Living room floor

One of my adult English student’s asked, “Why are you tiling over the wood floor?” I answered, “The wood floor was incorrectly installed. The seams between the planks have widened. This allows all kinds of debris to collect in the cracks. No thank you.” 

To fix this "mess" I had to plane the wood flooring flat. A coat of glue was evenly applied before the plywood sheeting was installed. To prevent any "squeaks" in the finished floor, a generous amount of 51mm screws were used. The spacing was kept to under four inches. 

The wood stove posed a problem. It weighs over 500 pounds. These rubber feet sliding things made the job a piece of cake. These were purchased in the states to help move heavy furniture.

The plan was to tile most of the floor, but leave an area to move the stove. The double insulated, stainless steel stove pipe was lifted and supported by a 2x4 post and a cross beam. Yes, it's heavy! Hopefully, we will not have any earthquakes this week.

The stove was moved to an area that was not worked on.

Next, the area where the stove was located will have plywood and tile installed. Then the stove will be moved back and the stovepipe installed. The rest of the floor will then be completed. Well, that's the plan anyway.

The floor tiles in the center of the room are installed. I found that it's easier to do the "full" tiles first and the "cut" tiles later. Any errors can be hidden around the edge tiles. The logs around the edge will require a chiseled groove to allow for the tile to be installed without any gaps. This was also done in the dining area. 

The next step is to remove the "useless" mortar that was supposed to hold the tiles in place. We were told to use this mortar and adhesive by a knowledgeable building contractor/engineer when we first moved here. That was a big mistake!! The mortar barely stuck to the tiles. Each tile cracked after the first year of use. However, the adhesive did stick to the wood flooring. It takes considerable effort and time to remove this material. I'd rather be working on the observatory...well, that's it for now. 

Up next, "The Unveiling". Stay tuned...     George