Literally: the plan for the floors.
Need I remind you of just how lovely the mix of carpets were when we moved in? Here, a little room-to-room tour of the choice flooring we inherited.
Living room carpet was fairly new, but still.
Ben had a serious crush on the laundry room carpet. Really.
So, our plan was to take out all the carpet in hopes that there would be wood underneath. On the first floor there was wood underneath—plywood. Sigh.
A little island of linoleum greets visitors at the front door.
We found plywood beneath the living room carpet.
So plan B was to pull all the carpet staples, paint the plywood, and live with it until we figured out what kind of floors we wanted…and have a chance to build up a budget for said floor purchase.
But then this happened…
When Ben and Tyler ripped out the first-floor bedroom closet, a little surprise peeked through.
Original wood floors under the plywood?
With that little teaser of what might be the original farm house floor, Ben set off on a mission to remove all the plywood. Not an easy task with the ring shank nails used to secure it all down. This particular type of nail has an anchor-type shaft and stays where you put it. Even when you don’t want it there any more.
And after the blood, sweat ,and tears of ripping up all that plywood, we were left with a literal sea of nails.
The new living room landscape.
Ben and Tyler attacked challenge like the amazing human beings they are and soon, the nails were no longer a walking/standing/dancing hazard. Amazing!!
Living room floor, uncovered.
The kitchen floor got the same treatment, except there was plywood and several layers of linoleum flooring.
Look how gorgeous these floors are!! Just a little elbow grease required! Of course, there are a few not-so-perfect spots…
But for the most part, I’m thrilled!! The kitchen is the one room where the floor was not painted with a rug design or a solid color at some point in the home’s history. The old, faded bands of color are quite lovely and I’m happy to just clean the floors and move on!
And then, Ben breaks the news. Although its obvious that these floors were lived on for many years, the truth is that they are sub-floor. There’s nothing between these floors and dirt below except for the joists. No bottom layer. Nothing. And that’s not ok.
So, ladies and gentlemen, Plan C…
We will repair as needed and then approach the local lumber mill—just about a mile up the road—for some local lumber milled for floors and lay actual floor atop the subfloor planks. The good news is that 800 square-feet of flooring won’t be crazy-expensive … we hope.
Cockamamy Farm 
Could you pull up the original boards and lay new plywood subfloor and the re-lay the original hardwood over the top of the plywood? That would keep the original hardwood character of the home intact.
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