Yikes, where has the time gone? I guess I've been in the floor time warp. After finishing the bedroom, I got the insane idea to do the living room, too. I mean, I had some tools borrowed, I could get the same color at Sam's, the house was already torn up -- so why not?
The second room was slightly larger, but it went much faster because I'd learned some tricks and also because after about row 3, I started getting really anxious about this brilliant idea to tear up another room of the house. So I channeled the nervous energy and got the living room done in a matter of a couple of evenings (dragging the huge furniture back in took a while longer).
The part I'm happiest about is that I managed to cover up the unsightly doorway between the living room and kitchen (lower right of picture). Before, it was sort of a hole with some old insulation or leveling compound or something -- I'm not really sure what. I'd had a rug over it for a year or so after I ripped out the living room carpet. It is strange to have two transitions, I know (the laminate strip transition and also the metal transition piece to the kitchen's vinyl), but this is the only way I could figure out how to do it.
Unfortunately, I've found that having the laminate flooring hasn't helped me get rid of my numerous throw rugs because I'm overly protective of the laminate and now have as many or more rugs than I used to. Also, the cats have trouble getting traction on the laminate, especially the older cat, so I have placed vinyl-backed rugs at strategic locations near windows.
If I had it to do over I would:
* Borrow or rent a table saw or miter saw. I cut all the pieces with a jigsaw, and it wasn't until I started the living room that I realized the blade had been dull throughout the cutting of all the bedroom pieces! Brilliant... But even with a sharp blade, it's impossible to keep the cuts completely straight. A table or miter saw would have made the edges a lot nicer. You don't really see this once the molding goes over it, however.
* Try to do it all in a weekend.
* Do the cutting outside. I now have sawdust all over everything in my basement. The only thing worse than a cluttered basement is a cluttered basement covered with a thin film of sawdust.
* Just go ahead and do the second bedroom, too, in addition to the master bedroom and living room. I'm not in the mood any more, so it'll be a while before I tackle the second bedroom.
