New York Renovator

I must be one of the most tolerant homeowners on earth, or perhaps the stupidest, lol. You know how you get so used to something that you tend to not notice it after a while?

I went into the kitchen this afternoon, to fill the tea kettle with water for tea. I noticed a new leak spurting out of our 1970s faucet. sigh. It made me look at the sink area with new perspective. This backsplash behind the faucet is absolutely terrible. Disgusting.

Other areas of the countertop are peeling or warped. I don’t know how I can tolerate it. It’s been this way for about a decade, slowly rotting and getting worse every year. I guess I’ve blocked it out of my consciousness — probably for the retaining of my sanity– because the decay just struck me again as very repulsive. And for a fleeting moment, I wondered why I haven’t fixed it yet. What, am I crazy, letting this go on and on for years??

Then I remembered. Oh yeah.

We do want the countertop replaced, but I won’t do it. Know why? Because this crappy slab of 1972 orange laminate sits on top of crappy 1972 plywood cabinets. Almost all of the cabinets have either fallen apart or are warped. Now, why don’t I just get new cabinets, then? Well, the cabinets sit on top of a severely cracked and broken up 1972 tile floor. OK so replace the flooring, the cabinets, and the backsplash. Nope, because behind the cabinets are 1855 plaster walls, with most of their plaster behind the cabinets missing. In winter, when we open a cabinet door or drawer, the wintery outside air blasts into the room. Wild, huh? I won’t even mention the mouse problem we have here, lol…

OK that’s pretty bad, but maybe I could just replace the walls, the flooring, the cabinets, and then get the new countertops!

Um, nope. Because within the walls is 1920s knob and tube wiring, 1940s plumbing that is not properly vented, and there’s no insulation between the studs. Not to mention that the only kitchen window is broken. I’d have to entirely GUT the room before I could get new countertops. Otherwise, I’d be spending $800 on new countertops for nothing– a shaky foundation. I refuse to set a brand-new countertop on top of disgustingly broken, unlevel cabinets that rest on disgustingly broken, unlevel flooring and against disgustingly holey and broken up walls with disgusting and inadequate plumbing and electric.

So that’s why I tolerate it. Most people would have their moving boxes out already; but I do like the house and I’ve put my heart into my gardens. I just need to gut this ol’ house! Ugh!

So, how are my gardens doing this fine, sunny day!

Well, we’ve been using our new laminate flooring for a good several months now. The installation was OK, for us first-timers. The temperature fluctuations typical of New York State have caused the flooring to shift quite a bit. I am still very pleased with the flooring, although the shifting makes me uneasy.

I am happy to announce that it looks like the shifting as ceased (until spring, at least?). For a while there, I thought maybe we were experiencing a new kind of Andreas Fault or something… but so far, so good. We’ll see how it goes when we go through the turgid humidity of July and August…

One does not really need to go through a flooring information guide to figure out the type of flooring he prefers. If a person has a distaste for rubber flooring, nothing can change that. Similarly those who have always preferred a carpet tile to carpet runners, will stick to the tile, no matter what. One should be cautious with a laminate floor though because it has a lesser life than its counterparts. On the other hand, linoleum and bamboo flooring is quite in these days.

I read with great interest a blog post at This Ain’t New York about cleaning laminate floors. Melanie has laminate in her Dining Room (what a brave woman– mine would be all scratched up by now) and is asking for blogger reader help. I was amused by the variety of advice:

I mop with vinegar water, (small amount of vinegar, lots of hot water) and then I dry the floor with an old towel. I just throw the towel on the floor and then stand on it and “scooch” all over until the floors are dry.

Vinegar. Hmm. OK.

Method Cleaner from Target with the microfiber pad. Works like a charm and eco-friendly/non toxic.I have heard that vinegar strips the floors over time so I stopped using it.

Oh. Not vinegar. OK. Hmm.

My mom is in the vinegar water camp…and she has had her laminate floors (Pergo) for many years, with no problems.

Ah, a seasoned vinegar user. Well, I’m all for au natural. The advice just came rolling in by now:

The Orange Glo-type version of the Swiffer cleaner works great for us!

I use a product called AquaShine on my laminate floors.

I use the Swifter wet pads (not WetJet) for every day maintainance.

Nope. Too expensive for me. I don’t even buy Comet or Toilet Bowl cleaner. I’m a baking soda/pine sol/vinegar/bleach kinda gal (although not all at once, of course). And what’s this “everyday maintenance” thing?!

My jaw dropped when I saw this:

my bro & sis-in-law spent three hours on their hands and knees “erasing” their floors with that hand-sized cloth eraser stuff and buffed & buffed…… made the floor look brand-spankin’-new!

Wow, they must be childless. I was about to give up when I finally I found the answer!

We just used damp cloth, wet with water. Here’s the secret:

Wet and Dry.

My kinda cleaning recipe. Thanks, ladies.

I’ve had the laminate floors installed for a few months now. I’d wondered when I installed them how they would perform in the Living Room. We still have not gotten an area rug, so we’ve been fully treading on laminate all this time. I’m sure the eager questioners are begging: How have they held up?

Well. OK. I’ll break things down into a list: Pro and Con.

PRO:

1. It still looks beautiful. There’s nothing like the look of wood floors.. except wood floors themselves.
2. I’ve had to mop it only twice.
3. I see no indentations from the heavy furniture’s legs. I have a desk that is probably 300 pounds. I put flat casters under each leg, and the flooring has endured the weight extremely well.

CON:

1. There are a lot of small scratches everywhere. It wasn’t as durable as I’d hoped. We did buy the less expensive stuff (cheaper), but I had hoped it wouldn’t show scratches so soon. Our first time vacuuming, a little piece of grit got caught on the vacuum wheel, and made a large scratch. So we only sweep in here now. But the scratches are a major “con.” I am disappointed.
2. The floor boards have warped a little. Some are raised at the corners. Now, my house is so old, and we have drafts everywhere, so there are some major temperature extremes here. But I am surprised at how much the boards have expanded. A lot.
3. The floor bounces. The instructions for the flooring said to make sure your floor is “reasonably level.” I know that this is an impossible goal for a house as old as mine. But for laminate to look really good, your floor has to be far more than “reasonably” level. The slightest bump, it seems, shows up eventually as the boards contract and expand with the seasons. When we first installed the flooring, we had some bumps (I had nailed the old pine flooring down to secure it), but the laminate didn’t “rock.” Now, when we step in certain areas, the laminate rocks and gives a little. This also is probably due to the expansion and contraction of the boards.
4. Laminate flooring, while warmer than plain hardwood flooring, is much colder than carpeting. The floor is cold. No wonder they install radiant heating underneath. Brr!

So am I pleased with the flooring after these months? So far, yes. The scratches are minor (so far) and even so, we can still cover the floor with an area rug to protect the higher traffic areas. The bounce of the floor is irritating, and the raised edges are very irritating. But the floor is easy to care for and still looks pretty good. With more use (the Living Room is our most-used room of the house), I suspect that the raised edges will begin to chip or wear. This concerns me.

If we could have afforded carpeting and installation, I would have preferred that. We installed laminate because the materials were on sale and we could do it ourselves. Eventually, we will have carpeting in here, and perhaps use these boards for another room (if they are still useable).