As far as home-ownership goes, I suck. I mean, I own a home and pay the mortgage on time and all that. But as far as upkeep, I suck. Still, I have put a new roof on it and had the exterior painted in the past couple of years. Oh yeah, and there was the time when I remodeled my kitchen. But this summer, I’m upping the ante a bit. My goal is to do a few improvements. I’m replacing the outdoor carpet on my porch & back stoop (or rather, I’m paying Home Depot to do that). I’m having my driveway repaved (by Patriot Paving). And, while I’m kitty-less for the time being, I’ve decided to uproot my carpet and go back to the original wood floors.
When I first bought the house, the only floors with no carpeting were the kitchen and den. The carpeting in the reading room was so hideous that we pulled it out, only to discover the floor there was as nice as the den floor. I had intended to eventually do the same in my bedroom, where the carpeting was nearly as hideous, but I never got around to it. Well, thanks to a few Leo indiscretions, the main carpeting needs removing too. So I’ve decided to pull it out. All of it bar the bathroom (because the flooring in there is worse, I believe, than the rest of the house).
The carpet & padding both come out easily, but the tack strips are a pain in the ass to remove. They’re the bit the slow me the most. Still, I’ve gotten my hallway pulled up. Yay! Will need to scrape some sticky stuff up and there are still some nails/staples that need removing, but I think I’m making good progress.
The hallway before.
The hallway after.
The grossest part of all of this, however, are the Carpet Crumblies. Eeewwwww! How gross! They’re everywhere under the carpet. You think you’re doing a good job vacuuming the floor, but no, the Carpet Crumblies get underneath! And I think they breed! I’m very glad that I’m getting rid of my carpet – I think I shall be anti-carpet for quite a while. At least until I forget about Carpet Crumblies.
Beware the Carpet Crumblies!
I’m pretty sure I won’t get the carpet all pulled up by the time judiang arrives on Thursday, but since we’re staying at the Lake (mom & dad’s cottage), that’s OK. Still, if I can, I’ll get her to help me pull some carpet up! Yay Judi! 😉
So is that hardwood under the carpet? That’s really pretty.
Yup – nice hardwood floors. I wanna say Oak – trying to remember what dad said it was. They only have pine for their flooring – they were jealous of mine.
Do you know when your house was built? I think ours look very similar, and we’re not sure if it’s cedar, cherry or oak.
Early 50’s I believe. It’s much younger than my parent’s house. Theirs is over 100 years old. (It’s interesting because the homes the same age as my parent’s home on Main Street all have oak woodwork. Those homes one street deep have pine stained to look like oak or mahogany.)
I’ve confirmed things with dad – yes, mine is oak. It’s pretty, even when dark & dingy from all those years under the carpet. 🙂
Make Judi work! 🙂
We did the same in our house up the stairs and in the master bedroom – and what an improvement! It’s a crime to carpet over good hardwood floors like that. It looks MUCH nicer! I hear you on the staples/strips, though. Ugh.
*wibbles* the carpet crumblies are gonna get me! *hides behind a door*
It looks great. I have no idea why people would cover up wood floors.