Like this one.
It seems to be nearly impossible for us to make any headway with our living room floor because of all the little things that need to be done before we can bring our friend, the orbital sander, into the picture. First, there is the floor furnace. We could leave it. We could try to ignore this guy and go on with our lives, but it doesn’t seem like that is going to work out. We tried to remove him.
And instead he embedded himself further into the floor. It seems like the more we pull, the more the thing sunk- maybe we could just bury it in that hole?
Jimmee was feeling the frustration and brought out the hammer or whatever tool that is.
That’s not our only problem. We also found this lovely thing under the carpet. Nice surprise, eh?
Here’s a close-up.
Our third dilemma is the tile in the entry way that we’re not very fond of. We weren’t sure if there was wood under it or something else, but we decided we wouldn’t know unless we removed the tile.
So we started by tearing it up… here is the process in photos.
Once we got the tile up, SURPRISE! another layer of flooring to get through, along with a layer of drywall that the tile was attached to.
This one had tar adhesive, which we had to do our best to scrape up. After lots of scraping (and arm toning), we decided to switch to mineral spirits, which took the last bits of tar right off.
So that pretty much solved dilemma number 3. Now number 1 and 2 were left to be dealt with, and since we weren’t too confident of our wood-working skills, we decided to pick up the phone and call a professional.
We did the demo before he came, and then he did a great job filling in the wood where needed.
Here is the final finished floor! Problems solved!
Number 1:
Number 2:
Number 3:
Next up, floor refinishing! Check back later to see the shiny, new floor…
A Date with Design 
I love that you only needed the “professional” for that last little bit. Your ability at actual home improvement is beyond impressive.
How exciting! I’ve never heard of or seen a floor furnace before – very interesting. And that tile! Right by the wall – it looks like maybe there might’ve been a door there at one point in time, and they put tile there for an entryway? Just a guess. Who knows, right? :) We got a few nasty surprises ourselves when we tore out the carpet – mainly that the previous installers did a horrible job while putting in the new carpet (ack, Charlie!) and punched deep gouges into the wood beneath, effectively rendering it un-refinishable. But yay – congrats on the new floor! Can’t wait to see it all shiny and pretty! :)
Thanks Caitlin! I think the ability is all passed down through my mom’s genes. :)
Chelsea, I have no idea what was above that tile. We guessed maybe a fireplace, but now that you mention the door that could also be a possiblity. Who knows with these old houses!?? That’s sad about your wood floor, but the one you guys installed looks amazing!