One of the many small projects that I've needed to deal with since the day I bought my house ten years ago is the broken floor linoleum in the utility room. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure how best to approach the issue. The floor and the door to the back room are at EXACTLY the same level...over time, as the ancient 1950s-era linoleum has swelled with humidity and dried with arid weather, it buckled and was chipped away at by the door. Directly underneath the linoleum is this weird hardboard stuff, kinda like compressed cardboard, probably under that is wood flooring.
Although I know I should just tear the entire floor out, I really don't want to do that...I've had enough issues with tearing out floors in this house!! I can't just simply tile over the bare spot, because I can't match the existing stuff (which is actually kinda nifty looking), and the door would just simply chip away at it again over time. I can't cut the door shorter, because then there will be a gap letting cold air in under it - which would defeat the whole super-energy-efficiency thing I've got going on in this house, what with all that blow-in insulation and other stuff I've done over the years. This house is SUPER efficient - I spent only $190 on heat for the entire winter last year!
Anyway, I thought about simply pulling up all the linoleum, and just painting the hardboard...but that would mean moving the washer and dryer, which is nightmarish, as anyone whose ever moved a washer and dryer before knows. And besides, Lord Only Knows what can of worms I'll open up should I tear into yet more flooring in this house! Besides, painted hardboard ... very cheap looking!
So what I decided is this: remove a small amount of the linoleum - just the traffic area, partly already missing, the rest previously covered with small amount of carpeting by me because it is severely cracked and buckled. Of course, make sure I dispose of it properly so I don't get yelled at by the garbage man again for possible asbestos contamination like I did when I pulled out the old linoleum from the bathroom years ago. It's a small amount, I do have a top-notch respirator mask now, I know how to pack it up and where to bring it to dispose of now, too :)
Then pull the hardboard out in that same traffic area, so the overall floor level is lower. Replace it with some of the leftover stick-on vinyl tiles from the kitchen, and put a metal threshold-thingie along the existing linoleum where the washer and dryer is. The washer and dryer will end up on flooring that is about 1/4" higher than the traffic area of the floor, which actually isn't a bad thing at all. This way, there is no exposed broken linoleum, no door chipping away at the flooring, it'll look clean and maybe even professionally done, and having that black-and-white tiling extended from the kitchen through the laundry room should look pretty nifty, especially with the bright white washer and dryer :)
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