As I worked on the corner I'd started previously, I was surprised to find that what I'd assumed was deteriorated linoleum was actually honest-to-god plaster. There's a spot in the master bedroom where the linoleum had been covered in a thin layer of putty, or possibly concrete, so I didn't think too much about it, just got the crowbar down under the linoleum and pulled it up.
You probably recall from Physics class that the crowbar functions by harnessing the power of the fulcrum to multiply the pressure you apply to the lever it transforms into when correctly employed. When I applied pressure in this particular instance, I noticed that my fulcrum felt decidedly.. squishy. But I am no shrinking violet, so I pressed down anyway, tearing the linoleum loose along with a large chunk of plaster.
Turns out the plaster wasn't just a spill that got smeared around or protection against drafts. It was there to even out the floor, since that corner of the room is about 4" lower than what it should be. Looks (and smells) like the oak there is rotted.
I guess it's lucky that the wall over the bad spot will probably have to be replaced. It looks like I'll need to try and insert some new boards in that spot, if such a thing is even possible.
Oak and pine are different animals, obviously, but I can tell you that when we moved into Saladhaus, one of the first things Laurel and I did was to finish the upstairs floors (by ourselves), which had a few damaged spots and one spot where there was plywood instead of floorboards. Older houses with softwood floors use boards that have less planing than modern floorboards, so we had to buy some fancy old-wood boards from Rejuvenation, but installing them wasn't difficult at all.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I've heard horror stories about trying to uncover old pine floors without wrecking them.. Definitely glad that what's left is oak. The holes aren't too big, so I'm hoping I can find a couple odds and ends at the ReStore and cut them down to patch the bad spots.
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