Stripping the floors

Getting my new range was such a dream. I know I'm goofy, but here it goes...It was a dream come true. Since I was in my early 20's I wanted a Viking or a Wolf range. *Sigh*
But putting it on vinyl floors...not a dream. So I told Jody  that I would like to rip out the floors myself. (He had no problem with that.)

So, started removing the old 3 layers of flooring.

I found a LOT of old glue on the maple.

If you want to strip your floors yourself. Some advice: Give yourself a few days, and make an appointment in advance with a massage therapist. You're gonna need it.

I figured with such a small kitchen, this would be a piece of cake. Nope. Old glue on an old floor = Lots of work and chemicals. I used good, old fashioned Zip Strip and a putty knife. Open some windows and wear a mask and gloves made specifically for chemicals.

The floors took me about 3 days to rip apart and strip. They are still not sanded or refinished, but someday, when we remodel the kitchen we will sand, stain and polyurethane. For now, I am more than satisfied. 

My husband really likes our range. :)

Viking Range

For the past several years our kitchen floors were a tan, tile-look vinyl. It was a huge upgrade from what they used to be.
When I grew up in our little square farmhouse our kitchen floors were a not-so lovely linoleum. The color, well...is best described as vomit. I know. Yum. Under that layer of vom... linoleum was another layer of linoleum. That layer was similar in color...just more green swirls instead of brown swirls. Under the second layer was maple flooring original to our house. I always wanted to unbury the maple and refinish it, but knew we could encounter a surprise such as an old patch, burn marks or something like that.
Usually when we tackle a big project around here, it because of a "one thing led to another" scenario. That's what happened with my kitchen floor.

I have been using my mamas old gas range. It's a late 80's early 90's Whirlpool LP range. My mom got it used, and it served her well. Really, it served us all well. Many, many people were fed fabulous meals on my Mama's gas range, but it has seen it's day.
We have been saving and looking for a new/used range for quite some time. I knew I wanted a pro-style range, and I wanted (and have been dreaming about) something 36" wide or wider with convection bake and a grill or griddle... Well, several weeks ago we found one on Craigslist...with the matching hood! The price was nothing short of a miracle. It was very well cared for, and it amazing shape especially since it was built in 1997!

To make a long story short, we moved the range into the house. (All 450 lbs of it) I didn't want to move it to the kitchen until I took out the old flooring. So, as I mentioned, "One thing led to another." and I started ripping out the old flooring.