Just another night @ Casa Voyles-- baring it all

I've been on an anti carpet kick now since.... well, we bought the house and realized there are hardwood floors underneath the carpet. It is nice carpet. That's why we've waited 4 years. And, we weren't sure what kind of condition the floors were in when they were covered.

Tuesday, I called Dustin at lunch and announced that we were ripping up the hall carpet when he got home. Usually decisions such as this are made by a panel discussion with the two of us. I didn't like the dragging of the feet of the panel, so I counted my vote twice. Since I wallpapered the bathroom walls with the dictionary, I have been wanting to do this so I could paint trim and update the hall some.

It really didn't take ALL that long. We started on the kick plate of the top step. There is hardwood under that carpet too, but we I wanted to see the steps too.

(Editorial Comment- Yes, this bushy haired man is Dustin. Yes, he wears overalls sometimes. Yes, I do say "Are you really going to wear those?" every time he puts them on. I told him when he got them that boys can only wear them from birth to 12 and then starting again in their 50s. He's getting a jump start at 29 apparently :))

Ellie is still stressed out over this. She loves carpet. In the kitchen, she will only sit or lay on the rugs. She tried to stage a sit/lay in, but we are bigger and have treaties. She caved easily. Sophie loved the process. She was, however, scared of the floors once we were done for a good hour. We get a lot of "help" with everything we do around here. Margot is used to this type of stuff and was off somewhere sleeping.

 

Carpet and padding came up easily. And the staples pulled out fairly well too. I think tack strip looks like some medieval torture device. And torture us that night it did. Getting it all pried up without hurting the floor took us longer than everything else combined.

A good sweeping and a scrub down with some Murphy's oil soap and they look great. I knew carpet held all kinds of grossness, but I am still SHOCKED at how much dirt was on the floor, UNDER the carpet. I can't wait to tackle the three bedrooms now.

My two favorite parts? The floors, of course.. and their cost: FREE!!!!!!

 I found a product online that I am going to try. It is a finish reviver. We aren't ready to sand, stain, and finish quite yet. We still have a nail biting puppy with sharp claws. So, even if we had them all uncovered, I'm not ready to have NICE floors quite yet! :) The reviver is supposed to last 3-6 months, so I think that's the best bet for us for now.