The Story of Our Kitchen Floor

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The Story of Our Kitchen Floor

• Or, how I spent my summer vacation
• And fall,
• And winter

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How it all started

• Our kitchen floor began to crack several years
  ago. It cracked along each 4x8 sheet of subfloor.
  Then the tiles began to crack and come up.
• We thought it was the foundation because of the
  fact that the kitchen had been added on.
• Finally, last May, we decided it was time to tear
  the floor out, fix the foundation and put a new
  floor in.
• We had a contractor out who gave us some good
  news. The foundation was fine. There was only a
  problem with the subfloor.
• So, we told him we would pick out flooring and
  call him when were ready.

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Then it happened!

• One morning in June, I woke up with a start! I
  woke Mark up and told him
• We cant tear the floor out!
• Why?
• Because Ive always hated the ceiling, and the
  walls, and you always have to start at the top
  and work down
• I told him, Im tearing the ceiling down.
• With our friend Jim helping, the horrible drop
  ceiling came down. Above it another ceiling,
  made of old paneling, and in some areas, lathe
  and plaster. Above it 4 of loose insulation.
  Messy stuff.
• Mark bought me a great ladder and a huge shop vac
  to get the insulation out. It took two weekends
  to do just the back half.

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The tear-down

• My way was taking too long.
• Our friend Jim came back and decided he would
  speed things up a bit.
• He and Mark put plastic around the cupboards and
  sledge hammered the rest of the ceiling.

• The ceiling had trusses and joists as I had
  hoped

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To get the ceiling I wanted, we had to put up new
trusses (thanks Mark, Mike and Erik), have the
electric wires raised, prep for new
lighting,(thanks Leonard), and other fun stuff.
This took about a month. We kept most of the
joists love the look, also didnt want the roof
caving in.

• New Ceiling Trusses

• While the guys were working on top, I tore down
  the old paneling and put up bead board.

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And painted, and painted, and painted. Even the
dog helped.(Good thing thats the old floor.)
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In between painting bead board, I stained about a
million pieces of tongue and grove for the
ceiling. Alright, it just felt like that many.
Yes, I punched a hole in the garage ceiling
trying to turn a board. A fun surprise awaited
us behind one piece of old paneling. A growth
chart of the former owners children.
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As I finished each batch of stain and varnish,
Mark and the boys began building the ceiling. It
was a great family project and the boys were
always happy to help?Oh yeah.
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The back half of the ceiling had to be finished
before we could have the window cut. We didnt
attempt this ourselves, we hired a pro.Isnt the
ceiling beautiful? Sometimes, I just stand and
stare at it.
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Then two floating shelves went up with some
expert instructions from a builder friend of ours
thanks Robin. Mark got these from an old barn.
The one you see here is very weathered and
rustic. It is 2 thick, 12 long and a foot
wide. Heavy. I love both the shelves. Then
finally, finally, the old floor and subfloor were
torn out. See, I told you they had to be last!
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Then we called back the big gun. Our friend
Leonard actually came back after crawling
around the ceiling to raise the wiring and put-in
the new lights not an easy job. We found out
why the old floor cracked it was laid down on
old paneling. Yes, I said paneling. No, really.
Paneling. On the floor.
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The slate floor was put in the back half because
of the dog traffic, and the wood floor went into
the work area. Ive always had rocks in my
house, now I can walk on them.When my neck hurts
from staring at the ceiling, I stare at the
floors for a while.
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Before we get to the after pictures, take one
more look at the old floor, walls and ceiling
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Now, for some after pics.An old bakers table
with my Christmas village . My beloved antique
cook stove. (My ladder?)Our new floating shelf
and window. The plants love it.
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Our favorite place to eat breakfast.The antique
school light came out of the elementary school my
brother went to in Indiana. Ive hauled it
around for years and finally get to use it.My
Christmas plant corner.
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Some winter fun on the shelf. Now I can change
the décor every few months. Each shelf has its
own wall plug so I can have lights without the
cords hanging.One of my cats, Gizmo, getting
ready to lay in the sun.
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Look around, theres a little whimsy here and
there. Found the mourning doves at Cabelas and
couldnt resist. There are roosters in the cubby
on the south end,and squirrels peeking out above
the cupboards. That grey wall is actually the
siding on the old part of the house.
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Thanks for taking the tour.Stop by sometime, the
coffee pot is always on.