Last year my landlord/buddy scrounged me six big piles of light colored laminate flooring from somewhere and I’ve been storing it on my back porch, covered in an old sheet to discourage dirt.

Planks are dated on the back to 2011 so they were in service for many years before being unlocked and hauled off.

These piles left are probably about half what I started with. I’d forgotten how much work it took me to tote this stuff up my killer stairs.

But then I was younger and pre 3rd hammer-toe surgery, and the forced sitting and healing, still not finished.

So less muscle tone is left in my skinny legs. But persistence wins the day, and attention to detail. So I got that going for me.

With painting finished I began laying the faux birch (maple?) 8 inch boards using my flooring kit.

Which consists of a bag of black plastic 1/4 inch spacer wedges, a plastic block for slamming home the boards without destroying them, and a 1 foot long steel transfer tool to slam home the boards when you’re too close to the wall to swing a hammer.

Somewhat oddly, I chose to run the boards perpendicular to the direction the hallway boards will run, just so I could do the closet last, in case I run short of flooring.

This part of the floor will be mostly covered by the bed, so I was more relaxed in choosing boards for it. The flaws are minor.

The flooring’s used but good condition meant I had to do lots of inspection and grading of flaws, appearance, joint flange condition etc.

Luckily I had lots of free flooring to choose from, and it appears I’ll have plenty of solid, uncut four foot boards to do the whole room plus the closet.

With enough cutoffs to fill in the gaps and maybe the foyer closet floor as well.

I need 15+ more boards and I’m choosing them more carefully now because they will be out in the open and easy to see.

If I run low on boards I’ll save the more cosmetically challenged ones for the closet, easier to hide the flaws.

I need to cut the door trim off at the bottom in order to slide the plank under it. Probably use a hacksaw or a coping saw.

I had big ideas of a final push to finish the flooring yesterday but my body, unused to physical labor or much movement since hammer-toe time, demanded I take time off. As my grandmother would say, ‘I’m all stove-up’.

So yesterday and today were old-man-sitting-in-the-sun days instead of work days. Plenty of time mañana.

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