Who made this mess???

Oh right. I made the mess. Me! I actually did something! This is the first time I've ever stripped wallpaper, and I have to admit - it's extremely satisfying. At least, this wallpaper was. Once again, we got lucky with the house and the wallpaper pretty much just lifted right off in giant strips, as you can see on the floor. 

However, that wasn't the end. There was still glue all over the walls, which TJ said would probably be a pain to scrape away. There's a lot of wall in that living room. We had to soak everything with hot water, and anticipated that we'd need a couple of coats to make sure the water really soaked through the layers of glue. Again, we got lucky! The glue came off just as easily as the wallpaper. Some sections had to be soaked a few times, but for the most part, everything was a breeze. Luckily there was only one layer of paper, which seemed surprising on such an old house. I was expecting to go through several. The plaster walls underneath were actually in really good condition, which was good news for the seam filler (and us!).

I know it looks like TJ is doing all the work, but I honestly did a lot. He's just getting some of the leftover bits. Really, it was all me. We only did as far as our arms could reach to get ready for the electricians, so we still have to go back and finish up the upper part of the wall, but it's looking better already! We'll also be doing the same in the back hall, the small bedroom, a teensy bit of the upstairs bathroom, and one section of the master bedroom. The back hall is looking like it will be more difficult, the plaster isn't the same at all and the wallpaper comes off in teeny little bits, taking plaster with it. I'm not exactly sure what to do about that, hopefully someone else will. 

Anyway, my shoulders are very tired and sore, so that's enough blog for tonight! I'll have to get caught up, I'm a few days behind and in reality, the electricians and plumbers are already in and chopping holes everywhere. It's a disaster, but it will all be worth it in the end! (or so people keep telling me....)

Five days and counting...

We've owned our little house for five days now. It seems like much, much longer. I can't believe the work that's already been done. The people that know me know that I'm incredibly impatient, and I'm terrible at waiting. I want things to happen right away. I really thought that the first few days of home ownership would be an excruciating waiting period where we sat around pondering what to do, who to call, how to plan, etc.

Nope. None of that whatsoever.

We got stuck into the renovation business right away. First, we had to clear out the leftovers and then move our treasures into the sunporch. As soon as that was done, the first order of business was taking out the carpets.

Basically, TJ did all the work and I stood around taking pictures. In my defence, the sweet lady who lived there previously really loved her cats, and those cats really loved the carpet, and this was an incredibly sneezy job, one made even more sneezy by my ridiculous cat allergy. Carpet came up in the living room, den, upstairs hall, and all three bedrooms.

The aftermath varied from decent (as shown in the staircase section), to woohoo (as shown in bottom right as TJ discovers beautiful hardwood), to oh crap (as shown in top right with a photo of the disintegrated foam from the carpet in the master bedroom, which created its own carpet over a modpodge of plywood, glue, oil cloth, glue, masonite, glue, and more glue).

We focused on the woohoo bit, and immediately fell in love with the floor in the main hall, living room and den. We couldn't believe the great condition of the hardwood. I'm sure the 3+ hours TJ took removing every single staple and finishing nail was totally worth it. Again, I was taking photos. And pointing out the staples he missed. I know he appreciated my invaluable assistance.

On closer inspection of these photos, I think I see a few more staples....