The Squeamish Need Not Apply

Basement progress has been slow this week.....banging loudly on concrete to break up grout doesn't mesh well with a child that doesn't feel well.  I've done bits and pieces, but it's taking a while.  I did get to buy a new toy tool to help get the grout up..it has a 100 year warranty (ONE HUNDRED years....is this something I need to pass down in my will?).

I think the grout removal is going to have to be "good enough" by the time I'm around to installing the flooring; too much banging and the concrete starts to bust, which isn't good either. I'll get as smooth of a base as I can, then hope for the best.  It's not like the floor will be glued or nailed down, so the worst case is acceptable to me (remove it and redo it, or live with it less than perfect).

Here are a few things I've learned about removing tile and grout:

• It's not as bad as I expected, but still really physical;
• Tile removal: easy; grout removal: hard;
• I would never remove a larger area of tile without renting either power equipment or hiring someone else to do it;
• Eye protection: really, really necessary;Lung protection: banging on grout to remove it causes a lot of dust, and the fumes are terrible.  I don't know what's in that stuff.....and here comes the anti-squeamish part, just warning you:

•  Those little pieces of tile are sharp; add gloves to your needed list;  and you can see why the "nails" I am more tied to are not my fingernails; there's just no use when you use your hands a lot!  (Although I really enjoy a nice pedicure!)

Adding to today's excitement is taking off the first piece of carpet from the stairs (which also have nail strips and staples: more blood shed) and I'm so excited to see nice pieces of pine with rounded stair nose; I can just picture these painted brown and white and looking so awesome!  Anything though will look better than the carpet that I pulled up: I couldn't tell how awful dirty and worn it was until I could see it in good light.

 Oh my it is nasty.

A little sanding and paint and the steps alone will be a huge improvement....and easier to keep clean!   We enter the house through a door just to the right from our basement level garage; anything easier to keep clean will be so welcome.

Now to wait and hear if the flooring comes in tomorrow--I can't wait to see it!