Holes in the Hardwood

With the start of the New Year and the Holidays behind us, it is time to return our focus back on the main reason for our existence...remodeling the house. We have finally returned to work on removing the linoleum from the entry and restoring the hardwood floors hidden underneath.

We have pulled up another another four or five feet of linoleum in the entryway. Upon removal of this section we came upon a most unsettling discovery.

At one time in the history of this house, it was divided into two separate apartments. There was one apartment on the main floor and one on the second floor. We believe that was the case from the mid 1940's until the 70's.

In the picture below, you can see that there was once a wall just inside the main door. There must have been two doors. On the left, the door was the entry for the upstairs apartment. On the right, the entry for the main floor residence.

The floor clearly shows the shadow of the old wall which divided the two living spaces. We know that part of the upstairs landing was the kitchen area for the upstairs apartment. When tearing the wall down on the landing, I discovered water pipes for a sink.

With the removal of the linoleum, we have found that they ran the water line up to that kitchen through the now defunct wall. I assume they also ran the drain down through that same wall. Suddenly, it is clear why they put linoleum down over the hardwood floors.
At some point, somebody drilled a shitload of holes into the floor to accommodate the pipes they ran. Never mind the crimes against hardwood they committed, they had to have a sink.

This was a rather discouraging discovery for us. But once we got past the shock and dismay, we regrouped and figured out what to do next. Orange shag carpet was our first thought. But it is only two board that are damaged, and we will have flooring to use for their replacement because of the hardwood we will pull up at the front door and replace with tile.

And so, we battle on!