True to the unofficial agreement, 6 months had passed and more carpet has been removed. The central room–long a moldering and pee-soaked common area–harbored years of finely-sifted debris which had worked itself through to the subfloor over the decades. It was unpleasant enough to undermine the purpose of a relaxing reading room.
The city forced my hand with its unlimited trash pickup day. The carpet and molding was removed in time to avoid paying for special pickup, and with the floor barren and the furniture stacked in the dining room, there was no going back. It was time for laminate.
But this time, I possessed experience. I knew that there was no easier way to custom-cut these boards than with a coping saw. I also knew that the underlayer wouldn’t stay put, so I stapled it. I also knew that no matter how hard I scored the wall against the baseboards with a razor, removing them would always rip off paint and drywall–there was no way around this, so I just had to accept it.
In the end, I had become good enough at this that the project’s completion presented little humorous content to share.
But fear not! Next, I shall post about the foyer, and how fun it is to grout vinyl tile! Till next time.
–Simon