We have never done a project like this before. But after reading countless how-to books, consulting the Internet, and watching hours of HGTV, Q assures me that he can do the job...with some assistance from me and the boys.
While the wood acclimates to its new environment, I'm spending the day taking the living room apart. I managed to pack up the tchotchkies, books and CDs, and move smaller furniture to the garage and other rooms. I'm waiting until Q gets home to disconnect the TV and video components and, we'll move the armoire and sofa.
The pictures really don't do it justice, but this carpet is really gross.
I have already begun to lift the carpet up in some spots. Underneath lies this lovely, thick layer of very fine dirt particles that ground deep into the carpet and even penetrated the pad! That's 8 years of accumulation right there.
Tack strip removal is fun! 
I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon making a list of forgotten supplies we need from Home Depot...like wood shims, a rubber-headed mallet, and maybe a Sears ShopVac.
4 comments:
Val, is the padding stapled down? If so, they are a pain to pull up. You can buy a staple remover on a stick from Home Depot. I have the scarred knuckles to show it is worth the investment (that's what I get for being cheap!).
Christopher, no, the padding isn't stapled down. The floor is on a cement foundation so it's glued. That means we're going to be picking bits of plastic foam off that are still stuck to the cement.
Also, I am going to have to get a pry bar to remove the tack the strips that I can't pry up with the back of the hammer.
One of the little prybars are perfect for the tack strips...they're only about six inches long. Get one of those scraper things that is basically a blade at the end of a stick...it will zip that foam up in a hot minute.
Actually, Christopher, the foam came up in pretty much one piece. Any remaining bits and chunks came up easily by using the putty knife as a scraper. That doesn't bode well for the quality of the original carpet installation, but I no longer care about that.
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