The vinyl tile floor in our entry way was serviceable enough when we moved in to this house, but who really wants the look of a kitchen in the front hall? So I set my annual project to bring the cherry flooring that was in the back of the house to the front.

We already had a supply of cherry flooring from a few years ago when we had the kitchen/family room redone. We used contractors for that. A whoooooole ‘nuther story. And I had put down the floor in M—’s room so I would have practice when a bigger job came along.

I merrily started ripping the vinyl off and saw nothing but subfloor. Yay! The subfloor came off in just a few sheets. Nothing to it. But then I saw another layer even more hideous than the first. To top it off, there were lots and lots of little staples from subfloor #1 that had to come out before I could remove the next layer.

I pulled…and pulled…and pulled. And I peeled back the stuff from 1978 (hard to believe that anyone would put that stuff down intentionally, but there you are) and got out my crowbar.

The subfloor under this stuff was awful. It splintered all over the place. I had to be extra diligent about cleaning as  I went or I would get little shards of wood all over myself. And I worried about making sure the trash men would take the whole mess away.

 Clean, clean, clean! Lots of sweeping and a quick dip in the adult inflatable pool later, I am ready to put down the felt underlayment and nail down the floor.

It took 2 days to nail the floor down, carefully fitting it into the closet and around the bottom of the stairs.

Whew! The moulding didn’t happen for about 3-4 months. Labor Day week, I think. But now, every room on the first floor is done except for a powder room. Maybe 2014?