We moved into our house on Friday, May 8th. On the 9th, my husband jokingly asked when I was going to start ripping out carpet. This is one of the things I insisted needed to be done, not only because we knew there were hardwood floors underneath, but because the berber carpet that was on the floors was just so ugly.
I finally started on the carpet on Sunday. When I started pulling the carpet back, the floors weren't too bad. I didn't love the color, but it was in decent shape. Then I pulled up a larger chunk and was immediately disappointed. The floor became a drastically different color.
Once we pulled up all of the carpet, it was obvious that an area rug had been nailed to the floor and the floor was finished around it. I talked to someone at work and they said that it was common in the first half of the 20th century because of the cost of finishing floors.
After we finally got all of the carpet, pad, tack strips, and staples out of the floor, we started sanding. We rented a floor sander from Lowe's. The sander rental wasn't bad, but the cost of the sandpaper (which didn't go very far) was a little higher than we would have liked. It worked well, though. Of course, we had to use a palm sander around the edges.
Finally, on May 18th, I was ready to stain the floors. It took me two hours, a paint brush, and a t-shirt, but it was worth it. The entire project cost less than $200 and added more than that to the resale value of our home. I'm actually quite impressed with myself. It turned out a lot better than I thought.
Here are some photos of the project:
I finally started on the carpet on Sunday. When I started pulling the carpet back, the floors weren't too bad. I didn't love the color, but it was in decent shape. Then I pulled up a larger chunk and was immediately disappointed. The floor became a drastically different color.
Once we pulled up all of the carpet, it was obvious that an area rug had been nailed to the floor and the floor was finished around it. I talked to someone at work and they said that it was common in the first half of the 20th century because of the cost of finishing floors.
After we finally got all of the carpet, pad, tack strips, and staples out of the floor, we started sanding. We rented a floor sander from Lowe's. The sander rental wasn't bad, but the cost of the sandpaper (which didn't go very far) was a little higher than we would have liked. It worked well, though. Of course, we had to use a palm sander around the edges.
Finally, on May 18th, I was ready to stain the floors. It took me two hours, a paint brush, and a t-shirt, but it was worth it. The entire project cost less than $200 and added more than that to the resale value of our home. I'm actually quite impressed with myself. It turned out a lot better than I thought.
Here are some photos of the project:
What our floors looked like after the carpet was ripped out.
This is where I first discovered the change in color on the floor. The lighter color is finished, the darker color was unfinished wood.
Sanded and ready for stain!
The finished product.
For having multi-colored floor, it turned out pretty well. The color is brown mahogany. I actually think we chose another one, but when I got to Lowe's I had forgotten, so I chose this one. I think it was a good choice, though!
Wow, looks terrific. Good job!
ReplyDeleteLooks AMAZING
ReplyDeleteyou did an awesome job! looks great!
ReplyDeleteThose floors look spectacular! I want to tear up the carpet in my nouse but, I'm afraid that whatever is under there is going to be even worse than the carpet!
ReplyDeleteWOW! That looks so good!!!
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteWow! Your floors look great!
ReplyDeleteMost of our house is hardwood floors too. I LOVE it. It is SO much better and easier to keep clean than carpet.
Wow, looks great! :)
ReplyDeleteYou did such a great job, Ms. Home Depot! See? That job is paying off more than you ever knew! Can't wait to see more before/after pics!!
ReplyDelete