Aloha AT:SF!
We finally found a place we like in our lovely little neighborhood. While we were looking for hardwood floors, this one has carpet - and a nice landlord who doesn't mind if we tear it up and fix the floors. So, my question is, should we? We are only renters - but with a dog and a baby boy - and we do plan on staying here until we buy that plot of land and build our very own container home...
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If we do this, should it be by ourselves? Hire someone? What do we use to seal the floor? Are we crazy?
I wanted to start in the second living room, which is going to be converted into a craft/art space. Mostly cause I hate the thought of paint on the new carpet, but also, wood is so much nicer.
Also, our landlord recommended adding new floor on top of the old floor. Why?
Mahalo!
Rachel
Image: starfire
Hi Rachel,
Ripping up carpet is grueling, time-consuming, filthy work, and when you're done you have to pay to dispose of the carpet remains. But if the floor underneath has not been waxed, you can "screen" it, which is a lot less messy than a standard sand and refinish because it only involves removing and redoing the polyurethane sealant. (Here's a good write-up on screening.) It sounds like your landlord suspects that the floors underneath are not in very good shape though, which could be why he's suggesting you refloor. If you sand a hardwood floor down one two many times you will erode the nailheads and create very creaky floorboards. So before you decide what to do, rip up the carpet in a small area like a closet to see what's underneath and gauge its condition.
If all you need is refinishing, you can hire someone to do all the dirty work for between $2,000 - $3,000. A friend who recently did just that recommends California Carpets. They used a "dust-free" system and a water-based finish that enabled her family to move back 24 hours after the work was done. And while she did find some dust along the moldings she had no complaint because she didn't even have to remove the pictures from the walls.
As for whether or not you're crazy, we can only offer that cleaning up after a toddler and a dog are much easier with hardwood floors. . . but that learning to walk is less painful when the floor is carpeted. And that you can offest with some nice, cushy area rugs.
Anyone else?
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Comments (10)
I assume your little is not potty-trained yet. Having potty-trained mine in a fully carpeted rental, I can tell you I would not go thru that again if I had any choice in the matter. Between his learning curve and the dog's illness last spring, the carpet is revolting and the security deposit is a long-forgotten fantasy.
By the way, mine learned to walk in a different apt, with hardwoods, and was none worse for the wear.
If the floors beneath the carpet are crappy, why not go for Ikea wood-laminate or equivalent? Unless you're a purist, the price is right and you can do it yourself. I know nothing about refinishing or screening, but I wonder if laminate might be cheaper/easier/nicer.
I would follow the above advice and check the floors before committing yourself. That said, if they are nice and you want hardwoods, do it.
Or at least try it in the craft/art room and see how much work it is.
I'd definitely remove the carpet-- rental carpet is a huge turn-off for me. Wood is easier to keep clean, and doesn't harbor tons of allergens.
I've ripped up carpet twice--once to reveal some very excellent oak floors, and once to reveal a linoleum nightware. We ripped up the carpet in the oak floor situation with about 3 hours of labor per room, with four family members on the job to vacuum and remove staples. That carpet was pretty icky-- the process of ripping it up revealed a frightening amount of dust and grime in the carpet. In the linoleum nightmare situation, we removed the carpet in under an hour, and then had to deal with the 5 layers of linoleum mess underneath. We plan to lay a floating floor to solve the problem cheaply and quickly.
Either way, I think the labor is totally worth it to get rid of the carpet.
It easier to clean hard wood, true. However the carpet with be easier on the dog's joints (think traction) and if you have downstairs neighbours they will LOVE you if you keep the carpet (think clickity clickity on their ceiling from doggy's nails)
Wall to wall carpets, especially ones in rentals, can be pure dirt, mold, and allergen evil. They are basically big bacteria sponges.
Pull it off I say!
Plus, doing a project like this as a renter is a great gauge for how you'll take to your own home improvement projects and allows you some practice (and time to perfect your technique) for the next time in your own home.
Do it - just do it. Area rugs should help with the noise and skid issue. Also, if you do put down new floor you can insulate the sub-floor quite well so that downstairs neighbors wont mind.
My final advice - why don't you offer a trade to your landlord. He buys the materials and you add to the value of his home? It's worked for me before for several things. Oh, and do try to get the approval in writing if you can, even if it just an email. Others have been burned by landlords who approve something and then try to withhold deposit saying later that they didn't approve it...
Pulling up a test piece to see what's hiding underneath is good, but doing it in a closet won't necessarily tell you what condition it's in. Floors in closets don't exactly get a lot of traffic, so a pretty wood floor in the closet might turn ugly in the middle of the living room. And considering that your landlord already said you might want to replace the floor is a big hint...
We ripped out all of the ugly blue nylon carpet in our new (circa 1936) house because we knew (ha ha) that there were wood floors under all of it. It turned out to be true for all but one of the bedrooms where the floor had been yanked out.
The hardest part wasn't ripping out the carpet and foam (you will need work gloves, a respirator type mask and utility knives) or getting rid of it (people on freecycle were fighting over picking it up..including the under foam...crazy) but what took for f****ing ever were pulling up the 3 generations of carpet worth of staples out of the oak flooring. Several nights up until 3 am.
But it was worth it.
regards,
trillium
mi.jo, have you had the carpets cleaned yet?
Hire cleaners with an extraction truck to have it done... not the carpet buffer people or DIY steamer. They'll get the accidents out.
I have two dogs and have my carpets extraction cleaned 3-4 times a year.
Hey all!
I didnt know this got posted!
Thanks for all the advice and good hints. While I think the floor has wear and no fixin's for a long time, he did replace the carpet in the entire place before we moved in. He even redid the tile in the kitchen. And asked us to maybe leave the bedrooms with carpet... So, I think we will start with the 'back' room and go from there. I didnt even think about the potty training with the little one. Ha. Ugh. Almost nastier to think of than the dog-house-training.
We are on the ground floor, by the way, with only the garage below
us. And from the sounds of things above us, I think they have the hardwood up there. Or they havent heard of felt for chair legs.
Again, thank you to everyone for the advice!
2 Quickies.
1. I once removed carpet to find some pretty banged up wood floors. The space had actually been an attic. All I did was to add a couple coats of urethane and they took on a vintage distressed look. I was surprised how great it was. Even with some paint drops from previous renters.
2. When I finally bought a house it had brand new cream colored carpet. With a hound dog that loved to run in mud, it was quickly ruined. One day I tore up the carpet and painted the plywood subfloor white. With this I added commercial carpet tiles and area rugs. It sounds like it is pretty crazy, but everyone loves it.