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 ...
