Cool McCool's Garage

In an effort to salvage the original linoleum flooring, today we went over to the shop armed with some Ajax cleanser, scrub-brushes, Scotch-brite pads and attacked the floor.  Sadly, right in the middle of the trailer, in front of the fridge, is a stain that completely penetrates the flooring, that won’t bleach, scrub, or even be sanded away.  Too bad, because it’s pretty cool looking stuff.  I thought briefly about trying to lift the original floor and simply flip it end for end, but the stuff is stuck down with some kind of molecular cement, and besides, there are a thousand little tacks thru it where subsequent layers of vinyl had been laid down.  So, were going to cover it up and use the same Armstrong “Excelon” commercial tile we used in the Spartan.

Of course, we don’t have QUITE enough of the red tile left from the Spartan to do the whole floor, so we ordered another box from Home Depot this evening.  We’ll cover the original floor with a layer of underlayment, then put the new flooring on top of that.  It’ll look fresh and new.  I could have lived with the slightly worn original if it weren’t for the big blemish right smack in the center.  Looked like something laid on it for a long time and either moisture, or some solvent wicked through. 

On the plus side, after pulling the rest of the cabinetry off and scrubbing the floor, it smells MUCH better!

We were also quite shocked at the price increase in Birch plywood, but more than that, of how really BAD the quality is.   What junk, I’m going to shop around before plunking down almost $30 bucks a sheet at Home Depot for junk.

In other news tonight, I took the first step in fixing whatever I screwed up with the snow-plow!  I pulled the pump and took in to “Casey’s Auto Electric” in Kalamazoo, and told them to just fix it.  The counter guy thought it was amusing when I told him I’d fixed it to the point that it no longer worked at all.  I’m sure they’ve had OTHER items in that well-meaning but inept DIY’rs have dropped off.

More pics of the Tini-Home floor below, it’s too bad we can’t save the flooring.  I liked it.