It started like any normal day. DH and I were sitting at the table discussing the ways of the world, the election, the kids, our lives in general. When all of a sudden the subject of pulling up the carpet in the living room came up. Now I have no idea how this happened. I mean we had been talking about it for a while. Or rather I had been talking about it for a while, talking and talking and talking...hum.
Anyway the subject reared its ugly head again. And all at once DH said well lets just do it. Or maybe that was me...that part is a little fuzzy at the moment. I feel as if my brain is full of dust....and it very well could be.
We jumped up, drained our coffee cups, and the great carpet caper commenced.I started to unload things of the top desk, the piano, and my old antique icebox. I hurried around because I could see that DH was having second thoughts about the whole thing. I could read it in his eyes. The day I had been waiting for for 3 years had arrived and I was not going to be detoured from my task.
I crammed and moved as much as I could. DH just stood in the middle of the room looking around. Finally I suggested that he start with the carpet in the very short hallway that leads to the bathroom. It had a long rip in it anyway, and it would be easy to peel away. He did, and it did, and we pulled and ripped until we reached the point of no return. At which point I might add DH was looking a tad peaked. Especially when we discovered that the hole that the propane jets had come up through many moons ago were patched with tin. And that at some point a place about a foot by a foot had been replaced with plywood. As he started to hyperventilate I had to assure him that we would make it work. It would be OK, all was well. I have shared before that DH is a perfectionist. He does not do any thing like carpentry
, leather work etc. That it has to be perfect. I tell you at times he can drive me up a mortal wall with it. But....on the other hand, he does it right, and it always turns out well. So....I usually just try and shut myself up and let him do his thing.
After he calmed down we commenced with the other half of the room. Let me tell you I have never in my life seen so much dirt. I was ashamed, deeply ashamed. It looked like I had never vacuumed a day that we have lived in this house. Gross and disgusting do not began to describe what it was like under that carpet. We had to literally scoop out the sand. And that is what it was pure sand. An old ranch house in the desert does not need carpet. Especially one that leaks like this one does. It is no wonder that we have been having allergies like we have never had before. We should have all been sitting around wearing respirators.
We finally got the nasty stuff up and drug out of the house. And then the real work began. I have to admit that at some point I was ready to sit and cry, and I did. It was just so overwhelming. I mean this house is around 80 years old. It has an 80 year old floor. And it looks every bit of 80 years old. I just thought there is no hope, no hope I tell you. And I told DH the same thing as I sat on the 80 year old floor and started to weep. Now Dh is a very patient man. But he had had enough. He told me in no uncertain terms that this is what I had been wanting, and we were doing it, and by the look in his eye I knew that I had been pull myself together and get over it.
Long story, but we sanded yesterday for 12 hours. Yep 12 hours. With big sander thing that DH rented for the day. $100.00 a day. I think I need to be in the rental business. And I had to use paint stripper, and a scraper to get all the paint off the floor next to the wall. I am still not finished. But I will be and it will be beautiful!
DH has just now zoomed off the return that high dollar sander and to get more paint stripper. After I finish my coffee I am going to return once again to the task at hand, down on the floor stripping paint. Hopefully tomorrow we will paint on the varnish. We have decided not to stain it...at least I think that is what we have decided. We think it will look pretty neat just leaving it as it. Rustic, very rustic. Which matches us..the last two days have made us look very rustic as well.
God Bless and Happy Trails,
RanchWife
Pictures to follow......hopefully
7 comments:
Our home in Albuquerque didn't have any carpet, just linoleum, probably for the reason you stated: sand! I used to hate for a sand storm to blow up; it meant sweeping up dustpans FULL of sand. It would take days to get the sand out of the house. We didn't have a vacuum cleaner, either, but that's probably a good thing. It would have filled up with sand on the first pass. Did I say we probably needed some new weather stripping?
Be of good cheer, RW. It's going to be beautiful when you're through.
Oh, sounds like fun! I think Buck and Brandon are kindred spirits, because Brandon will just drive me batty taking his sweet time doing everything just so-so-so. Oh yes, it looks like a million bucks when he's through, but good grief. Like the time he told me I was in charge of putting wood filler in all of the tiny thin spaces between the woodwork. He said it would require a paper clip and a lot of patience, and I said no thank you. :P I didn't have either of those two items.
Can't wait to see pictures of your floor! I bet it'll be bewtyfewl.
My Mom was about 8 mos pregnant with my sister (I was 5) and she decided to rip up the carpet in their dining room one day, in a pregnant state of mind. Can't you imagine my Dad's surprise when he got home and saw her wonderful idea...Lucky for him, he got to spend the next weekend sanding and staining and doing a job he had no intention of ever starting.
Woe! Indeed :)
Pictures please! I can't wait! Carpet is gross! I can't wait to get rid of mine! Not that I will keep the wood floors any cleaner but at least I can see what is there and not imagine what is "under" there!
Oh my what a project! But how cool that will be...I'm all about rustic---ask Paula. The rougher it looks, the better I like it, within reason of course! Oh how tired you must be. We helped some friends do this very project a few years back and it is so much work, but oh so neat when you're done! We sanded...with the big rental sander and sanded with hand sanders and then sanded some more....then cleaned, cleaned and cleaned again. Then it was on to the clear coat with big paintbrushes. 2 times to be exact but a great look when all was said and done! My carpet is getting really bad, it was fairly old when we moved in 9 yrs ago and it was cheap carpet to start with, now it really looks like heck! Unfortunately my DH is NOT a fan of wood floors..."they're cold", "I grew up with them". whatever all that means!! ha ha Have a great weekend and don't work too hard!
So now that you're both old hands at this, you'll want to run over and help me do mine?! Pretty please! I just peeked under my nasty carpet and it was scary, but I do believe I spied some wood! I'll give you a few weeks to recuperate. You can enjoy your beautiful floor and realize how much you enjoyed the process and then hop on over here! Ducking....! I'll feed you!
You're fixing to start a revolution of carpet ripping and floor sanding!! HEY....we could start our own business!! I'll bet there's bookoos of old houses out there in need of this service! $$$$....think about it after you've rested a day or two! :)
Are you ok or are your arms to sore to type and put up pics! (smile!) Looking forward to seeing the finished product!
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