I mentioned in this post, that JEGs and I talked about switching out the carpet in the living room because, well, it smelled. Horrible. We had a guy from Lowes come out to the house on Saturday to measure, and we decided we weren't going to do anything about it until we got a quote on Monday or Tuesday.
But that didn't last.
Before I go any further, I am making a declaration about how this blog is going to run. I know lots of 'home improvement' and 'decor' blogs don't tell you about any projects until they are finished-- giving you that sense of instant gratification. Well that's not gonna happen here. This blog is called Lizzie In Progress, and this house is going to be a work in progress. I'm going to show you when we start a project, and it might be another couple months till we work on it more. JEGs and I are real people with full time jobs, credit card bills and school loans. We can't always afford to finish something as soon as we start it. We are going to have to pay for things little by little. Because that's how our life is. Plus, I want you coming back for more (ohh, baby baby.)
That being said, during Easter dinner- while I was with my family and he was with his- I get a text from JEGs that says "... Gonna cut that carpet out tonight. I'm sick of it."
And so we did.
After we flipped it over, this is what we found: Mold. Lots of mold and pet stains. :::gag:::
We knew there was hardwood floor underneath, but we didn't know what kind of shape it was in. We played around with the idea of sanding it just putting in a cozy area rug if it was salvageable.
However, it wasn't. It was busted. up.
There was clearly water damage to the floors, possibly a flood in the house at some point. We might be able to refinish the steps, but we will have to replace the one side completely:
The most damage is right by the kitchen doorway. It almost has a 'spongey' feeling to the wood. There are section of the floor that we feel like with enough pressure, someone will fall right through to the basement.
The worst part is, it still stinks. We think the floor itself has mold in it. Rock and roll.
So what's next? Even though it kills me to rip up the original flooring of this house (any decor blogger knows that is a crime against nature) I think it's the only choice we have. JEGs plans to install a new sub floor and then we will have Lowes come out and install new carpeting when we can afford it-- hopefully within the next couple months.
Until then, we are living with some pieced together area rugs and some carpet remnants.
It's very... eclectic. Right?
Always & Forever,
ME
7 comments:
Amen, sister. Real people, real time. There's nothing wrong with being human! My house (and life, etc.) is in a constant state of flux, good to see others living the same way!
And with regards to your floor issue, we dealt with the same thing. We just kept the nasty carpet in place until we could have (an could afford) Lowes come out to put in new fake wood.
Good luck with the project, and not rushing to finish this project will give you some time to figure out what you *really* want to do with the floor :)
Good luck with taking care of this! That is a big project. In the meantime, your rugs do indeed look eclectic! :)
Bummer about the floors! That's a big job to replace. Ryan's replacing individual boards right now. gag! Horrible. But, it's important.
(I'm glad you are doing in-progress shots. That's totally my style, too.)
We absolutely couldn't stand the existing carpet any longer. Or...I couldn't anyway. It was gross. With it being rainy, everytime we'd walk on it with wet shoes, the wet dog smell would just fill the entire room. And if you all could have seen what we saw when we pulled it... UGH. Masks were DEF a good idea.
The floor replacement wont be too big of a deal. I thought about tearing up a section or individual boards and replacing them, then refinishing the floor or something. However, it will never match. Trying to make new wood look like 90 year old wood is a losing battle. And we really want carpet, so replacing it with good subfloor makes sense. This way the entire floor is tight, quiet, mold/odor free, and ready for whatever we want to do. Carpet now, pergo/engineered hardwood later...whatever.
We'll update with progress pics soon... The subfloor will be going in as soon as I get my ducks in a row. Ill be using something called Advantech for the subfloor, and there is a local supplier near us which is a big plus. Rebuilding the landing/step area will probably come next. Then lowes or someone will lay carpet.
Like Ive been telling LB...Ill feel SO much better when the floor is solid and free of all that crud. I dont care if we need to live with the area rugs for a while.
I'm so glad that you aren't just doing "Here's what it looked like before and ta-da! Here's what it looks like now" posts because honestly those would be incredibly boring (and not realistic at all). I want to be able to read about the stinky carpet and about the moldy floors. How did the previous owners even stand living in it? Judging by the pictures it looks like the floor has been rotting for a while. Did you guys notice the smell when you were looking at it?
JEGS is quite the guy--sure the subfloors won't look like 100 year old wood floors, but at least you guys aren't just throwing your hands up and saying "Oh well, nothing we can do". Owning a house seems like it takes a lot of work (I have no experience in this since I'm still a renter).
Am eager to see more progress pictures!
Totally eclectic, loving the look ;) I wouldn't hesitate to remove the wood floor especially if their's water damage and mold. Mold is like the worst thing to get rid of, and so bad for you. Good luck L! Do with thing at a time and it's going to be fabulous!
Couple of pierced hanging lanterns from Terrain, a hookah or two, some Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf on repeat...and you've got yourself quite the little newlywed love den over there. The hookah is just what you need to cover that smell.
For reals though, that blows that the floor itself is moldy, what kind of freaks live with that ish?
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