shore it up

Just when I started typing this post the parallel of what it talks about and life in general came to mind.  Underneath part of the floor (the bathroom in particular) someone else proceeded to hack away the support to make space for some piping. They basically took the support and cut it in half, leaving what was left hanging there to hold the weight of the house above unsupported.  So I had to get a jack post and push back up the sagging joist into the correct position. This was done over a couple weeks, in small increments, just to make sure I didn't stress everything all at once.  After it was in the correct position, I installed a new double header spanning from the joists on each side, then attached the cut joist.  I used some joist hangers to make sure there was a secure connection between everything.  I don't have any pictures of the hack job, I forgot to take one before tearing the old stuff out.  But you can see in the images how the new header fits in, the support post has been removed and now the floor isn't sagging!

If only it was this easy to fix life after it's been cut in half, it takes quite a bit more time and effort, but you definitely need good support during that time to get things back somewhere close to level.

a new low

I had a request for more writing in my posts, some of my latest ones were getting short, so I'll be sure to step it up, hopefully this one is better...   Well I never thought I would do something like this. I have a confession to make.  I used peel and stick tile. There, I said it, its done, let the fallout begin. Get off the floor and back in your chair.  Everyone that knows me right now is reeling. I pray this sin will be forgiven.  Remember a post awhile ago when I ripped up the nasty floor in the kitchen. Well since I am torn on many levels on whether or not to proceed with bigger plans, I had to do something to make it look finished and more livable.  So against my better judgement I went with a designed to sell solution. It turned out ok and gives it a better look for sure, just not my ideal way of handling it.  The images are after the jump. The good thing though is the installation was a breeze.  Near the end of the install I thought to myself... "If life only went as easy as this peel and stick tile"

kitchen floor

Well I really couldn't take it.  The kitchen floor was pretty disgusting so it got ripped up. This sheet vinyl, or whatever material it is was in really poor shape and couldn't be cleaned, so its gone. As you can see from the pieces it broke into, it was in brittle shape. Not really sure what to put down or what to do with the plywood that is underneath, that will be for another day. The grand idea is totally reconfiguring everything, but the brakes are applied. Would like to know if the hardwood is under this plywood, but if I go that far there is no turning back.  So until the many factors involved in that decision are aligned, a temporary fix might just have to be in order.