Bathroom Part 4

I'm so excited!!!! The entire floor is scraped and clean. It took me about six hours today but I've done it. I have no major chemical burns and all of my body parts. That makes me feel good. My arms, back, shoulders and hands are sore. But that'll all go away. I'm just excited to have the floor ready for the new flooring. This is the first time I've ever done anything like this before. I feel like jumping up and down with excitement, but I'm too tired. I might do that tomorrow.


This morning while I was scraping, I was thinking. You can do that a lot when you're just scraping. And I realized that I've changed quite a bit over the years. Last night, my dad and his wife Dawn and my in-laws came for dinner. The floor of my bathroom was only partially finished and yet I did not panic. I was okay with it. I was calm and comfortable. We laughed and I had a great time. When I was younger, if we were ever having anyone over, I would have spent the day "getting the house ready." We've never had a fancy house, but I would freak if anyone saw it without having vacuummed and dusted, etc. And to be in the middle of a project like this, I would NEVER have agreed to let people in the house. I have learned, though, that people come to see me and not my house, no matter what condition it is in. In fact, on Saturday we're having a couple of friends over for game night. The new floor will not be put down by then. So they will see a bathroom that just has a concrete floor. But I'm okay with that. I'm looking forward to these particular friends and plan on having a great time. Concrete floor and all.

Bathroom, Part 3

I worked on the bathroom floor all day on Saturday and managed to strip off the top layer of the linoleum. What was left was the backing of the lino and LOTS of glue. I spent the next 5 hours with a razor scrapping, scrapping, scrapping. And I got an area about 1 foot x 2 feet cleared. I did not expect this to go quickly, but I really thought that most of the glue would be around the edges and the middle would be relatively glue-free. I had to give some deep thought to switching to a chemical solution. I wanted to avoid it because....well, its chemicals. And anyone who knows me knows that I shouldn't be trusted with chemicals that could potentially take off layers of skin. But then I shouldn't be trusted with a razor either and I still have all of my fingers. After some discussion with Tom and a great deal of time with a glass of wine and my friend, the Internet, I finally decided that I would try an adhesive remover. Chemicals. I promised myself I'd BE CAREFUL!!

I took the day off yesterday for church and the Super Bowl. I managed to invite myself to watch the game with some relatively new friends, Tom and Heidi. My Tom had planned on watching the game while working, so I wasn't abandoning him. I had a great time. The game was good, the food was superb and the company was wonderful. I'm glad I did take the day off from the floor because my hands really needed a break. My shoulders, arms and fingers were very sore.

This morning I went to the hardware store and bought some of those thick rubber gloves for chemical work. They come in one-size-fits-all. Which means they are huge. But I started in with the adhesive remover and managed, in two hours, to get an area about two feet by two feet cleared. It meant making several passes over each small area to get through everything. And I only got one very tiny chemical burn on my arm. But I am encouraged. At this rate, I predict that I'll be able to put down the new floor by Wednesday. I have a feeling of accomplishment this afternoon.

Bathroom Part 2

I've been at it for 2 -plus hours and I have an area about 1 foot x 2 feet scraped off. At this rate, it'll take me until June. Am I doing this right? Is there an easier way? Should I just put the new floor on top of the old floor? Lots of questions. But I've got lots of time to think.

Bathroom

I have four days between now and the next time I have to work. In those four days, I'm going to take up the old linoleum in our front bathroom and put down new. I've never done anything like this before. I don't exactly know what I'm doing. But I do hate that old floor. And I do want to try to do it myself. I have the internet to help me - thank you howto.com. And I have a lot of determination. I'm not afraid of hard work and lots of scraping. I WILL have a new floor.