the attic (along with the majority of the other projects) has been on hold for the time being. bunch of unfinished projects in a home restoration? start more!

the horrible vinyl flooring in the kitchen and bathroom just scream “i sucked even when installed in 1985!” add that to a growing curiosity to what may be under the vinyl… and we now have a mess in the kitchen and bath!

the bathroom has vinyl over what appears to be original linoleum. i’m pretty sure they sanded the linoleum, because the vinyl is actually adhered to it well. the linoleum looks as if it was laid over bare tongue and groove fir, like the front bedroom. now, the front bedroom was a complete fucking nightmare. 7am to 11pm, two days in a row, working all-out the whole time. the tar/asphalt/who knows what based mastic that held the linoleum to the bare tongue and groove was a mighty foe. one it appears i’ll be facing again.

douglas fir flooring in the bathroom? yes… the linoleum is likely going to be a major pain in the ass to remove… but the thought of matching fir in the bathroom makes it seem worth the pain, blood, sweat, tears and emotional turmoil involved in stripping down to bare wood. can then sand the hallway and bath together, then stain to match… a few layers of urethane, and it should make for a fine bathroom floor.

now, the kitchen… the kitchen floor is vinyl on top of 3/8″ particle board (no, not MDF… low grade particle board). the particle board is nailed like crazy to… more linoleum over (i think) bare fir. i know for sure it’s more tongue and groove… not positive it’s bare. some areas of linoleum came up at the edges with no difficulty, and the wood appears dark… so there’s a (mild) chance that the floor was at one time finished, then had lino laid over… which would make removal so much easier. for now, we spent an hour or two pulling up the particle board to reveal what i think is some pretty sweet linoleum…

having the entire lower floor all matching fir would be awesome… think the kitchen would look great with wood. if it’s all there, then we can refinish it… saving a lot of work compared to stripping down to the floor joists so we can tile.

finally got around to wiring the basement lights, yesterday.  now we have an actual switch that works, light in the otherwise deathtrap stairway, and no longer have to fumble around with a flashlight while trying to sort laundry.

getting the wiring to the switch location was fun… had to pull down both conditioned and return ducting for the heater, break some plaster, drill plates and joists and overall make a mess of things.

the framing is started (i use the term loosely)  upstairs.  strapped some 20ft 2×6s to the roof of the volvo, took side streets home (still not sure about length/load laws in Oregon), and got the lumber into the attic.  working on a 6′ wooden ladder that’s older than i am (and taken even worse care of), has it’s interesting moments.  standing on the top step (the one that’s usually labeled “this is not a step”), while swinging a 21oz framing hammer is fun.  about as much fun as standing on that same step with a makita framing nailer, set to automatic… the recoil makes the ladder sway oh so nicely.

tomorrow, with a bit of luck, some more framing will be done upstairs and our roof will once again be properly supported.  we can even start to INSULATE!