Slow Transformation Part V: Replacing the Floor

After all our painting and wiring (and new window treatments - roman shades instead of the blinds) we were ready to put down new flooring, the change that brought about the entire project. For those of you who don't remember, this is what the floor looked like, in all its carpeted glory without any furniture to mar your view: Even though I have Scottish blood, this plaid isn't in my family and so needed to leave the family room. We rolled it up fairly easily, uncovered the old-elementary-school tiles underneath (that evidently went with the old-elementary-school green the walls were painted), and cleaned the floor (this is what the floor looked like in the bathroom - we've had enough flooding in there that the tiles were fairly clean):Since we selected an Armstrong laminate to put down, we elected to use the Armstrong underlayment as well. It's a moisture, sound, and temperature barrier all rolled into one shiny black roll taped together to cover the floor. But since it is rolled, it is hard to keep down, even once you tape it. In the picture, you can see the little waves that were still on the floor despite my best efforts:So here's my great secret of laying laminate flooring in case you ever try it. The process is fairly easy - the floor snaps together well, but you will need two people, one to hold the flooring in and another to tap or pull with a wonder bar or the pull tool available at Home Depot and the like so the pieces fit fully together (which is why I'm forever grateful my father came to help out with not only the wiring, but the flooring as well!). But they won't go together unless the underlayment is absolutely flat. So pull it tight underneath the floor you are putting down for each section. If you're like us, you'll end up with extra underlayment at the far wall you have to cut off, but the floor will go down much more smoothly.

After about a day's worth of work, cutting the pieces to fit around the four doors in the room and the staircase, we finished. Not a bad amount of time that transformed the room this radically: