The first thing we noticed was, we ALSO got a flea problem, courtesy of the previous owner. No extra charge. UHG! So that meant a professional had to come immediately A friend of ours hooked us up with a great pest guy and we took control back of the house... after spending several nights in a hotel.
At this point it was evident that we were going to uncover more pet related issues. Starting with the master bedroom. The wood floors in the master bedroom had obvious pet odor problems. Urine in the floors...
So the thing about oak floors is they change in color when they get wet. Not all the spots on the floor were pet related. Probably just water that wasn't cleaned up fast enough, or whatever. BUT. There were a couple bad spots in the room. One was by the old fireplace hearth.
The other was along the wall next to the master bathroom.
The floor got so damp, the planks actually warped in this area.
First thing was to use an enzyme cleaner. Everyone recommended Nature's Miracle. WELLL, It worked a little, but it really didn't remove the odor like I had hoped.
What REALLY made a dent was straight Hydrogen Peroxide. A trip to Sam's Club made for some cheap ammunition. The peroxide bubbled up immediately. Was pretty awesome, actually! It brought a lot of the urine right out of the wood. After letting it sit for a few minutes, it was wiped up, so not to damage the floors further.
Next, a sight that looked more like a scene from the movie Scarface. Haha! Arm and Hammer baking soda is good for a lot of things. Specifically, it's super absorbent. So, over the areas it went. Then swept up, put aside, and the process was repeated.
Below is a shot of everything that was used. The only things not shown are OdoBan and Murphy's Oil. All of them helped a little, but I think the peroxide and baking soda helped the most.
The next area of concern was the upper and lower family room, at the back of the house. The carpet was gross (as is the color on the walls), so all the carpet came out the very next day after closing.
It was interesting to see the slab underneath. That slab is going to lend itself to some more challenges, as it's not level and slopes toward the door. It will have to be leveled before wood floors can go down. On a side note, this door and it's surrounding architecture is going to be completely redone and the door removed. More on that later.
We also learned that the lighter colored slab that sticks out under the stairs used to be an access to the boiler room. Wait. What? A boiler room?? Yep! There is a cellar under the upper portion of the family room. It was seen by the inspector and noted, but we never knew what it was. This COULD potentially be a usable space. Again, more on that later, though.
Nail/tack strips also needed to come up.
With the carpet gone from the lower portion, it was time to rip up the carpet in the upper portion. Strange and wonderful things were found. The first find obviously being the old vinyl floor laid over the wood floors. It really was a great discovery that the wood floors are intact!
In addition to finding the wood floors intact, there was another nice surprise. Another fireplace hearth! YEP! The fireplace that was in the master bedroom is a double fireplace. Another very exciting find! Also explains why the molding is completely different in this location.
But with the good discoveries or course came the bad ones. The threshold weather seal on the exterior door was bad and naturally lead to severe water damage to the floors in that area. BOOO! This is major, but not a huge surprise. A little extra work will have to be done to repair that section. Pulling the vinyl flooring will show just how much work is there.
But everytime I see the damaged floors, I remind myself that the rest of the floors in the house are in pretty good shape, considering their age. It always helps to go back and look at this picture to remind myself these floors will look beautiful again...
So... It has begun!!!! Stay tuned!!!! Some floor restoration coming up...
- Scott
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