update to 'ripping out the carpet '

He says "I think the foyer will be okay like it is, I don't think I'll tile that."
I say "Okay. I'd like to redo the kitchen floor, but the foyer is okay."
time passes......
He says "it's weird that the floor in the foyer is raised. I wonder why. And did you notice that this is just a stick on laminate?"
I say "hmmmm.....that is weird. I wonder why the floor is raised."
time passes....he starts picking at the edges of the laminate on the raised floor.
time passes
I say, "it's really weird that the floor is raised..." I get down on the floor to see if that's just a sheet of plywood, or what. I laugh.
He says "what?"
I say "oh, it's just funny. This floor is tiled. The laminate is on top of ceramic tiles. When we lay down the new tiles, it should be just the right height."
He says "hmmmmm....."
time passes, he picks at the edges of the laminate.

Last night, there was nothing on tv. Nothing. If the cable service had gone out, it would have been an improvement. I guess he was finished with his book, because he got bored and went out to the shed and got a scraper, and started scraping up the laminate. Just the edge, like it wasn't an irreversible decision already. So he scrapes up enough of the laminate to see what is underneath it, and as we should have guessed from previous experience with this house (see below) there was another layer of laminate. It is absolutely hideous. Seriously, I think somebody probably bought it in 1974. From a clearance sale. They might have been paid to take it. Trailer house manufacturers in the 70's would have rejected this flooring. So we start scraping up THAT layer of laminate to get to the ceramic tiles underneath. They are even uglier than the laminate. Why? sigh. So now, in addition to laying tiles in the hallway, and painting the hallway, and the closets and the bathroom and repairing the drawers in the linen closet....we also have to remove two layers of laminate flooring, chip up the old tiles and the grout, and retile the foyer. I'm going to have to bribe my sons into coming over here and doing some manual labor. Time to make a big pot of spaghetti. :)

*previous history with house. The owner before was a contract painter. When he retired, and he was bored, his children brought him buckets of white paint so he would be happy. He liked painting. He painted the whole house white. Over and over again. Then over again. Then he painted the bricks outside white. Then he painted the sidewalks and the porch white. Then one day he painted the suburban white. Inside and out. ouch. The kids decided maybe it was time for Dad to go to an assisted living apartment. Now when we start redoing something in the house, we scrap off layers of paint only to find wallpaper. We remove the wallpaper, and find holes in the wall. Paint is peeling off the kitchen cabinets because he painted over the varnished surfaces without prepping. It's a challenge. :) So now we have tiles covered by laminate covered by laminate. eh. Adventure is always good. right?