So I know you really want to see the house, and I only teased that in my last post. Here are a week’s worth of photos!
Full disclosure: we knew there were hardwoods underneath the carpet. We didn’t know they would A. look like that. And B. look like that. The condition. The inlay. The pattern. The combination of quarter-sawn and not-quarter-sawn oak.
I started pulling up large swaths of ugly blue-gray commercial-type carpet like it was my job. I couldn’t stop. Then I spent the next day pulling up the tack strip and approximately 4000 carpet tacks. I got lots of blisters and lots of cuts. It was SO worth it.
This is the main room, front room, or “Hall” as it was called at the time. More on that later.
Ah, the Blue Room. Or Dining Room. I get why people covered up wood with carpet. And I am sort of glad they did because it keeps the floors protected. But why, oh why, would anyone paint oak woodwork BABY BLUE?!?!?! And it’s not just here and there – every piece of molding, baseboard, box beam, built in, wall, ceiling…they are ALL painted blue. And I discovered the blue is only part of the story. 1/3 of the story.
Before it was blue, it was pink. And before that it was some sort of putty/harvest gold color. *Then* we get to oak. I was half hoping it would be some lesser-cool wood and I could go along with my life and not feel the need to strip the blue room. But I feel the need to strip the blue room. Anyone know how to do that without driving myself insane?
I had meant to leave the blue carpet as a sort of drop cloth. My helper yesterday disagreed with that, though he did leave me a little carpet piece for my “work space.” It is probably a good time to mention that I am a VERY messy wood-stripper.
See that gray/blue carpet? It isn’t pretty, but my finger-blisters can attest to the fact it was installed well. Under that carpet, there appears to be wood stairs. Yipee. The stairs are proving to be a lot harder to de-carpet than the flat. The banister is also a point of contention – I believe it is original, but I seem to be in the minority. But guess what? I love it and she’s my house and it is staying.
A few exterior photos, just to round things out. She’s going to get an exterior paint job as part of Phase I or II. But the yard, oh my god, the yard, is probably like Phase 31.
99 Bottles of Wine 'til I'm Done 
Stripping wood is so hard. I inherited a 3 set of nesting tables from Grandpa George Merriman (long story there) in desperate need of refinishing. After looking at them for over 20 years I finally did it. Well worth the effort but SO hard.
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Our home had wood that had to be stripped and it took FOREVER. I used that orange stuff, I can look up the name. However, leave it on a LONG TIME our molding had around 7 layers on it so it took a long time.
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I’m using the orange stuff too!
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