New Vinyl for Gma Higham

Grandma and Grandpa Higham have lived in their house for near 26 years and have had the same vinyl in their kitchen. It wore very well, except right on the seam. It was time for some new vinyl.

Since I work in a flooring store, I got them a great deal on vinyl. My dad and I left his house at 7 a.m. and headed for Clearfield. Just over 2 hours later we arrived and it was a lovely day. Grandma Higham was at work until noon, so that gave us a few hours to complete the job before she got home.

We headed inside to inspect the floor and double check a few measurements. Usually the worst part of a vinyl job is removing the old vinyl. In this case, we were very lucky because Grandpa Higham, Zack and Andrew removed it a few days earlier. I cannot say enough thanks for doing the worst job for us.

They did a great job removing the old vinyl. However, Grandpa Jenson still got down on his hands and knees and inspected every inch of the floor to removed any staples or nails that got missed. He found a few and then was satisfied.

Then we laid out the vinyl on the front lawn to rough cut it. We cut it to the dimensions of the kitchen, leaving it about two inches long on the sides. We also cut a slit so the vinyl fit around the cabinets. This part was nice, since the grass was soft on the knees.

Next we took the vinyl inside. We cut it to get it to lay mostly flat. Then we lifted it up, folding it back halfway and applied glue in sections. Be careful not to trowel yourself into a corner.

Then we carefully cut along the edges, making them lay down perfectly. You must be very careful with this step. If you cut too much off, there is no going back.

The next step was the roller. By starting in the center and working toward the edges in a fan shape, bubbles are worked out and complete contact with the floor is achieved.

As a reward for all our hard work, we received lemon fritters. Apple fritters are superior, but lemon ones were still appreciated.

Here is the finished product. It looked very nice.

We left at 12:30 and Grandma Higham was not home yet. She called me later and said that when she got home the fridge, the stove, the dishwasher and the kitchen table were all back in their places. The only thing different was the floor. She loved it.