Let's talk about replacing a floor.
My Daddy let me add what I called a "Florida" room on to the back of the house, replacing a small screened-in back porch. While visiting my cousin Dotti in Winter Park, FL. I was quite taken with what she called "Florida" rooms. In any of the other 49 states I think they would be called a sun-room or simply an enclosed porch. I don't remember the year this was done, but I think it was in the early 60's. It was a great room ... like being outside, but without mosquitoes!
The room is 14'6" by 11'6" with louvered windows on 3 sides and a fireplace which is backed on the outside by an outdoor fireplace. Originally there were draw-drapes which came to just below the window sill and could offer privacy or defense from too much sunlight. There were two small window seat/book shelves on either side of the fireplace which can still be seen in the photo below. After removing the floor, I decided that the window seat/bookcases would not return. A poorly done repair had also left the paneling on one side in a mess. It had seemingly been replace with something the contractor had thrown in the back of his truck and bore no relation at all to the paneling in the rest of the room. I decided to just remove the wood on either side of the fireplace and insert sheetrock which I would then paint. At least both sides would match again.
Sadly, as the years went by the Florida room became simply a junk room. The above photo was taken after MUCH cleaning, throwing out, and the removal of several large pieces of furniture .... I consider this the beginning of the room's return to life. What you can't see in this photo (aside from lots of dirt!) is the freezer which sat in the corner near the kitchen door. ... And which was never defrosted. That means that year after year the water was running under the flooring and rotting away the wood down the right-hand side of the room. The floor was destroyed. Below you can see my Maltese inspecting what appears to be a crack in his universe.
This called for drastic measures.
Upon pulling up the old flooring, it became obvious that the whole thing would have to be replaced. This called for a pro. Billy Edwards took on the job as this was far beyond my small 'skill set'.
Here we are. Starting fresh.
Since this room is the most often used access to the backyard for my dog and for myself, I plan to put down a sheet vinyl flooring as I've decided that it will be the best thing to handle wet dog and human feet and the tracking in of all sorts of yard debris. My search for some sort of "fun 50's linoleum floor kinda thing" did not produce the results I had expected. AT ALL. If you read the blog about choosing wallpaper, you probably have an idea where this is going. Gone are the wild designs which brightened rooms and were such fun. There was a time in the 30's when you could even buy linoleum that replicated a carpet!
Above is a wonderful example of the great patterns that used to be offered.
Now you can choose faux wood, faux tile, faux stone or faux bricks. And I swear that every company offers the same patterns in the same colors! Brown, tan, grey. That's it. It is almost hard to believe. So, here I was, faced with spending my cold, hard cash on a floor that I didn't actually like. Not a happy camper, folks. After much research, I did find a company that still offers colors, but the price sent the floor through the roof, and to get a very basic design you had to revert to tiles rather than sheet. Not what I wanted at all. I have at last found a pattern (sort of a faux tile look) that will blend with the colors of the room and will be inoffensive. Best I could do.
I spent many hours working of the louver windows. Not only were they caked with years of dirt and grime, most did not open and close anymore. Some had screens and some glass. At one time each window had a screen insert and a glass insert, but for 30 years or more, the last inserts had just been left in place. Thanks to a WD-40 product that is designed to release rust (and it WORKS like a charm!!) I now have every louver window working. ( No more dirt dauber nests which will make some bugs very unhappy this summer. Tough.) I was even lucky enough to find a couple of the missing screen/glass inserts. That was a thrill and means that the room will be warmer in the winter now. A couple of the louvers still will not close as tightly as I would like, so those will most likely keep a glass insert year round. I am hoping that next week will see the sheet vinyl installed and then the room will truly be back in business. As you see below, the end panels have been replaced and half the windows had been cleaned in this shot.
And here you see Jimmy and Rick from Triple A Carpets putting down the new sheet vinyl. They did a great job, and I'm quite pleased with it ... even if it isn't turquoise with pink flamingos.
Stay tuned and you'll get to see the completed room before long.
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