Refinishing Floors - Part 1 Carpet Removal

Well this most transformative project was at the top of the list to complete before we would move in. It was an imperative because we knew the existing carpet was responsible for hopefully most of the intolerable cat smell lingering after the renters moved out. And to our luck, when their three litter boxes (one on each floor) were removed with their belongings, it resolved 90% of the smell that literally would not allow us to spend more than 10 minutes inside the house prior to buying. So being the enthusiastic first time buyers with a we can do anything attitude, we thought we'd tackle the floors ourselves. While, yes we indeed could, i'm not sure i'd do it again, or maybe i would now that i know all that i do. first peice of advice, when the rental company tells you that if you come back tomorrow (Saturday) for an extended (over Sunday) one day rental - do it. I think i even said out loud, "it's only 350 square feet and it can't possibly take more than 24 hours". But the nice thing about doing the floors yourself is how satisfying even pulling up the carpet feels. We knew there was clear vertical grain fir floors underneath the carpet but we had no idea the condition so fingers crossed, on the first day we got the keys, we started pulling away sections of carpet.

And just with that, so much better! Especially with those blooming camellias out the front door!

Not in perfect shape but definitely workable!

We went to work pulling the carpet away from the stairs and the attic bedrooms too, which didn't result in the condition you see on the first floor but better none-the-less.

That carpet and underlayment was heavy with dust and dampness, what a huge relief to get it out of the house! And to our satisfaction, the smell was gone with it. The next step was just getting it off of our front and back porches and luckily Tanner's step dad let us borrow his "dump truck". I was afraid it would be a fortune to dispose of but did find a recycling facility that accepted carpet so I made two trips (over 900 lbs) and it only cost around $45! 

What we did to refinish the floors is up next ...

moved in

last post we had been moved in for 5 weeks and these pictures are about where we were back then. now we've lived here for about 4 months and have settled a bit more but haven't crossed anything off the to-do list. but we do have 11 tomato plants starting to produce some red fruit, we've made two blackberry pies from the blackberries in our laurel bushes, our first block party is tomorrow, we've finished installing the shoe base in the living/dining room (still need to finish the bedroom) and just barely started hanging things on the walls.

MOVED - pictures this post
week 1 nothing (slept, hid in the bedroom with space heater)
week 2 setup bedroom, started to unpack living/dining
week 3 not much, trips to the dump, setup guest bed for our first house guests, insurance policy cancellation scare
week 4 installing new base shoe for baseboard and painted baseboard
week 5 finished unpacking, replaced light switches, grounded outlets, installed barn lamp
weekend 5 first dinner for mother's day

TO DO still 
finish painting trim (window/doors)
paint kitchen
paint bathroom
clean out crawlspace
replace roof
etc.

settling

i can't believe it's only been five weeks that we've been living here, it feels like five months ... funny how you turn the page and there's no going back ... just memories of the way it used to be. so we've been thick into knee deep projects and back again and even those feel like miles away now that we're tucked into our cozy home :) not quite sure where this blog will go since we've tackled a handful of items so fast and furiously and without internet that i don't know if i'll ever be able to blog about them but here's a little sampling and if you'd like to know more about any of them, please let me know and i'll expand:

VACANT - pictures below
day 1 carpet removal
day 2 discovered termites
week 1 deep cleaning, rebuilt bathtub surround, replaced octopus light with ceiling fan
week 2 painting (ceiling and walls only), patched leaking basement, removed drywall
week 3 refinished fir floors
week 4 abated asbestos tile floor and mastic in basement
weekend 4 moved!

MOVED - pictures in next post
week 1 nothing (slept, hid in the bedroom with space heater)
week 2 setup bedroom, started to unpack living/dining
week 3 not much, trips to the dump, setup guest bed for our first house guests, insurance policy cancellation scare
week 4 installing new base shoe for baseboard and painted baseboard
week 5 finished unpacking, replaced light switches, grounded outlets, installed barn lamp
weekend 5 first dinner for mother's day

TO DO
finish painting trim (window/doors)
paint kitchen
paint bathroom
clean out crawlspace
replace roof
etc.

but for now the place feels livable and settled and we can start digging in the yard and playing in the sun :)