Wednesday, October 7, 2015

More "before"

I finished painting ceilings and walls with the help of my lovely mom and my friend Kate, so it was time to rip out the horrible, stained, stinky carpet.

Yeah, that carpet. What the picture can't convey is how awful it smelled. This is carpet you rip out with long sleeves and gloves and a mask. And then you take a shower as soon as possible. I work with adolescents, so I'm pretty immune to horrible smells (sorry, middle schoolers. It's true). But P works in places that smell of fresh baked bourbon caramel rolls, and this job was almost too horrible for him.

And the big reveal: what was hiding underneath the carpet? Voila--hardwood floors! But hardwood floors that were stained and covered in paint.

And they're water damaged, so the boards are warped. Can they be salvaged? Are they too horrible to save? This remains to be seen. But, I'm looking at it as a chance to experiment and learn. The best thing about buying a wreck of a house is that I can't possibly make it worse. Even if I completely botch the floors, or they're beyond salvaging, we'll just carpet this room. And it'll be new, non-stinky carpet, which is a major improvement. And maybe I will be successful, and gain a new skill, and resurrect these poor, neglected and mistreated floors. Wish me luck!




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