New Floor Coverings

Day 22

I had a fun day today.... expensive, yet fun, hahaha.

Those of you that are 'regulars' here know that I am a late to bed girl, and thus I sleep late in the mornings. Well, last night I went to bed just after 2am, and I got up about 6am. Why? Well, let's start from the start.

When I get the paper, which isn't all that often, it's always full of flyers... some I read and some I don't bother with. I got Wednesday's paper this week and for some very odd reason I browsed the Home Depot flyer. I found some very interesting things in there, haha.

1- a Ryobi tool set. Cordless drill, 5 1/2" circular saw, hand vacuum, and flashlight, as well as a battery and charger, 18 volt. All this for $69.00!!! Dan said that normally one of these tools cost about that much, he has some of them and really likes his little circular saw.

2- laminate flooring... 69 cents per square foot!!

Being such a good sale and on for one day only I wanted to make sure I wasn't too late. With some stores they advertise these really great deals and you get there and they were long since sold out... they just bring in 2 or 3, just enough to be able to say they have them on this great sale so you'll go in there, then they're sold but oh well, you'll likely buy something else that's more money then. I don't like that, and wasn't sure with this. As it turned out, there were loads of both the things I wanted. I got to the store about 6:45, it opens at 7am. There were already other cars in the parking lot, people waiting for the doors to open, and when they started to get out and head for the doors, so did I. I got there just as a man did and he was a gentleman, so let me go first. Yup, I was the first one through those doors when they opened!!! Others saw the stack of tools before I did, so I didn't get the first box, but I did get a box and there were lots left. Then I headed down to the flooring department and they had stacks and stacks of the laminate and more in the back by the sound of it.

I bought this place in September 1990, and moved in the start of October. The carpet was pretty much new... light peach with darker specks in it. It looked pretty for a while, but that was 18 years ago... 2 large dogs ago, several cats ago, lots of spills ago. The carpet is dirty and stained in several places. The lino in the rest of the mobile home is the original lino, and this mobile is a 1974, so the lino is not only out dated, but damaged in many places. When I moved in it was already patched in a few places in the kitchen, very possibly done in the factory as I don't see a previous owner being able to match the lino to patch some in to a damaged spot. Over the years, the seams of the repairs have become very peeled and damaged. So, what I'm saying here is...

for 18 years I've wanted new floor coverings in this home of mine!

The fall of 1997, I had an addition built on to my home. There was already an 8'x20' addition, one big room, on the one side/end of the mobile, and I had a 10'x32' addition put on the same side.

This is an attempt to draw my home in MS Paint. Not great, but will give an idea, haha. I hope you can tell what is meant to show windows and doors. This drawing is not to scale. The Walk-in Closet and Storage room are the original addition, was one big room until the renos in '97. The Laundry room was the 2nd Bedroom, but I took the washer/dryer out of the Bathroom & put them in there when I had the new addition built. The 2nd Bedroom & Loom Room are the new addition, built in '97. The 2nd Bedroom became the Computer Room and now, that I have a laptop and no longer the desktop, the big computer desk, my antique desk & filing cabinet, etc., are still in there and it's kind of a "not used right now room". Mewsic spends a lot of time in there, sleeps on my computer chair... her safe place from Reba.

At first, I was going to get 400 sq.ft. to do the Living room, Kitchen & Hall, then I was thinking about the large opening between the Living Room & Loom Room and how that new addition needs floor coverings that it's never had in the 11 years it's been there... it really should match between these two rooms, so I'd get 600 sq.ft. Then when actually there, looking at the guy loading it onto a dolly for me, I said, "make that 720 sq.ft. I'm going to do that other room too." Hahaha... now I have enough laminate flooring to do the Living Room, Kitchen, Hall, Loom Room and what we will for the fun of it call the 2nd bedroom. I already tiled the Bathroom floor a few years back, so these are the really important rooms to do the flooring in. The Laundry, Master Bedroom and "old addition" will have to wait.

The reno in 1997 included:
- build the 10x32 addition, split in two
- put a wall in 8x20 "old" addition, about 1/3 of the way, creating Walk-in closet & Storage room.
- new ceiling in "old" addition
- cut hole in Master Bedroom wall, turning old window into doorway to Walk-in.
- cut hole in Hall wall, turning window into door into 2nd Bedroom
- cut large hole in Living room wall, making doorway into new addition. This room was my "Office" at the time, where I had my computer and such. There was a Natural Gas Fireplace put in there, too.
- the 'new' addition is a step down from the mobile
- all windows in mobile removed and replaced with vinyls, some sliders
- sliding glass pation door removed and a 'real' door put in (original front door had been taken out previously and the glass doors put in. I didn't like that)
- covered pation (rotted) taken off and carport put in its place
- big metal roof built over entire place, including a 4' overhang past the 'new' addition, where I put #1. Dan says this is the front door, though I've always thought of it as the back door, haha.

3 or 4 years ago now, I bought a good used pellet stove. With Dan's help and hiring a Gas Fitter to undo the gas lines, I took out the Natural Gas Fireplace that just was not working well enough to use, and drywalled/painted the walls it had been built in to. Then I tiled and area for the pellet stove to sit on, and Dan helped me install the stove. Then I had a guy come out to inspect it for insurance purposes. By the time all was done, it cost me around $1600.00, but I think it was well worth it. Oh, also I got Dan to cut a door in the wall between the 2nd Bedroom and "Office" (now Loom Room). This allows the heat from the stove to circulate better through the house as well as making it a more 'useable' room.

Now... after 18 years I finally get new floor covering. YES!!