Restoring A $7,000 Hoarder Mansion: Ruining Floors

[@morgynegarber8003]

Idea: make your office space the "historical room". Floor ,trim, and beams. It can be a reminder of the generations that managed the family farm

[@beautifuldragon80]

I agree with making the office into the (historical room).

[@hd90dog]

That was my thought as well. Also, maybe use some of that wood for picture frames and hang the articles about the house and appropriate pictures.

[@thirtynine3955]

Excellent ideas!

[@bethkinsey3277]

This is what I was going to say. Then his grandfather would always be with him.

[@debbierossworm4229]

In our area The Historic Society helps with the renovation if you use some of the original materials.

[@garyberg]

Cole, As a retired flooring contractor, I have a couple of suggestions. 1. before putting down any flooring, go to the lowest level and level the floor from there. 2. reinstall the flooring that you have, without refinishing them and buy unfinished matching planks to replace the broken ones and where the walls were. There is a lot of 2 " X 3/4 " oak planks around. 3. Sand the floors and put whatever finish you want on them. 4. consult with a flooring contractor that works with wood floors.

[@dorothyjbond]

There were programs like 'HomeTown' on HGTV where a floor re-finisher would do that and they came up great. Sanding down after would be so much easier. Cole should try to find a pro floor sanding/polishing person to do that. May not be easy in his part of Iowa, maybe DesMoines.

[@terrytrammell7388]

This is excellent advice Cole, pay attention.

[@janetl9054]

With as much tile as you’re going to have on the first floor, kitchen and entryway, mudroom etc. it looks like you would have enough wood to do this first floor, at least most of it. You could try to do it or the attic. The whole time you were demoing I was thinking oh please don’t trash that floor! That’s $30,000 worth of hardwood!! 😮

[@QueenEbo951]

Make a playhouse for your kids and for future generations of children, use the wood floor in there.

[@kylekuntz5302]

Consider the first floor for the original floor and some of the fancier original wood details. You can always use an adjusting layer of subfloor in the kitchen and carpeted rooms. Perhaps an entryway, connecting hallway and a detailed formal dining or side room.

[@TheRanger1371]

Cole, I have been restoring old buildings 1890's era, for the last few years. I have seen most of what you are talking about many times. I have also read a good number of the comments. Many have said start in the basement and work up. DO THAT. If you jack up the first floor, it will push up the sagging framing and give you a solid base for everything else. You may have to put in an I Beam and probably some supports to keep things in place. Once you have the base, and things are closer to plumb, level, and square, life will get easier on you build. The studs in the walls did not shrink in length over the years. When indoor plumbing came around, plumbers had no qualms about cutting out floor joists to run drains and then places started to sag. Regarding the flooring, once the floor is pushed up from the basement to as level as it can get, you can deal with the subfloor . You may choose to replace the existing subfloor with tongue and groove plywood for a solid base for the final layer of hardwood. The floor guys will lay down the hardwood and then sand it in place with large belt sanders so the final surface will be even. There will most likely be differences in the color, but with the quantity of flooring you have, you can keep all the old in the same place and hide the transitions to the new stuff. Another thing to loose sleep over is the thickness of the walls. You have removed plaster and lathe for a total thickness of at least an inch on each wall. Installing 5/8 drywall is going to make the rooms slightly bigger, causing you to have to somehow stretch the base and crown molding. Not a big problem but one that has to be solved farther down the road. Lastly, flooring and molding is expensive, save as much of the old as possible. Your next purchase is nail pullers or large channel lock pliers to clean 2 x 4's and molding. Clean and stack all you can salvage somewhere out of the way.

[@benhur520]

Remember, they didn't label a single piece of trim they removed. It all went into a big pile in the middle of the floor.

[@tompeters4234]

@@benhur520 Where in the video did he say they weren't labeled? I thought I heard him say about labeling them near the beginning, but I didn't re-watch to verify or perhaps that was in the last video.

[@caroledney3919]

@@benhur520. Cole said in the beginning they would label it all. No, we didn’t see them do so, but I would assume they did so. Just sayin…….😆

[@caroledney3919]

Cole, I could fill a lot of space with recommendations, however, will spare the space bc someone else will have more knowledge and ideas than myself. I want to expound on the sentimental aspects. I’m shocked! Also, ecstatic that you so eloquently and sincerely expressed your feelings about your attachment to all items your deconstructing. I just turned 78 (1/28). I’m dealing with this as well. To listen to a young man consider the nostalgia he associates with his family’s home is heartwarming. My Mom (passed in 2018)was disappointed that her grandchildren didn’t want any of her furniture etc. I’m not interested in “mid century” style furniture, I grew up with it! My sons, in their 50s now, don’t want my stuff either. I’ve spent way too much time pondering all this and have come to the conclusion---you can’t take it with you! However, someone else may want/need it. Donate/sell. Whatever. Just try to avoid the landfill.😹😹 My only other recommendation is , the house was built from the ground up! Therefore, it makes sense to start in the basement to stabilize and enforce the foundation from there. May well correct a lot of faults you find above! Love what you are doing! It endears me even more to your channel and family. Lived in Council Bluffs for 3 years in the early 80s. Our last winter there was tough, to say the least! Snow on the ground just before Halloween until 2 weeks before a late Easter! The holidays brought 3 weeks of -10 to -20 with -70 to -90 wind chill. Christmas Eve my son and I ran to Omaha for last minute shopping, counted a total of 60+ vehicles/semis stranded on the freeway on the round trip!😻 🇺🇸MesquiteTX

[@laurakiffmeyer9221]

This was great advice. Thanks for sharing

[@ethanmcleod8819]

One bit of advice I would highly recommend is to start your remodel from the bottom up, not the top down. A good house starts with a good foundation. Start at your lowest level, put in entirely new king studs and headers and level everything up from there. Working from the top down is going to lead to a lot of issues.

[@bonzaburns1]

Totally agree with that. Makes way more sense.

[@Dc-hj5ns]

If you go back far enough he did start in the basement

[@ListenLearn2]

Cole, your office should have the original wood floors. The big mirror from the parlor, and the fireplace mantle with electrical or propane fireplace. Make your office the historical room in the house. Kind Regards, Todd

[@stevenchristensen2336]

I agree the wood floors and wood paneling on the walls and ceiling just looks natural in an office

[@Carole_494]

I agree, Cole's office would be great area for all original home floor, walls, etc. A reminder and memory of his grandfather & father and years of farm in the family

[@Mid_Michigan-Genetics]

Agree!! Wood floor in office our a wall in his office made with the wood!! Our a wall in the attic!!

[@bryanhubner9848]

Great idea to have the office to have the original items. You’ll be in there a lot to be able to appreciate it and think about your grandfather as you’re doing work for the farm.

[@raypage9035]

This is exactly what I was thinking as Cole was talking about the subject. Cole your office would be the perfect place to have your "memories" displayed, you are going to be spending time in an area which represents your past, present and future.

[@alanstevens4113]

Cole, I can't believe that your friend Justin hasn't told you that you can still buy the hardwood flooring exactly like you have been ripping up. You can buy the unfinished oak flooring and stain it any color you want to. I know this sounds crazy but you wouldn't have to sand each board individually when you put the old flooring back down. Put the flooring back down with the stain on it and have someone come in with a floor sander and strip the finish from the whole room/house at once. FYI: Laminate scratches too, and once that scratches there is no way to refinish it. I don't know if you could ever get your floors level enough for vinyl strip flooring. Please don't throw all that old wood floor and trim away if you don't reuse it, there are people that would buy that and reuse it on different things, maybe there is a reclaimed lumber store in your area that would buy it. I would hate to see all that cool old trim get thrown away but it's your trim so you have to make that decision.

[@alexgould3914]

Read this one @Cole. This is important! Do not chuck the old floor away. Nails aside the rest can be sorted after reinstallation. Do Not go vinyl floorboards, they’re a cheap look compared to your original.

[@p20071]

Yeah, there is no such thing as luxury vinyylinä. It’s just cheap and feels cheap

[@benhur520]

@@p20071 For a guy who's so obsessed with keeping things clean and neat, have you seen his house before he gutted it? He has a wife who apparently does nothing, including housekeeping.

[@BAHMLounge]

@@benhur520they have two small children lol she’s busy taking care of the family

[@maryrinehart2346]

@@benhur520Cole’s wife recently gave birth to their second child and is caring for their toddler and packing up what they need for the temporary move to Cole’s parents place. Her health and that of the little ones takes priority over trying to make a house look picture perfect that’s being gutted and renovated.

[@kathyjohnson9465]

I kept what I could with my oak floors too. Then went and bought more 3/4 soild oak flooring. Put it all together, sanded it, stained it, then put on 3 gymnasium finishes. You would never know what was the old floor pieces vs new. And it's BEAUTIFUL! My husband & I did it all by hand, ourselves, over 3000 Sq ft worth.

[@kallienielsen3898]

Cole, you can purchase antique 100 year old salvaged floor boards that match the same thickness, tongue-and-groove and wood. Then feather those pieces in with the previous wood. That way you are restoring the floor and you can be proud of your renovation and not have any regrets. Its worth every single minute of sweat and energy to save the floors!!!

[@BelligerentWoW]

Antique weathered wood is INSANELY expensive. And if you really look at the space and his desire to not have threshold bumps for various rooms, which is required if you have a transition to anything carpeted or tile so Cole, your going to have to get that out of your head. The time investment on tongue & groove planks is SO high and they only have 3 people and you could put 1 person on salvaging & cleaning up the wood and they would be busy for at least a month and they will be getting to planting season in 3-4 months. All depends on when he wants to actually move back into the house too.

[@jesusisGod1434]

He won’t, it will be cheap floor that he buys and puts in himself.

[@walteralexander1956]

He will not, you can tell he is coming up with any excuse. Because he knows the audience would disagree with his approach. I can already tell I will not sub. Haha

[@judygoodson5855]

Indeed. And conquer.

[@davidhahn5631]

Cole, my vote is to re-mill the floor and use it as the ceiling on the wrap around porch. Every time you look up at the beautiful ceiling you are also looking up to heaven and remembering him and those that have gone before us. What ever you decide it will be a beautiful memory. All the best

[@alecs1196]

Terrific Idea!! Its also architecturally accurate for a porch ceiling of that house style & vintage.

[@benhur520]

Except they didn't mark any of the ceiling boards when they tore them down. What he has now is a puzzle with broken pieces.

[@darlenejackman512]

Maybe use the hardwood in the attic or the basement

[@shellcshells2902]

Excellent idea!!!!

[@Autobahn4537]

It would still be exposed to the elements and rot in no time.

[@spookyfish24]

If you don't want or can't re-use the wood floor, see if there's a salvage yard that might want to take it off your hands. Lots of people would love to re-use the hardwood flooring. :)

[@libbysimpson9127]

Lordy. I would love to have that flooring. I’ve salvaged a lot of mine, no way I won’t reuse all I can.

[@wades_world_lederman_style]

LOT'S OF PEOPLE!

[@ajbaums5687]

Long term perspective- the time and effort you would take in restoring the original flooring (albeit for a few rooms) is well worth it. You mentioned how much pride your grandfather talked about those floors. This would be the same pride that you would talk about with your kids (grandkids) and a memory they would have of you when you are gone.

[@clicker7019]

Exactly!

[@dancaldwell2]

Hello Cole, My suggestion is to quickly sort your piles of original flooring into what is obviously garbage and good salvageable pieces. If you only have a small percentage left of original flooring, that is fine. Then buy new solid red oak flooring to make up the difference for the rest of the house. 2 1/4" x 3/4" red oak flooring is still readily available. When you get ready to install the flooring on your new subfloor, take your original flooring and disperse it around the house in each room and hallways. Sporadically work the old flooring into the new flooring. This creates a "Ship of Theseus" situation with your floor. Meaning, you have your old original flooring in there and just replaced what was broken/damaged/too much work to salvage flooring with new wood. I hope this helps.

[@ginadelsasso288]

I would suggest not having hard wood floors in the bedrooms upstairs. I have all hard wood and tile floors in my home and its too cold and echoey. We had to lay down rugs everywhere too. It would have been nicer to just have carpeting in a few rooms at least.

[@judyfenske1429]

Yes!

[@Towball]

Roman is a funny guy . Glad to see he keeps Cole on the straight and narrow 😂😂

[@flashrobertson2458]

Through my lens, if Grandpas' room is not being extended or removed, use the original flooring and trim to renovate. Use this one room as the original room for your house home bud.

[@kathiefilkins445]

I think it would be gorgeous with the fireplace and china cabinet from downstairs, in whatever room you put the hardwood floors in.

[@Getagriponthisnewhandle]

Love this idea!!

[@eleanorstockton4921]

Pick a special room to use the flooring on the ceiling. Assuming you will use new flooring that will match closely to original trim color. Perhaps ceiling in your bedroom or office or even bathroom could be with old flooring.

[@themainer1267]

I had the exact same idea as you half typed when I saw your comment. I agree with you and would love to see him do that.

[@TheStevedie]

love this idea. He could use it as his office too.

[@winnikatt]

I love that you have worked so hard on this property that being said my heart sank when you removed all the wood. The flooring and trim and built ins make that house a gem. I hope that you realize how that will completely and forever change what that house was. I understand it’s your house and you have done an amazing job but these details are a treasure and I hope you do not strip the character and charm away. And for all that holy and sacred do not throw away that flooring if you choose to not use it I am confident there’s a salvage value for it.

[@dennadenison697]

Couple of ideas for reusing some of the floors: headboard for your bedroom. Bookcase, dining room table or coffee table. Design for front entry way floor. Accent wall in your office or a room that holds a lot of memories

[@antoniobertocchi5089]

I think you've got to save that flooring. I did the same thing in my 1905 house. I lost about 10-15% of it, and the bought plain oak planks and put a tongue and groove onto them with a table saw. If you need a huge amount of replacement footgae, any good sawmill will make them for you. Warped and damaged peices can also be salvaged by planing or trimming, and then you can use them for edge pieces, or for areas where you won't see their flaws (like the floors inside closets). You won't be able to find new floors that have the same kind of aesthetic feel, look, or durability, despite manufacturer's claims. PLus, it's the environmentally kind thing to do!

[@merlemerle788]

what is so great about that old flooring is its 70 or 80 yrs old and no wear points .... no dints from chairs or from dropping heavy points objects . It still looks new !! Thats not how modern oak flooring is .... its soft . New flooring looks old really fast so reuse as much of the old flooring as you can .

[@carbongrip2108]

Cole, if you’re leveling all the floors then you need to start at the lowest level otherwise you might actually push all your higher floors up that you just got finished leveling.

[@locke3141]

Definitely this! I was worried a couple videos back when they were replacing some joists in the attic. Then he showed the gap in the new wall on floor 2 and mentioned the lower floor is bowed the same. That means they will have cumulative errors building as they go unless they start down and go up.

[@davidanderson1074]

I so agree

[@semosancus5506]

Yeah I can't even watch this stuff. What the heck are they doing?

[@kimfonnesbeck7497]

Loved seeing your progress today! You don't need to plane down each hardwood plank, you lay them, weave in new oak planks as needed, then sand the floor down to bare wood and refinish. FYI, they make a pneumatic tool that ejects the nails from your hardwood boards like a reverse nailer! It is possible to truly restore those floors to beautiful!

[@rachelgetz7311]

This is my thought exactly as well. Use the old flooring adding new planks as needed. Sand it all once it’s installed and stain it the same color.

[@melissaroth4467]

Yes! A pneumatic nail remover! They were fairly inexpensive the last time I checked.

[@bhain40]

I wish he would do some homework before he talks so much.

[@alexmoreau8921]

Bump this so he sees it

[@kimfonnesbeck7497]

☺️

[@jacquelines6119]

doing the attic fully with the original flooring would be so amazing. you could probably piece together all the pieces you would get from both the upper and lower floors! it’d be so nice to be on a full floor that could take you back to good memories rather than just one tiny room. it would be a space where the whole family could gather together and spend time with each other just like you did on those floors for years :) rather than it being one room where people just walk in and out. even the idea of a historical room could be put into the whole attic design, with the beams and everything, and make you feel like you’ve been transported back to the original home

[@awilkins-ht5xn]

Use the old oak floors! You are only going to appreciate them more for the sentimental value. You can always find 100 year old reclaimed oak to complete the whole house. The wear and nail holes give the house it's character. Cost will be nominal compared to all new flooring. You already have most of the wood! FYI- when you want to level your floors, begin in the basement, work your way up. Foundation is key! Really enjoying your progress! Congrats! :)

[@JT-1969]

Cole, use the original hardwood floor in one of three places. 1. Put it in your office, every time you’re in there it will be good memory. 2. Put it in your living/ family room where your whole family can enjoy, or 3. Put it in your main entry to your house, something everyone entering your home can see.

[@BattlestarCanada]

I agree, the great entrance, the office or the kitchen would be a great place to utilize it.

[@djwilliams4714]

or the Parlor? with the hutch?

[@davidshumway9639]

Anyone else think he needs to get into the basement and make sure the middle of the house is level before he starts repairing upper floors first and working his way down. Jacking up the middle of the house could go far toward leveling everything above it.

[@kristinasullivan9436]

I have a friend who did hardwood floors and she hates them. I would do a high-quality laminate that can stand up to animals and kids or 2 use tile that looks like hardwood.

[@neenee763]

Agreed

[@jbelich]

I've done restore/demo a couple times with hardwood floors.. after loss you're probably going to have enough floor wood left over to do one floor.. either the public level or the bedroom level. rather than just one room, you'll be able to choose whether you want the history in your living and family room (i.e. the public stuff) or your upstairs bedrooms. Don't try to overextend what you have and you'll come out great.

[@trishwerner3396]

Attic area!!

[@JL-yl8gd]

I’d think your right 3 floors of wood would more then likely leave enough wood for one floor

[@gillie-monger3394]

Pick out the best of the original boards, refinish them and use them as a 'feature' floor in a special area. The cost in labour hours and $$ is huge. Then just use new engineered wood floors or whatever every where else. Oh, and the music for the house renovation is insane Cole! Hope you keep it for the farming videos! Lovin' it.

[@notradeslodge4235]

As someone that has restored my grandparents house and has faced the same problems. I decided to focus on the gathering rooms to restore the original wood work. I used all flooring and trim work in the greeting room and dining room. And also the library/ cigar room that didn't exist. You have a gem of a house, good luck with it.

[@benhur520]

Justin, Cole and Roman have obviously never heard of screw jacks for jacking up floors to level them. Also there are people in every major city who do floor sanding to refinish floors for 1/4 of what he's going to spend.

[@michaeldalton8374]

It’s the blind leading the blind here.

[@paulotts]

Saving all that woodwork and trim is probably the greatest thing you've ever done, Cole! Justin wins the working hands contest!

[@volcanon1009]

I am not someone that knows anything about construction so I’ll leave that advice to the pros. I just wanted to say I very recently stumbled on your channel and this is very fun to watch and you seem super cool and present your videos so well. Thanks for all the content!

[@toddallard7133]

Don't know why, but this house renovation is very addictive! Keep up the great videos!

[@GarrickMerrill]

My suggestion is to use the original wood floors for all the rooms on the 1st floor that aren't tile. Those are the rooms that had the most impressive trim and would benefit the most from keeping it as original as possible. Also having the thicker original hardwood on the 1st floor should make the transitions from tile to hardwood closer to the same level. Then on the 2nd and attic floor you can do something new and the staircases will act as a good transition.

[@brittawrolson5936]

A great idea! It seems incredibly wasteful and disrespectful to simply discard all the hardwood flooring. At least sort the lifted pieces and determine how much square footage is usable. The main floor could be the historic floor, and the stairs can be transitions to the upper floors where more modern alternatives can be installed. A multi cutter could cut nails off if they are only through the tongue portions of the boards, and with the thickness of the original boards, it is not necessary to plane each board. There are dustless sanding machines that can level them after reinstallation. I think the hard question is what you want. If your preference is to modernize, save as much of the old wood as you can for projects like decorative walls, toy boxes, etc. or simply put them up for sale so someone else can repurpose them. It is your house now, so make it what your family wants.

[@gregfemrite3150]

Roman has your same energy level, he is a great addition to your channel, I love his calling you out, he’s super😎

[@ally22]

Cole--lifelong older brother--becomes the baby getting hazed by his talented older brother. he seems happily confused by it.

[@greencanofbeer]

Cole. Your work ethic and tenacity is off the charts. For that I commend you. However, there are some things you really need to consider and maybe do a quick pause on demo if you haven't already gone too far. It's already a little alarming you have started in the attic. It is possible additional work and possibly rework is going to be needed. The main reason for the floor sag is because the joists simply are not big enough to span the sizes of those rooms. In addition to the joists being undersized it also appears there is a lack of vertical load transfer from basement foundation to the roof support so this needs to be addressed either with new load walls or the addition of engineered beams to help carry the load. Also, please do not tear up the diagonal sub floor until you have properly braced the main load bearing walls. The diagonal sub floor boards help with what is called racking forces. When racking occurs not only does it affect the overall structural capacity but it also will make everything out of square. You really need to start in the basement and work upwards. If your first floor isn't level then none of the floors above it will be level. 1. Gut down to the studs from basement to attic. 2. remove flooring but not sub floor. 3. Determine vertical load from foundation to roof. 4. Add/modify load baring walls where needed to properly transfer roof load all the way to the foundation. 5. Start leveling the 1st level floor and move up floor by floor. Self leveling floor products could just be the way to go here. 6. Frame out the house with new rooms. 7. Address any roof structure issues caused by all the re-leveling. 8. Get all your mechanicals subbed in - electrical, plumbing, networking. 9. address sub floor concerns - squeaking. 10. Insulate and finish walls and ceilings. 11. New floors installed. 12. Finish work and trim. As far as flooring choices. While refinishing all the old hardwood would be amazing, you will spend a literal house budget more time and money doing it than just getting new. Maybe save the best pieces for one special room or a future project. You are not going to find old growth oak like that any more. You may even be able to sell it all to a hardwood supplier as vintage flooring to recoup some budget. Personally I will never tile a floor ever again. It is truly a pain to maintain and it is cold and slippery when wet. Good luck! Can't wait to see more progress and the final reveal.

[@benhur520]

How is "new" flooring cheaper than sanding and refinishing the original floor? He's gutting the house with a figure it out as you go plan. I've already said to get things back to somewhat normal I figured he's already going to be around $400,000 at this point.

[@justjo910]

Cole, you are in a tough spot. I'm the daughter of a dad who owned his own construction company. He taught me the love of wood. You can't find oak flooring like that. But I also know the time and effort that it will take to refinish all that wood. May God be with you on whatever you decide.❤

[@newedition0456]

yea i think people like that are off. i don't understand why people like removing old stuff like that for the new bullshit now days.

[@AB-ol5uz]

To replace it w lvp is sacrilege.

[@melwallace1255]

It makes me sick to my stomach watching all of that wood, everything being removed like that. I could not finish the video. 😳 I wish I lived closer. I'd LOVE to take every splinter of that wood off of Cole's hands! 😊

[@stevenfoust3782]

Apparently destroying a beautiful house

[@daveloderhose874]

Please do not use Vinyl Plank flooring I know it’s all the rage today but it looks so artificial use the advice of many commenters before me. Reuse as much as you can and intermix with new. Use a professional.

[@tripwyckoff340]

Cole the trim at the top is for holding pictures, they hang on the outside board and then wires would hang down holding the pictures. It would allow you to move pictures and mirrors around quickly. Pretty nifty way to make each room look good when you had company. Keep at the great videos, you make me tired just watchin!

[@Corvid-]

Yup. Picture rail.

[@beck1365]

The fact that he doesn’t know this… sheesh, do at least a tiny bit of research before gutting a 100+ year old home.

[@tamick2000]

Yes, because you cannot nail into plaster without a big disaster, unlike drywall.

[@redknight1322]

Cole, here's a suggestion for the oak flooring. Use them as inlays in your larger rooms. That way, you can preserve the sentimental value. Another thing with inlays is that you can use them on the floor, walls, and even the ceiling. Doing it this way gives you flexibility in recycling this valuable resource. You also might want to check into second-hand lumber shops that buy and sell old-growth lumber, trim, and things like your mirrored hall tree and fireplace surround/mantle. Even the pocket doors are valuable on the second-hand market. You might be able to recoup some of the money you've spent. Hope these suggestions help. Good luck with your restoration! 😉

[@delovelydeb1]

I am so happy that u have help doing your restore/ remodel. Justin and Roman are true workers like you. I first started watching you when u were cleaning out your house. So I too am excited about the changes. 😊

[@arbuckleoaks4336]

Cole, I see the heritage and sentiments towards holding on to a big part of the past. Build a Parlor on the first floor. Somewhere the family will gather, the Christmas tree stands proudly, the fire place brings warmth, the important pieces are all in one big room that everyone can enjoy. I’ve been holding on to see this build. Blessings my friend

[@lzee6875]

I've read all of the comments and I think this is the best way to allow you and all your family,for years to come, to enjoy the memories of your nostalgic home.

[@Getagriponthisnewhandle]

I think this is the best idea, Cole.

[@janetl9054]

At the end of the day, it’s your home to do whatever you want to with. I know myself and thousands of other watchers are biting our nails about the floors, but most of us wouldn’t say anything unless you hadn’t asked. Well maybe not most, some 😂. We are ALL just really enjoying this reno and all the hard work you guys are putting into it for your family. We’re all pretty invested in this now! I’m speaking for myself, I’d love to hear about the new little guy!! ❤ I just love and appreciate your little family and think it’s wonderful to see a young man your age have such an amazing work ethic.

[@crystalmorgan1959]

Level the floors from the basement up, not the attic down. Level every floor before building any walls or floors.

[@leecrump4614]

I agree. It doesn' make any sense to go from he top down.

[@harleyfiremedic7796]

Cole, take a wall in either an office or the attic space and make it a "look back" at the family history. Use the mirror from downstairs and use that as the center piece and trim around it with the old trim and flooring. Then put a series of photos of the home and the family. You could also use the old flooring as frames for all the photos. Just a thought. Good luck moving forward.

[@DianaStuckert]

This remodel is interesting. When my family members who work in construction have done similar remodeling of their own homes they start at the bottom or basement and work their way up. Start with a solid base and work up or you will always have problems.

[@mark15vintage9]

The idea of using that wood in your office has been put out there, and I think it's a GREAT idea. That will give you one room that is historic to the house and will remind you of your family. NOW, I will tell you as someone that has dealt with old wood flooring. It looks twisted and warped, and probably is. However, you need to remember that it will conform to the floor that you put it on. Once you have a new subfloor in place, and you nail down the first piece of wood (groove side toward an outside wall) you nail the board down to the subfloor along the tongue edge of the board. The next boards groove fits along that tongue and it holds the board to the floor as you nail down the next board and so on from where you start to where you finish. They make a tongue nailing tool specifically for that. I wish I could put pictures with this post because a visual is way better than trying to explain it unless you have done it. I would also recommend that you not run the boards through a planer. Get the floor put in place as is, then rent a big industrial floor sander and sand the entire floor smooth. This will do two things. IF you got the floor nailed down correctly, it will help level out any high or low spots and make the floor even. Plaining each board separately won't do this for you even if you do every board at the same time, day, settings, etc. Trust me I've dealt with that and had board still not match up perfectly smooth. Variations in the tongues' and groove's manufacturing will cause this issue. Good luck with the remodel of your home, and I truly hope you take the idea of using the original wood to build your office, it will make a huge difference to you in the long run, both as a historic thing but more importantly as a family history thing.

[@benhur520]

Cole running a floor sander just may break the internet.

[@lockman004]

My vote is to use the original oak flooring as the attic floor. With flooring salvaged from the first and second floor I'd think you'd have enough for the attic. I'd use a couple of rental shipping containers to keep all of the original material safe and out of the way while the construction proceeds. Lastly I'm impressed by Roman and your neighbor (Jason?) great guys and very capable as well. I think you'd do well by hiring a Ukrainian flooring craftsman and set them loose in the attic. The cost for a planer and small wood shaper isn't that high and then you have them for future jobs.

[@Dr.Elaine1]

Justin

[@davidkimmel4216]

Thank You So Much for taking the time to try to save as much woodwork as possible. Thank You. You and your crew are awesome. You and your family and crew will make the correct decision. I do like the Historical Room.

[@victormoran5882]

Cole, this is an awesome project. My thoughts: 1. You can buy 3/4" thick solid hardwood floor today. The important part is the wood species and the size and position of the tongue and grove. Take a few sample pieces to a good floor shop and ask them if they can supply floor boards to fit that existing tongue and grove. If the match is good, mix old and new boards everywhere. Otherwise, put the reclaimed in a family area so you know that your kids will play on the same boards. 2. Don't put the new beams you are calling Headers under the joists for the attic. Use LVLs and put them inside the ceiling (So you cut the existing joists shorter so that the LVL fits between the ends of the joists) and use joist hangers to transfer the weight from the new and existing joists into the LVLs. 3. Make sure you have an engineer review your load calculations. You are putting an enormous amount of weight (including the weight of future snow) onto very few points. 4. Do not run the existing wood through a planar. The sanding that will be done at the end will take care of removing the finish. Even if you plane them you will have to sand them to get rid of ridges between them on the floor so all you are accomplishing is throwing away wear surface. 5. Your subfloors are perfect! Don't remove them to level anything. You are going to make problems for yourself because new subfloors are much thinner then what you have. Your staircase is cut to meet the finished height that you have and you wont' be able to get that height back with a single layer of subfloor in the future. Every attempt I've seen to modify stair cases to change modified floor heights has failed. You end up with one or two steps that are bigger or smaller then the others and thats something that humans are bad at navigating. They trip on that step or steps repeatedly. Instead, seal the gaps between the boards with flexible caulk and use thin styrofoam to make a "wall" around the edges of the level. Basically you are making a "pan" out of each floor. Then use self-leveling concrete to get the top level close to level across the entire level/floor. Then you can glue-down the new floor or reclaimed flooring onto the cement surface.

[@pjrawlins]

Hi Cole, a few suggestions for your consideration… (1) since you have the boiler, install heated floors throughout the house; (2) use the original flooring as wainscoting in one or more rooms; (3) use the original flooring as the treads and/or landings and/or risers on the stairs to connect the original materials to all floors in the house. Thanks for sharing your journey on the house!

[@ppodoentbeast]

Great idea on wainscoting

[@e.c.5994]

I second the heated floors . . . we put 'em in when we added on, and it's so nice to have warm feet. We actually don't have to heat the addition, the floors do all the work. We have a solar system, and as long as the sun shines every few days, we have infinite hot (culinary) water too!

[@RPX8091]

If the parlor was your favorite part of the house, use the original wood in there, especially since it will set the first impression for everyone when you walk into the house.

[@diannalong453]

Love your videos. My husband and I really enjoy Roman. Thanks for taking us along on your life adventures. Congratulations on the new baby.

[@JaM68-vz9hr]

I agree with a lot of the other people Cole. Your office would be a good room to use everything original. The flooring, the trim, the hutch and the fireplace. It is small enough to have what you need to finish and doing your farm work from this room would carry on your families history in farming. Thanks for sharing this project Cole, it is fun to watch and is good material for winter content. Your ancestors would be very proud.

[@pdxcontent]

Everyone has “feelings” about YOUR house. You have dreamed about this for so long and I’m so happy for you. You do you and thank you for sharing it with us. ❤

[@springsy6210]

they have feelings because its history... its history that very few modern day carpenters seem to understand anymore, nothing made now seems to last like it did 100 years ago..... replacing solid wood floors with vinyl is not an improvement or a restoration. Yes, its his house but you gotta step back and think " at what point am i taking all the character out of this home" while still claiming you are restoring it.

[@pdxcontent]

I agree on all accounts. Restoring some things not all things. Makes it a remodel but keeping some charm will be good. Carpentry isn’t what it once was, that is for sure. Materials were cheap back then and solid oak now, just can’t make up for the cost. Unless cost isn’t a factor.

[@debranissen1432]

Your office! Your emotional connection is real, and I know you'd feel their love in a room filled with those memories.

[@kathysultzbaugh3858]

It truly is worth a time. That house stood through so much. Restoration versus renovation.

[@thumperjdm]

Love the friendly banter between you and Roman!

[@virgilpayne2804]

Make your office the focus of the “preservation room” use the hardwood and trim boards in your office. Also you can use the mirrors in there. Use the old lighting fixtures as well. You can have task lighting in your office but have the old lights for general lighting.

[@leirobinson3103]

Cole, I love your appreciation of this beautiful house. Replace the original floor. I like the idea of making a wall. Ot you could use the wood to make a table, a bench anything that will be saved for memories!

[@barbarabaldwin8922]

You can always donate the wood to a restoration/REstore in your area that takes in old flooring even trim if you have more left over after your renovation.

[@markitathomas4146]

I was thinking he could make gifts like boxes and hope chest for his family so they can have a piece of their family home as well 🎉🎉🎉

[@cindymarker2087]

Maybe his sister Summer could help with that.@@markitathomas4146

[@barbarabaldwin8922]

@@markitathomas4146 That is a great idea!

[@nataliemyer3114]

Old woodwork is character you can never replace

[@simoneconsciousobserver3105]

Historical room with a wall made of the original floor sound great. I am totally with you that reusing that original flooring, as flooring, would cost more time and money. I come from an architectural millwork/industrial construction background.

[@kc8ueu]

I've been watching these videos for quite some time, and I'm blown away by the trim in this house! I like to think my house might have had similar trim at one time; it's been re-muddled several times, and not always properly. I'm glad you are trying to do things right, and I hope you can save or re-create the original parts.

[@coltonbrewer834]

Could make ur office the history room, then when your working in there you can sit on the same wood ur family walked on! Use some of the beams and trim in there, I think that would be a awesome office!

[@cycleguy666]

Dedicate one room to Grampa and do the floor and walls with all the antique woodwork and mirrored doors and cases. Maybe a study or library for you!! 😊 I have rooms today with my dad's stuff in them and even some of grandpa's stuff too!! Good memories!! 👌

[@lorriehall7243]

This new series you are doing is great..It’s like some of your older stuff…full of info, laughter and Coleness. Keep up the good work

[@davidfleemon8750]

Cole, first of all let me say that I really enjoy your channel. I found it about a month ago totally by accident. I love the interactions with your family and the bond that you all seem to share. I love getting to know you and Nave and watching little Edward grow. Daddy Cornstar is an absolute hoot and I have subscribed to his channel as well. I really enjoy learning about farming and what it takes to make a life from it. There is so much I never realized that went into it. With all that being said, I cannot watch any more videos about the house. First of all, you say you are restoring it. That's not at all what you're doing. A restoration would mean you are restoring it back to it's original condition as it was in it's heyday. What you are doing is a renovation. I truly wish you were doing a restoration. I wanted to cry the whole time I was watching today's video. All that beautiful wood trim that you tore out is now most likely useless, and will probably never find it's way back into the house. When you talk about tearing out the fireplace, I just want to shake you and yell "what are you thinking???" That fireplace and mantle are a huge part of the character of the house! I know you and Nave want a beautiful home to raise your family, but you need to think about the history of the house. That house is old. It's history spans two world wars, the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, disastrous weather, family struggles and hardships. By tearing out everything and replacing it with new, you're going to lose the history and the character of the house. Your kids are not going to be able to actually see the living history of the house in every corner. Maybe I'm just a sentimental old fool, but when I see old houses defaced in the name of modernization, it just hurts my heart. Ultimately it's your house and you can do what you see fit, but it just breaks my heart to watch it. 😪

[@joeroad6618]

I myself am not a fan of open concept, to me it feels like a big studio apartment with little to no privacy, but it's your house and I have no issues with you making it fit your family. DO NOT throw away any of that material, somebody will buy it to restore their dream. I have an uncle who used hardwood around the edges of the room and just plywood in the center, then had large custom carpet rugs that covered the plywood.

[@AB-ol5uz]

the amount of people that will be in the house (large family, extended family, friends/neighbors, etc.) they would definitely benefit with areas that are not open - the sound would carry all the way upstairs - no private conversations for anyone, no ability to have privacy/quiet to read/have private phone calls or just to watch a show that everyone else doesn't want to see.

[@lisalundstrom1591]

People are actually starting to lean into cozier spaces now. I don’t see the point in having every single space open to the next. My husband wanted to open up our kitchen to the living room. Now the noise from him being in one room is constantly bothering me when I am in the next. I love old homes. I agree that some of them are a little too compartmentalized, but this house looked like it was quite spacious. I’m another one who had a really hard time watching him removing all of that trim. He would not be able to afford to have someone do that today. It’s a shame. I’m hoping that all of that is reused in someway.

[@sharonmassey9609]

Hi Cole, I hope Nave and the babies are feeling much better! I understand your reasoning about the original flooring taking so much time, energy and money to complete. Your idea of making one room a memory room using the original flooring for everything top to bottom is a lovely idea. If you decide on that you could store the remaining wood to remove the nails and refinish it later. There are so many ways you could showcase it in something other than flooring. You could build a beautiful long farmhouse style kitchen or dining table, counter tops with thick layers of shipping varnish, shelves for the boys books and toys a storage cabinet for each room or so much more. The back or bottom of whatever you choose could date the year the wood was originally used and the date it was reused. I think we are all investing our interest and excitement in your restoration but you have had years to think about how to use each portion of your house and how it will be best used for your young family which is as it should be. Best of luck and must happiness and good health for you all!

[@ellenpeterson7864]

I'm with Sharon on this one..She has a good idea..

[@Tammy-King]

Love seeing you making this home truly yours and restoring it so it can continue to be for years to come. Possibly using some of the original wood flooring in your office would be a wonderful honoring to your grandpa. Also, maybe create a unique design inlay at the front door entrance area of your home. The inlay could easily have the new flooring surrounding it and it would be a beautiful way to showcase some of the original wood flooring of the home. What ever you decide to do it is going to be amazing because you have you heart and hard work going into every corner of this home. Wishing you all the best!

[@halbarton9072]

Looking great. Fence pliers are a great tool for pulling nail as well as carpet pad staples. Also utilizing closet flooring to use for reinstalling more visible room flooring helps keep the floors matched. Then use new flooring in the closets

[@daviddevor5967]

Cole,if you are going to keep the fireplace, you can surely get enough of the original flooring to do your living room. That way when you and your family get together, everyone can remember the family history.

[@nuns8126]

They are tearing out the chimney & removing the fireplace. They can save the mantelpiece & surround.

[@ssnyder1833]

Great work, getting rid of years of bat, bird,mouse toxic poop in the attic & probably elsewhere. Smart taking it down to studs for checking /repairing sound structure before insulation, electic, ac,heating and plumbing. Excited to see all the changes for a safe,fire safe house, that old wiring is scary. Enjoy Cole

[@robertscott8227]

Hello Cole hey my wife suggested to use that flooring wood on a wall or several walls as a focal point such as a kids room or even in the closets . i have another suggestion when you do your media room to prewire for your speakers and wire for your computer net working so you dont have so much problems with wireless modems and routers . you also might think about a intercom system through out the house .

[@bigblock502gilley6]

Start in the basement !!!! Get everything as level as you can, your going to have to learn to split the difference! It's an old house so no way to get it perfect. No way I would pull up the sub floor just get it leveled up from the lower level. Pull downstairs ceiling and new joist from there. Then rescrew sub floor. As far as old hardwood don't forget you have the entire downstairs flooring. So you should be able to get at least one level complete with old flooring. I truly love watching your videos keep up great work!

[@EricReynolds66]

Man it's painful to watch that 100 year old trim and ALL the skill that went into it be removed. Understand why it has to happen, but that's irreplaceable.

[@teresachase47]

Agree. And a mansion is usually 5,000 to 8,000 square feet with 6 to 10 bedrooms. Not a mansion, just a very large farmhouse. Also, you are remodeling, not restoring.

[@PeggyStentzCasey]

It's breaking my heart. To have such an incredible example of that style of building and just take it all apart and making it 'modern'.

[@theravenscachecottage]

Seeing all that gorgeous period architecture and design get torn out breaks my heart 💔😭

[@pamkammann1176]

Same for me.. I cringed too..

[@kitderoche4755]

Me too. It just gutted me.

[@louisetremblay7708]

Cole, you need to stop saying you're restoring your grandpa's house! You're destroying every bit of historical and beautiful craftsmanship element. Sorry, had to say it!

[@Saskyoilfan]

Omg 😂 until we see the end results can we pls lay out the guy. Houses were constructed and used differently then they are used now. He is taking down the walls to create better spaces for his family he has said repeatedly he will keep the history

[@theravenscachecottage]

@@Saskyoilfan there was no criticism directed towards Cole and all the hard work he’s doing. The home is going to be beautiful I’m sure! Doesn’t change how sad it is when you see finishings like that come out. That woodwork was incredible and you just don’t see that very often. So yes, many broken hearts watching this vid and I’m sure many hopeful hearts waiting to see how he’s able to bring some of it back.

[@JoeyBaileysMom]

My heart goes out to you about the floors. I love the idea of a historic room. Your office would be a good option

[@jjarcls]

Cole they did the trim like that so you can hang pictures from it. With lath and plaster walls if you tried to put nails into it to hang pictures it would crack the plaster. You can put hooks on the trim and use line from the hooks to hang pictures with out damaging the plaster.

[@flyingeaglewoman8682]

There are a lot of people whom would probably take that old oak wood floor off your hands. Please don’t throw it away. People love to reuse that beautiful flooring!

[@robertdavis4901]

I recommend truing up the first floor first, than the second floor, lastly the attic as the settling starts in the basement.

[@stevie_jean1953]

Love that you're trying to save as much as possible! Doing great job, guys!

[@douglasburch2320]

Using the oak flooring on the north wall could be a nice option. As always, thanks for taking us along on your journey.

[@lisad8731]

I understand why you need to make your home safe and work for your family. It just makes me a little sad to see all that history disappear

[@SourBogBubble]

yeah i said that when he wanted to rip out $60k worth of crown molding for a 5k bathroom upgrade years ago.

[@moda78z]

He’s making new history ❤️❤️❤️

[@newedition0456]

@@moda78z that wont last 20 years lol how does that make since. taring all the lathe out and everything after that long im sure he's going to find more problems out sooner then later doing stuff like that. glad it's not me or my property. other then that he's doing a great job. just wish it was a newer house lol. but it's his house he owns it so he can do with what he want to with it.

[@TheGMMan]

With the old flooring why not make a kitchen table or a desk for the office?! Or even a bench? Just thoughts that I think would be cool!

[@davidshumway9639]

3/4 inch boards aren't thick enough for structure for furniture so he'd have to use them as veneer over structure. It wouldn't be easy to make that look good or right. I think he should find a spot to restore it as flooring. A wall wouldn't look right. The boards are too narrow. And each board would have to be finished separately before installation. You can't evenly said a vertical wall and stain it and make it look right.

[@BeowulfIsMinNama]

ALSO, you can get new oak that is 3/4”. You could also get salvage from an architectural salvage company. You need to consult a floor pro. IF you don’t use the original floors, please please please, sell them to an architectural salvage company! Someone out there is trying to match some existing. And you do have quite a bit!

[@andrewbremner8624]

Love your honesty, I personally think a wall of the hardwood floor would look great

[@TheHef0fTx]

Thinking through the entire project. If my memory serves me correctly, you plan to build a nice garage for the house. You could build a 2nd story "apartment" about the garage which utilizes the original materials from the house. This would also extend the timeline for using the older/original materials. Use the newer materials within the house to get it complete, then slowly complete the "guest space" above the garage with the salvaged original materials.

[@fionalozinski9211]

If you are also pulling up the boards from the main floor, the total amount would be enough to do the floor in the attic, which I think would be really lovely and a wonderful tribute to past generations as well as a connection for future generations. I know it would be an incredible amount of time and effort, but what a gift it would be

[@juanitawilsongay7832]

I can't wait to see everything start coming together. I know yall will be enjoying that mansion for years to come. Very cool to see the changes.. Yall stay safe an warm.. 🤜🤛💞

[@davidkimmel4216]

That trim you were talking about is a way to hang pictures without putting nail holes in the walls

[@janicepowell6066]

Please use the original floors! You don’t have to plane them to remove the finish. You just sand them after they are laid down, to get them even.

[@marycountry]

I think the idea of keeping your office as close to the original house is fantastic! There would always be a part of your family’s history. And a respect for your Grandfather’s legacy. 👍🏻❤️

[@gdsstudio974]

Hope you start in the basement with leveling out the structural supports.

[@geezba]

I see a couple options. 1) You could do the entire third floor / attic with what you salvage from the first and second floors. You'll either have enough or be close enough to have some made to finish it. 2) You could do the entire first floor aside from the kitchen and bathroom(s). The 3/4" thickness will give you lots of space to put down plywood and a mortar bed to get the height even. It will also allow you to display the historic nature of the house to guests. You can then carpet the second floor for comfort and a little sound deadening. 3) You can have someone turn them into treads for your staircase, so you have that continuity from basement to third floor / attic.

[@Aeidotronics]

I think you should use it again in as many rooms as you can. Getting rid of it entirely would be criminal.

[@kathleenroman9379]

Heartbreaking if y’all can’t reuse that beautiful trim! So sad! Save the pieces because I believe you, with your crafty knack, will find a way! That trim makes the house special! Great job guys! Amazing snow! TYTY for sharing! ❤️❤️🙏❤️❤️

[@cahammer]

Just do one room like your office with the existing flooring that way every time you go into that room you still have the memories

[@cupidzbowz4088]

maybe up-cycling the wood into furniture, coffee tables, bookcases and bench seats. Small projects. I do like what some people have commented about a panel wall with generations in photos. Your extended family is growing and are providing for even more varied entertainment. Thank you

[@leeannoneal4847]

Please preserve as much of the architecture as you can! Like you said, they don’t make em like that anymore. And all that oak trim is beautiful. Don’t get rid of it!

[@chase5896]

Love this series man. Such a great series and it will be awesome when it's done

[@gaylewatkins4685]

Cole, you are doing an excellent job with the house. Go with a new floor and use any of the old flooring you can as decorative wall accent pieces. 🤗👍

[@wendellbest2053]

Every house needs a good foundation. With the sagging walls you pointed out in the attic it follows that the sagging goes all the way down to the first floor. If you want to move forward it would make sense to make sure the bottom floor is straight, level, and reenforced where necessary then start looking at the first floor walls. Once that is done, second floor fixed and second floor walls after. Then the attic.

[@davidcopperfield-notthemag397]

Now I know why few people renovate 100+ year old mansions! Massive amount of work and expense! Being familially connected to the house revs up the enthusiasm! Your men are doing an awesome job!

[@benhur520]

Don't take these videos on how to do 100 year old house renovations. Cole could film this in B&W and pass it off as modern Three Stooges. They're doing more things wrong than right.