I mentioned a few days ago that there has been a serious lack of DIYing on here, but it was due to a super special secret surprise. Dunta - dunta - dahhh!!!
Aaron and I are homeowners!!! Yay! It's a cape cod style, with a living room, dining room, kitchen, full bathroom, and bedroom downstairs. Upstairs there are two bedrooms, and another full bath. There is a ton of work to do, but we are ultra excited. Old and new homeowners like to remind us, there is always a lot of work with a home. When I was a kid I didn't dream up what my wedding would be like one day. I dreamt about what it would be like to work on my own home, and make it into something my neighbors and friends would be proud to know the owners of. I couldn't be more elated to own a home with Aaron.
The first two things I wanted to get done pronto, was changing the locks, and removing this stinky, worn out, gross, outdated carpet.
It goes up the stairs, but it doesn't go into the bedrooms, or the bathroom. Ick, so glad there isn't carpet in the bathroom.
Luckily it mostly resides in the living room.
I put on a pair of thick gloves, with a tough exterior to protect my hands. Then I started pulling the rug up. In the doorway between the dining room, and entry there was duct tape keeping the carpet down, so I started there. A large middle band of decent hardwood appeared, and I was mega pleased. I was expecting all the wood to be a wreck. The padding is stuck to the floor in the front of the room, and back in the little nook by the bathroom/bedroom/basement area. I think with some elbow grease, and a large scrapper we can get it off with little damage to the wood beneath it.
Next I got to work pulling up the seam of staples that ran the length of the room, and around the perimeter, plus a short four foot section. I used the hammer and the catspaw to pull the staples up. A lot of the staples were rusty, and would break, so I used the pliers to pull them out all the way. I tried not to leave any pieces of staple in the flooring, but there are a couple places I couldn't get it out completely. To ensure no one snags their bare feet on them, I gave the tiny bits of metal a good beating with the hammer.
I removed most of the wooden tack strips around the room, but Aaron helped with the last bit. Which was awesome, cause then I was able to get a couple action shots. He wasn't able to help today, because he had jury duty! Totally no fun! He always manages to get picked too. Poor guy.
A wonder bar would have been a useful tool too, but I don't own one, and didn't think to buy one. Ya work with what ya got. :) We hammered the catspaw in under the nails that secured the tack strip to the floor, and pried them up. Working from one end to the other, until the strip was loose.
This is how we left the room for the day. Tomorrow I will scrap up the remaining padding, and then see how they clean up with wood cleaner. Plus I still need to remove the carpet from the stairs, and upstairs landing. I'm excited to see how this place cleans up. Maybe I'll take her out on a cheap date, if she looks real nice. :)
Like I said, I'm thrilled to be working on this home with Aaron. Right now I couldn't think of a better adventure to go on with him! Hope you're having a super special Tuesday too, and happy DIYing, chris.
