When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years.
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick

On Jun 18, 9:12*am, (Dick Adams) wrote:
When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years. *
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick

If there were animals or kids expect some stains.

Expect black marks anywhere tack strips were nailed down from the
nails.

Don't be surprised that the padding is stuck to the floor. Messy but
usually comes up fairly easily.

The biggest problem you will probably run into is disposing of the old
carpeting.

In article ,
(Dick Adams) wrote:


Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick

The definition of a surprise is that you don't anticipate it.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
news
In article ,
(Dick Adams) wrote:


Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick

The definition of a surprise is that you don't anticipate it.

You can anticipate surprises - you just can't anticipate what the surprise
is, or it wouldn't be a surprise

Hmm...so if we told him what to expect, it would not longer be a surprise
that he could anticipate?

On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:12:35 +0000 (UTC), (Dick
Adams) wrote:

When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years.
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick


Yes, since you had children. Pets can cause a lot of damage too.
But, you never know until you look. Good luck!

On Jun 18, 5:41�pm, Phisherman wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:12:35 +0000 (UTC), (Dick

Adams) wrote:
When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years. �
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick

Yes, since you had children. � Pets can cause a lot of damage too..
But, you never know until you look. �Good luck!

I have lived here since 1972, nearly all hardwood covered with wall to
wall.

just pulled all carpet, hardwood in pretty good condition, all needs
refinished......

trying to figure out how to do that with 3 dogs..........

"Dick Adams" wrote in message
...
When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years.
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Spills that got through and produced stains and possibly mold and ...
SURPRISE!

I have hardwood floors that were covered by carpeting for years. You will
find that your your young sons peed on them, threw up on them, spilled
everything under the son on them, and you will not believe what a mess the
floors are. Been there, done that....pull up the carpeting and see what is
underneath it. 36 years of carpeting on the floors can do an amazing amount
to damage to the floor underneath. If the floors were not in good condition
when they were covered (and they probably were not), you will find at the
very least badly stained floors, and quite possibly some warped spots if
there were persistent spills/leaks/plants in the same spot.

The good news is that since they are real hardwood and not this horrible
laminate that is so popular today, you can sand them down and refinish them
and get a beautiful finish out of them.

"Dick Adams" wrote in message
...
When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years.
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick

Phisherman wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:12:35 +0000 (UTC), (Dick
Adams) wrote:

When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had
wall to wall carpeting put over the hardwood floors
to protect them from our young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years.
Are there any surprises to anticipate if we take up
the carpeting?

Dick


Yes, since you had children. Pets can cause a lot of damage too.
But, you never know until you look. Good luck!

For the benefit of OP and others reading this group- carpet does NOT
protect hardwood, if anything it puts it in more danger. I predict when
OP pulls up the carpet, he will find rust marks around where the tack
strips were nailed down (not the mention having to patch those holes),
dark spots/seams from where pet accidents/kid and food spills/plant
watering spills happened, and spots where the grit that filtered through
the carpet and pad ground away the finish. And if if was a fancy rubber
pad, there may be whole patches where it has fused to the finish on the
hardwood, especially in high-traffic areas.

Hardwood was the standard floor for everywhere but kitchen and bathroom
from the 20s through the early 70s, when it got too expensive for most
people to afford, especially since most people thought W/W carpet was
more upscale anyway. Thankfully, style is headed back the other way.
Sometimes, in pet-free houses without humidity problems, where weekly
vacuuming was the custom, you get lucky when you pull out carpet, and
all the floor needs is a cleaning and waxing, plus of course putty for
the nail holes. But more often, at least spot refinishing is needed, and
to get it real pretty, a full sand'n'refinish is needed.

If I hadn't been in a hurry when I bought this place (and feeling broke
besides), and if they hadn't just put fresh carpet in the front living
room and hall, I would have had the carpet ripped out and the oak floors
refinished, including the half-ass DIY refinish previous owner did in
two of the bedrooms. Maybe when I prep the place for sale in a few
years, if the work is cheaper than replacing the freaking cream color
carpet that will be stained beyond redemption by then.

I'm not a fan of modern 'engineered' floors, especially if the top layer
isn't really wood. But I love old-style real hardwood t&g floors, that
can be sanded and refinished 3-4 times once you trash the rock-hard
factory finish after 30 years or so. And I think it is a sin to cover
real hardwood with carpet.

--
aem sends...

aemeijers wrote:

Phisherman wrote:

On Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:12:35 +0000 (UTC), (Dick
Adams) wrote:

When we purchased this house 15 years ago, we had wall to wall
carpeting put over the hardwood floors to protect them from our
young sons.

We will be selling this house in the next few years. Are there any
surprises to anticipate if we take up the carpeting?

Dick



Yes, since you had children. Pets can cause a lot of damage too.
But, you never know until you look. Good luck!


For the benefit of OP and others reading this group- carpet does NOT
protect hardwood, if anything it puts it in more danger. I predict
when OP pulls up the carpet, he will find rust marks around where the
tack strips were nailed down (not the mention having to patch those
holes), dark spots/seams from where pet accidents/kid and food
spills/plant watering spills happened, and spots where the grit that
filtered through the carpet and pad ground away the finish. And if if
was a fancy rubber pad, there may be whole patches where it has fused
to the finish on the hardwood, especially in high-traffic areas.

Hardwood was the standard floor for everywhere but kitchen and
bathroom from the 20s through the early 70s, when it got too expensive
for most people to afford, especially since most people thought W/W
carpet was more upscale anyway. Thankfully, style is headed back the
other way. Sometimes, in pet-free houses without humidity problems,
where weekly vacuuming was the custom, you get lucky when you pull out
carpet, and all the floor needs is a cleaning and waxing, plus of
course putty for the nail holes. But more often, at least spot
refinishing is needed, and to get it real pretty, a full
sand'n'refinish is needed.

If I hadn't been in a hurry when I bought this place (and feeling
broke besides), and if they hadn't just put fresh carpet in the front
living room and hall, I would have had the carpet ripped out and the
oak floors refinished, including the half-ass DIY refinish previous
owner did in two of the bedrooms. Maybe when I prep the place for sale
in a few years, if the work is cheaper than replacing the freaking
cream color carpet that will be stained beyond redemption by then.

I'm not a fan of modern 'engineered' floors, especially if the top
layer isn't really wood. But I love old-style real hardwood t&g
floors, that can be sanded and refinished 3-4 times once you trash the
rock-hard factory finish after 30 years or so. And I think it is a sin
to cover real hardwood with carpet.

--
aem sends...

If the carpet is in decent shape, I would leave it. Let the buyer make
the choice. If the floor is damaged, it is "buyer beware". If in good
shape, a pleasant surprise. The fact that it is there should still be a
plus. There shouldn't be moisture damage to the wood unless there was
repeated wetness for extended time. The most likely damage, aside from
tack strips, would be sand that sifted through carpet and pad (unlikely)
or pad that is stuck fast. But, then, there is still hardwood there.
We pulled up carpet that was over 35 yrs. old, from a slab floor.
Concrete was pristene, aside from paint drips from original painting.
If prospective buyers are picky, take up one room, clean it up with
mineral spirits after mild soap and cool water. Folks try too hard,
IMO, to make the choices that the unknown buyer would want.

I just started pulling up the wall-wall in my dining room tonight. The
beige carpet is really stained and stinky from pets. To my horror,
there is padding under the carpet, then an underlayment and under
that, plywood. The plywood looks like it's really stuck to the floor
(nailed or glued?). I stopped and laid it back down. My sister thinks
this is a good thing that the previous owners may have done to protect
the hardwood. When we pulled up the carpet in the upstairs bedroom,
the pad was stuck to the floor... more pet damage, but it was easy to
pull out. The floor was in really good shape with little moisture
damage even though I had shampooed the carpeting because of all of the
urine smells. I've decided to peel off the paper and redo the walls in
the dining room before I find out what's under that carpet. If the
plywood is nailed that's not too bad. If it's glued, refinishing it
will get rid of any glue residue. I am looking forward to it now. No
matter what's under your carpets, refinishing will reveal a beautiful
natural wood floor. I agree with Norminn- let the new homeowner
decide. Just let them know that there is hardwood beneath. They may
want to keep the carpet for a while.

h wrote in message ...

"Zootal" wrote in message The good news is
that since they are real hardwood and not this horrible
laminate that is so popular today, you can sand them down and refinish
them and get a beautiful finish out of them.

Why on earth do people use laminate? I've seen laminate cost more than
real wood, and it can be ruined in 5 minutes by just a little bit of
water. With real wood available for less than $4 a foot, why would anyone
use laminate?

Good quality laminate is very durable and usually cheaper then hardwood and
lasts many years. For most people, that is long enough because most people
don't keep the same house long enough to wear it out. It's like cheap
carpeting - people buy it, knowing it's cheap and won't last long, but they
don't care. When it's life is over, and you have to either cover it or
replace it. Laminate is like cheap carpeting - people don't care.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:16:59 -0400, h wrote:


"Zootal" wrote in message The good news is
that since they are real hardwood and not this horrible
laminate that is so popular today, you can sand them down and refinish
them and get a beautiful finish out of them.

Why on earth do people use laminate? I've seen laminate cost more than real
wood, and it can be ruined in 5 minutes by just a little bit of water. With
real wood available for less than $4 a foot, why would anyone use laminate?


The solid wood floors may be too thick for doors to clear. I would
not use any wood nor laminate in the kitchen, bath, or anywhere else
water may be an issue.

The solid wood floors may be too thick for doors to clear. I would
not use any wood nor laminate in the kitchen, bath, or anywhere else
water may be an issue.

What did older houses use in the kitchen? My house was built in 1948, and it
had hardwood floors everywhere but the kitchen. I don't know what was in the
kitchen (it may have been hardwood also) because the previous owner replaced
whatever was originally there with tile.

On Thu 19 Jun 2008 11:18:23p, Zootal told us...


The solid wood floors may be too thick for doors to clear. I would
not use any wood nor laminate in the kitchen, bath, or anywhere else
water may be an issue.

What did older houses use in the kitchen? My house was built in 1948,
and it had hardwood floors everywhere but the kitchen. I don't know what
was in the kitchen (it may have been hardwood also) because the previous
owner replaced whatever was originally there with tile.

My parents' first house was built prior to 1920. The kitchen had hardwood
floors, but not finely finished like the rest of the house. The floor was
also covered by "battleship linoleum". Other older homes they owned, none
built more recently than 1950, had similar floors.



--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Thursday, 06(VI)/19(XIX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
When Cthulhu calls, he calls collect.
-------------------------------------------

Pats wrote:
I just started pulling up the wall-wall in my dining room tonight. The
beige carpet is really stained and stinky from pets. To my horror,
there is padding under the carpet, then an underlayment and under
that, plywood. The plywood looks like it's really stuck to the floor
(nailed or glued?). I stopped and laid it back down. My sister thinks
this is a good thing that the previous owners may have done to protect
the hardwood. (snip)

What year was your house built? If you are finding underlayment and
plywood under the carpet, there is probably NO HARDWOOD down there. When
hardwood started getting expensive, and synthetic-fiber carpet started
getting cheap (in late 60s/early 70s), lots of builders decided to save
a buck by including 'free wall to wall carpet' in cookie-cutter houses.
If you bought the house early enough, you could even pick the colors.

Quick check to see if hardwood is present- if you have forced-air
heating with floor vents, pull one out, and look in the cracks with a
flashlight. May need to pry a crack open with a screwdriver. You should
be able to see the various layers of the floor.

--
aem sends...