Continued from Water…
Sure enough, the damage was extensive and there was no amount of complaining and belly aching that would change that. The water that had puddled on the floor of the basement got wicked between the flooring underlayment about 3/4 of the way across the room. The floor was soaking it up like a sponge and it would only be a matter of time before mold would take over. I had to rip it out. All of it. And I can tell you, this was demoralizing and depressing since the basement was one of the few rooms of the house that I generally considered done (I know… no such thing in this house, but I digress).
Of course pulling the flooring isn’t as easy as it sounds considering how much stuff was in the room. That all had to be relocated to the breezeway. I managed to cram the craft cabinets into the closet and the couch barely fit into the laundry room. I pulled the utility trailer around to the patio, opened up one of the basement windows and was able to huck the soaked flooring next to the trailer for easy loading later.
Then came the decision on what to do next. I’ve had it with this type of flooring down here, so I found an inexpensive time and got to work.
The tile is now complete, but since laying it I’ve injured my back and have yet to grout it in so it’ll be a couple more weeks before we can move back in.
Ugh
