to just buy a new truck with all the other projects I have going on, but enjoying not having a monthly payment (other than parts )

Funny thing is that I've had no codes thrown at all, been really frustrating.

BTW...floors are coming along nicely. Be prepared for the tap dancing noise Starbuck will make on that floor. Have had laminates in this and the last house, look great, but the dogs toe nails will drive you nuts on it.

Darren Wright said:

At 199K, I think it was both.

Click to expand...

Just glad it wasn't a catastrophic failure!

Darren Wright said:

BTW...floors are coming along nicely. Be prepared for the tap dancing noise Starbuck will make on that floor. Have had laminates in this and the last house, look great, but the dogs toe nails will drive you nuts on it.

Click to expand...

Sharons the puzzle queen. We just unboxed all of the sheets and were worried because there are 3 different variations, and only 4 sheets per box. Luckily enough, it came out pretty even. I'll have her layout what I need to do in what order tomorrow. Going to take the day off to get it done.

Oh the parquet already makes noise with her toes. What I find annoying is that during the day, she can jump up on the bed no problem, but she likes to wake up me up at 4:00 begging for permission to get up. But she never asks any other time...

The cat that got dropped off has some toenail issues too. He walks around in the middle of the night and its click, click, clickity click..

Oh well, without the animals my life would be pretty boring...

Brent Dowell said:

But tomorrow. Time to whip up a batch of chili and watch some scary movies...

Click to expand...

Lord of the Rings Marathon coming up in 4 weeks if I remember correctly. Jan has never seen any of the movies nor read the book. I'm hoping I can get her to sit still for 12 hours and start the same tradition here. Wish they were not delaying the release of the Blue Ray extended versions and the filiming of the Hobbit.

What a great memory! Yep, Thanksgiving is the LOTR marathon... But it's not like we are glued to the couch the whole time.. Lots to do.

Brent Dowell said:

Sharons the puzzle queen. We just unboxed all of the sheets and were worried because there are 3 different variations, and only 4 sheets per box. Luckily enough, it came out pretty even. I'll have her layout what I need to do in what order tomorrow. Going to take the day off to get it done.

Oh the parquet already makes noise with her toes. What I find annoying is that during the day, she can jump up on the bed no problem, but she likes to wake up me up at 4:00 begging for permission to get up. But she never asks any other time...

Click to expand...

I read this first and was really wondering. Brent and Sharon seemed so normal! Then I read the quotes from Darrin and my view of the world re-aligned itself.

Well, Got the laminate down. Need to pick up some trim pieces and finish it off. Be a good job for my little 23 gauge pin nailer I reckon.

Putting down the laminate was pretty funny. Of course Sharon and I over thought things at first and tried to come up with a 'pattern' to use. Well, that failed after the second row went down when I realized I messed up the pattern. Then we analyzed some more and went with the 'wing' it method. Sharon became the laminate picker and ballast (to keep the rows from seperating while I put it together).

Lots of fun little cuts in the project, but the one funny thing was that the width of the room from the window to the sink was 'exactly' 6 sheets wide. At least those few rows went fast.

So, about 3 6-7 hour days to get it done. I took off today to finish it up (but wish I hadn't, boy work is going to be, interesting the next couple of weeks). Still I have to take some time off as if I don't the company won't let me bank my vacation, and I'll be durned if I let the vacation days rot...

Due to my watching those renovation shows, I originally assumed the project would take a max of 3-4 hours...

Now, we need to get the rest of the painting done, and then carpeting, and then media alcove, and this room, will, be done...

It looks REALLY nice!

It's actually pretty amazing about the seams. Apparently, the way these things are engineered is that any piece can work with any other piece as long as you half lap them. You can see the seams, but you you have to look for them. They have some pieces that cross the seam that help to blend things together to hide the fact that its' really just a bunch of 15 1/2" x 46 1/2" sheets of laminate...