Last month, on 2/24/12, I bought a house in the tiny town of Vernonia, Oregon. It's more a hovel than a house and needs more work than I care to think about. The shake siding is dying and falling off in bits, I have a 3'x3' section of floor rotting out in my kitchen, the electric is out dated and bits of the previous owners DIY wiring is so dismal it can't be saved. The 3rd day in while pulling down faux wainscotting so horrific it is barely a stop above cardboard I almost electrocuted myself when I uncovered the remains of a wall heater. All that was left was the metal casing (a 2'x1' metal box) and bare live wires sticking out of the wall. That was an adventure. It took me hours to rip up the wall to wall carpet that reeked of animal urine and looked had stains in the most disturbing hues.
The beauty is that I uncovered beautiful hardwood floors that I am currently refinishing. I'm doing this by myself, a hour a two a day after work with an old Craftsman belt sander. If you ever get the urge to try it this way DON'T! It takes forever. It is a necessity for me as I:
- Don't want to spend the money to have a professional do it when I am quite capable of doing it myself.
- Using one of the rented 'proper' refinishing sanders from Home Depot would no doubt be much faster but the floor has uneven spots and little bits that I have to concentrate on which is much easier and more effective with a belt sander.
It's still a gigantic pain in the ass. Here's hoping the floor will be worth it.
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