Fir Scrapin'

    Sunday being GI tract rest day take day off from exercise routine too.  Dry, bike 2+ miles to Winco stock up on rice, lentils, peanuts at bulk food department.  Pedal back kindle Earth stove.

Balky at first realize vent on low.  Blaze away with vent - back right side of stove - high.

Great little stove.  Good draw, no back smoke with door open unless nearly entirely shut down.  Door has four positions: (1) closed - clear view of ceramic plaque on door -

and a little further back showing two water damaged sheets gypsum wallboard left behind in garage saved, cut in half, three pieces under stove, one leaning against wall for temporary heat protection.

(2) Half open - foot warming,

(3) open - loading, more foot warming,

(4) fireplace - door off.  Cleverly bent metal tangs at bottom (left) of door leaning on stove fit slot (just above door inside edge of scalloped decor piece) on stove allowing different positions, evident here.  Sturdy, durable, handy, easy.

While enjoying fire beautiful sunset out front west fixed window subliminally reminding: 'Live The Dream' - as scribed below clouds on building's side.

     Often feel like Steve Carrell in 'Evan Almighty' God dictating actions, him no clue.  Before Skye living at Shady Hollow Farm in WI out house was 'bout 100 yards in woods.  Cold, urgent, pitch black night look in vain for shitter.  Ground just ahead reveals path.  Following step by step gets ya there, relief.  Life opens up in front of me like that - no serious clue where I'll go - one step leads to next.  Missteps occur - as we'll see - one gets there just the same.
    Last couple weeks been scraping ancient linoleum off original fir floors through out house.  Marathoned front room spending seven hours.  Started in stove corner moving stove onto sheetrock heat shield in final position when done.  Before.

After.

First use back flat end of wonder bar bearing down on left hand with all possible weight, right hand scraping motion.

Some areas stick more - slow going - inch by inch.  Careful: don't gouge fir.

Get big stuff up, pile in middle of room,

bag for dump - one large, twelve small bags trash night two weeks ago.

Cat hair, dirt on top of old linoleum convince me cats have been in house forever, no cleaning done before installing latest underlayment, linoleum.

Final scrape use wonder bar hook end dragged with wood grain, as much pressure as can apply.  Get down to wood removing all glue remnants.

Last section of front room being scraped shows vice grips in before area, hammer in first stage scrape area, wonder bar in finished - after - scraped area, pile of scrap foreground.

Section finished,

completes front room.  3-1/4" fir plank flooring in good shape will make nice floor with minimal sanding.

Floor scraping's old way of sanding floors before modern machines - feel in good company though work's repetitive, demanding.  Impressionist painter Caillebotte became known through his 1876 'Floorscrapers'.
    Next spend a good day on hallway.  Before (south, toward front bedroom).

Linoleum under 3/4" quarter rounds on perimeter of floor.  Remove.

 

Denail for reuse.  Pull finishing (no head) nails through quarter round with vise grips.

Scrape away - first pass.

Final pass - after.   2-1/4" fir floor well worn in hall.  Hall will become part of enlarged middle bedroom which most likely will be carpeted - floor condition no issue.  Scraping removes surface dirt, stench so go over whole area regardless.

   Finally go after kitchen.  Big linoleum chunks, chimney support wall board piled, 

bagged for dump.

Old old linoleum stuck real good through out kitchen - takes days to remove.  Practically cripple left hand so much pressure's required.  Before (west).

(east)

 

Front room, hall scraped clean with no help but kitchen much more recalcitrant.  Heat will soften linoleum aiding removal.  Borrow Spud's blow torch - effective, painfully slow.

Solution - speaking of missteps:

 

Works, but

leaves what looked like this

a war zone.

 

Waffling 'bout washing interior of house again with underlayment, linoleum gone - now necessary.  Soaking - not torching - old linoleum with gas will loosen without bombing out the house.  Removal grueling to the end.
    Floor scrapin's so tough nice sunny day take a break by grubbing eight inch thick three foot long root chunk off front stump by hand - took 1.5 hours - piece of cake compared to scraping off old kitchen linoleum.

Note trusty handsaw half way through root just below trusty axe handle.

Got it - must be an easier way to get firewood!  A little Hollywood camera play here making me look Paul Bunyon.  Front yard now root free - will also deroot garden area .
     Originally range was on east kitchen wall not here on south kitchen wall.  Cupboards were here so fir flooring wasn't laid in rectangular section evident here from stove outlet to chimney support.

Range was initially here so fir was laid up to wall, linoleumed before remodeling and cupboards were installed.

Remove cupboards to delinoleum all fir flooring.  Doors to bath, middle bedroom will be relocated here eventually so want good flooring.  Range sat where wall is pink back then (chimney support to right).

Finally kitchen fir fully scraped.

Kitchen sink to top left; ancient range location, east kitchen wall to top right of pic.

West kitchen window to upper left, back door to upper right of this pic.  Will put range under that window.  Some rot in fir by sink, removal of kitchen/front room wall, rectangular area under ancient cupboards, will necessitate pulling up fir and reflooring east half of kitchen.
    To complete job finish scrape hall, middle bedroom (below),

start on front bedroom find paint scrapes off - will finish another time.

Sooo glad to have this job finished - don't expect much else in whole place to be as difficult.  On haunches hours at a time; putting as much weight, energy into edge of scraping blade as I can muster; for a minute - depressing war blackened kitchen - didn't think I'd get it.  Good way to start the New Year - this behind me.  Next step: clear out front room, kitchen, hall; wash.  Peace     d