Lucky duck ! I love the wood floor. I tore out layer after layer in our back hall and had to really argue with my floor guy to make my point that there was floor worth saving under the layers. I used his pry bar while he was at lunch...used it on the floor not him !!! Here is a sample of all we found under layers of floors and carpet and linoleum and tarpaper...and plywood . I hope you get to add to the beadboard I will have a small amount inside a built in china cab in the DR, can't find the pic. I will look forward to seeing more pics of your home. We are 120 yrs too...but in AL and heartpine not oak. c

floors:

{{!gwi}}

kitchen before:

{{!gwi}}

same view finished kitchen :

Slateberry, I have that EXACT same beadboard in my DR... covered with about 8 layers of paint, mostly painted in dripping thick layers. Over the years the wood has shrunk, like yours, and paint is variously filling and not filling the gaps. I hope you get to stripping it faster than I have (not)! DH did a stretch with a heat gun and I haven't even finished that off with the chemical yet, but most is still fully covered with paint. So I tend to regard it as a mixed blessing... but truly, if stripped I think it will be a happy thing to have.

It is a nice surprise, given what you could find :-) and I agree with the reason for doing your own demolition at least.

KarinL

Trail, your floor is Gorgeous, but I was howling in my seat at the before pic of your kitchen; I've admired it on the kitchens forum, but never saw the humble beginning...very impressive! Actually I like to show my kids pictures of gutting like that so they don't freak out when we do it (minimally, we don't want to gut the whole house, just a couple of walls).

I will have to figure out how much beadboard I have before we reno, so I think I'm going to be doing a lot of exploratory pre-demolition. Poor dh. But I want to know what I've got so I can plan. Hopefully it goes all around the kitchen under the ubiquitous paneling.

I think what you said about the floor guy is so true; for the pros who have to make a living in a day's work, it can be hard to do preservation demolition and make it pay, especially if they're tied to their original estimate. Pulling out nails without doing damage can be very slow going. The last time we had pro work done on our house, I was amazed at the lightning pace and quick decisions; really, it was too much for me. Guess that's why I'm on this forum.

Karinl, it it will be interesting to see what the beadboard does come summer, as the humidity here is so low right now. If I had my druthers I'd finish all my raw wood in the winter, when it's smallest, but then the fumes...you can't win. Your 8 layers of paint has me grateful that the beadboard has been covered for at least 50 years. Ditto the floor too. There will be annoying nail holes to fill from the plywood, but it's a small price to pay for avoiding 50 years of wear, tear, and sanding. The carpet and linoleum fad may well have done us a favor in that regard :-)

Wainscoting, right? What a great surprise. Congrats. My house used to be a one-room school and unfortunately when my Uncle bought it and "housified" it, he tore all the wainscoting off and replaced it with wallboard (!). Have never heard the real story behind that, but also unfortunately family members who might have known are all passed.

Anyway, I still find pieces of that wainscoting here and there in other areas of the house and outside too. It was used to patch holes in the wood floor (found when I tore up all carpet and linoleum) and even used as material for siding on a large birdhouse my Uncle made in 1947! I'd give anything to see what it originally looked like on the walls.

Good luck with the floor,too.

Oh man! Slateberry, why do you get all the fun surprises? ;) How awesome for you! I hope my soon to be child has the same attitude as your daughter, otherwise it'll be a miserable growing up for it! Enjoy creating your new kitchen!

Trailrunner, I LOVE your shelving in the kitchen. How deep are they? Are they the floating shelves?

I've been looking at the IKEA shelves which have the supports beneath, very cottagey.

Your style shelf is traditional, but the floating look makes them very modern looking. Way cool.

Great finds, Slateberry! It sounds like you're raising another old house lover, too.

Oh dear, they say you fall in love with your grandparent's house. I got mine by way of my grandmother's lovely 1925 craftsman bungalow in Houston. I get theta waves just thinking about that place!

My kids grandparents have: a motor home (my side) and a suburban ranch/duplex in Arizona (dh). So, we'll see. Either way, they'll have fun, and less expensive and time-consuming preferences. ;-)

I am so bad about uploading photos. Here is the "after" at last. I wish it were a tidier photo, but this kitchen is never going to be a showroom; too much traffic. Anyway, I've never taken apart cabinets and moved them before. I learned a lot, and best of all, I can open my refrigerator door all the way now!

The second-best part was taking out the double oven and replacing it with shelves for the microwave and toaster oven. It freed up a lot of counter space.

The best part, of course, was discovering the beadboard and original wood floor. it will be fun incorporating them into our kitchen reno when we do it.

Come over to the kitchen forum! These stories and pictures would be so welcome!

Thanks! I'm not done yet, so maybe I'll mosey over with some before and afters when I am. I prefer to drool over the 5 digit kitchen renos over there, but I agree its fun to see the "kitchen refreshed--under $100" category too. Especially in this economy.

We have long term plans to increase the natural light, improve traffic flow, and make it easier for multiple people to cook together in our kitchen, but sometimes I wonder if it will ever happen. We are getting by pretty well in our beat up 50 year old kitchen, and the time I'd spend on a reno could be spent wandering around in the white mountains with my kids. The trails are calling...

Maybe it's just spring fever. Come winter, I'll be snarling about my kitchen again.

I did my gut/remodel during the month of February. Nothing much happens in Iowa in February;-) I started in a blizzard. I knew I'd be there even if my carpenter wasn't. I pushed the dumpster into the garage so it wouldn't fill up with snow. My kitchen was updated in 1980 from a 1950 porch conversion. I got a lot of ideas from those 5 digit renos but having been dirt poor my whole life I knew I could come up with something for much less and I did. You have that great beadboard to use. I didn't have anything to salvage. I did find the 1950 door after I was done with the renovation. It's installed now. Mine was a four digit remodel but considering all I changed, I did it very reasonably. I hesitated about sharing my budget ideas over on the kitchen forum but everyone was so nice. There is always someone working with a bare bones budget like I did and I hope I give them courage to persevere. It can be done. Don't forget rummage/tag/garage sales, Goodwill, Salvation Army, ebay and craig's list. And you might find things stored at your house, someone else's house or setting on the curb that will work just fine for what you need. Reduce, reuse, repurpose. Do you have a Habitat for Humanity Restore near you? I'll be starting the bathroom in July! Can't wait! I have too many ideas just like I had too many ideas for the kitchen. And I have enough stuff stockpiled for two bathrooms! Just need to find the perfect floor. I want a to die for floor.