Laminate

I got Trevor up and was on the road by 7:45 am. We had loaded the car the day before. I wanted to make sure I remembered everything; circular saw, miter box, hammer, nails, screw drivers, pliers. All the tools needed to rip out carpet and install laminate flooring.

We had to swing by home depot and buy another box of the pad as I didn't have enough. I also couldn't find my pry bar which is essential in removing tack strips and molding. The new pry bar was only $9. I wanted to shop in Oregon also to avoid the sales tax and to show that I had been down to the house for the record, a little trick a friend told me to prove I had been in the area is to charge something at home depot or in the area to show my location. I can then write off the gas for the trip and the expenses of the purchases and show active involvement in the rental which improves my write offs.

Trevor wanted breakfast before we started so I swung by McDonald's for take out. He ordered four Breakfast Burritos and a fruit smoothie. I ordered an Orange juice. Our tenant was on the porch having coffee and a smoke when we arrived. I was sorry to see she smokes, but not in the house. Its in the lease agreement, no smoking in the house. Even Tom never smoked in the house.

The tenant said she loved the house. Her furniture looks right at home. Her colors match. She did say that the cleaning was not up to her level. My property manager had me send in one of her people to clean after we moved out, after I had spent a week cleaning. We had both missed things. I said I wasn't going to discount the rent. I just didn't have it in my budget. We are already in the hole for the insurance and taxes, around five or six thousand dollars depending on anything else that might come up.

She asked if I would split the payment just for this month, $1000 now and $800 at mid month. I told her I was good with that arrangement just for this month. I understood how moves go and the expenses of a move. We traded phone numbers.

Trevor and I worked hard all day. Trevor carried up the tools and boxes and helped rip out the carpet and pad and carry the debris out of the house. I showed him how to carefully remove molding with out tearing the dry wall or break the molding. I removed the tack strips as he didn't want to get poked. The staples came out easily with the flat head screw driver and pliers. We also cleared the closet of carpet. The prep work took a few hours, and we were ready to start laying the laminate

Three boards for each layer, I even let Trev do some of the miter cuts. He was a wonderful helper. He probably hadn't worked that hard in his life. When 4:00 came and he realized I wasn't going to break for lunch, he did get a little whiny. The neighbors were home and he was able to take a break to say "Hi".

The problem is when laying laminate, you start at the easy end, the longest wall. It is not until you get to the end of the day that you hit the hard awkward cuts, when you are tired and want to be done.

Had I had more time I would have quit and finished up the next day, but I didn't want to do the drive again. The jeep gets 20 miles to the gallon and takes at least half a tank for each round trip. I plowed through until the end. It did come out beautifully. I did not caulk the molding, though I did get it nailed back in place. The tenant will appreciate not having to pay for it to be cleaned or make the effort in steam cleaning like I did.

I had said we would be there between 9:00 am and 10:00 am and work until 8:00 pm. We were finished by 7:15 pm. I was on schedule the whole day. It did take the whole day. I could not have done it without Trevor's help. He was a great runner and carrier and cleaner and loader. He helped lay each line which made it so much easier to install. he cut the closet board length himself while I finished re installing the molding in the room. I appreciated every minute of his help. We were on schedule because he was with me.

As a thank you I told him he could pick the restaurant and if Barnes and Noble was open we would swing by to get a newly released book he wanted. He had definitely earned food and a book. Though I did remind him it was his mess we were cleaning up. He learned what hard work is all about and a few remodeling tricks, and using a miter box safely. He and I both patted ourselves on the back for a job well done. We pulled into the house at 10:00 pm, exhausted, well fed, with new books for Trevor.