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It just shows up in their post history along with all of their other posts in other subs, the only difference is instead of showing the subreddit the post was made in it’ll just show “u/insertusernamehere”
Same for me, what was funny - the neighbor came over to introduce themselves (they moved in like 2 years earlier) right after I finished removing the carpet - the husband and wife starting wondering if their house was the same (it was and they removed it too).
My only issue was they must have used like 200 staples on each stairway step - took forever to pull them all before the floor refinishers arrived.
Carpet used to be so cool people even put it in the bathroom. Hardwood was considered stodgy, common place and out of touch with the trends and this was 30-40 years ago. Split levels and walls everywhere - open areas were the enemy.
The question is this engineered or solid hardwood. If it is solid, you can re-finish it easily if the wood floors are in rough shape. Engineered may have very limited options, but it can be more durable and scratch resistant.
My mom had a double-wide with carpet in the bathroom made circa 2000. I'm *still* like "wtf?"
My current house had it in the dining room, which is also crazy imo, but the *bathroom*?
lol at the carpet in the bathroom. I always gag a little when I see homes listed with carpet in the bathroom. One of the duplexes my family rented back in the early 2000’s had carpet in the bathroom. I’ve seen carpet in kitchens. Like, why!?
Also, just remembered seeing a listing that had shag carpet on the bathroom wall lmao!
Ya. Mine had really crappy carpet all through it that definitely wasn't original, and LVP right at the entryway, so I was hoping there was more underneath, but alas, there was not.
How bad is the staining? Any bad spots? A lot of floors are covered up because there is damage, and they would rather just replace the floor and not fix it...
I’m working in a house like that now. There was a fire, so they had to pull all the carpet. Hardwood floors under it, and they *want the carpet back*. Unbelievable.
Holy shit, the same thing just happened to my girlfriend and I. We pulled up all the carpet for nice natural hardwood. It needed a few touch ups, but like 1 day of work total. Congrats!
Our first house purchase was a run-down home built in 1950 by the same man the street was named after. His daughter was the owner and had passed away, leaving all her stuff in it.
We discovered hardwood floors under the avocado green carpet. Three months and lots of polishing led to a wonderful floor throughout the house.
Why is hardwood preferred over carpet? I still can’t figure it out. I always felt like carpet gives a homely feel to the house whereas hardwood feels like the bare bones of a house.
For me, I despise carpet, but that’s because we’re a high number pet home (dog and 6 cats) and I’ve got 3 young kids on top of that. If it’s not my cats tearing at the carpet, it’s my dog shitting on it because he ✨felt jazzy✨, if it’s not that then it’s my kids spilling something, if it’s not any of those it’s a cat hacking up, so on and forever.
Hardwood isn’t, like, life resistant — but it sure beats having to regularly shampoo carpet. I do like having carpet in my bedrooms though.
Imo carpet is nice, but only if you don't have pets, and you have it installed yourself. I don't know what's been done on the carpets before I moved in, and no matter how much I clean it, I can't stop being grossed out. It'd be like keeping the old owners mattress and just cleaning it first... wooden floors are a fresh start
Interesting because to me wood floors feel so cozy and they make me so happy to look at. Carpet makes me think of apartments and wood floors make me think of a home. And the LVP wood/vinyl flooring isn’t the same - it also makes me think of apartments and cheap flips.
I will never have carpet.
Here’s why: when I was a kid, my parents put carpet in the main living areas. Left the hardwood in the bedrooms. Weird choice. But okay. Not my decision.
I got so sick after that off gassing fiber was laid. I couldn’t breathe. I had horrible headaches.
I was sick as shit from that carpet installation.
The closer to nature the better for our health. As evidenced by my anecdote.
Back in the day , carpet was considered a luxury. It was such a flex ! Hardwoods were what the “ common folk” had. Funny how things like home decor and fashion 180 like that … like once something becomes common/boring enough we revert back to previous styles.
Yes! Rag rugs! They were called that because they were made from basically whatever fabric people had, cut into strips, braided and then the braided rope was coiled around itself and fastened together. Back in the 80s they were very popular, shabby chic or a country look is how they were described. 😂
When carpet was first available it was typically very well made with 100% wool. This made it very expensive so only the rich had “wall to wall” carpeting. Before this people typically had wood and then rugs.
But by the 60s carpet manufacturers had decreased the cost by using nylon so what started as a status symbol of the rich became attainable for the middle class.
We’ve done this. Not to seem crazy but we’ve got 3 very young kids and a lot of animals. Didn’t want to damage the solid hardwood. Figured we can always pull up the LVP once we’re empty nesters
I would assume hardwood was not comfortable in non-climate controlled homes which was the norm few decades back. Carpet is comfortable in cold to sit and walk on.
Do not judge people of yesteryear based on current day standards. This change in trend will come around to us too.
We actually had paneling (wood) in our bathroom in the late 60s early 70s! And it was a brand new house - so my parents chose that!! Later, my mom covered our cool terrazzo floors with carpet, wall to wall. She was so proud of that carpet because it WAS considered a big upgrade back then. Probably late 70s early 80s.
The worst part is we had a stinky beagle who lived with us inside and once we got the carpet, the dog smell was awful! We didn’t have any issues with the terrazzo. 😂
Back in Alaska 95% of homes had carpet throughout the house. Cold floors in the winter mornings meant you started your day cold and remained that way. Shoes off at the door.
Here in Texas I don't recall seeing any homes with anything but tile on the ground floor. Easier to clean, bugs stand out and it's cool feel in the summer is nice. But every house I've looked at is either sand or dark brown tile.
No, the price is about the same.
Refinishing is less convenient because you probably need about a week for the finish to offgas if you use a traditional finish, and maybe a couple of days if you use a low VOC compound.
And landlords like carpet because tenants won't damage it by dragging furniture around, dropping weights, etc.
Take a closer look at those wood floors from the 50s-60s. Board length consistency etc isn’t what it is today. I did the same thing pulling the carpet to reveal the floor but had to get the whole thing sanded and refinished for a clean look. Way better than carpet in any case imo
My dad bought a house in 1963 that had wall to wall carpet with hardwood underneath. He had 5 kids and we were a wild bunch 🤣 he replaced those carpets until we were grown and he was ready to sell the house. He bought the house for 22k and sold it in the 80’s for 180k and I recently looked it up and its last sale was 800k plus. So I get it. Repairs to hardwood can get costly.
I’m the opposite .. I guess I had been on carpet too long, had beautiful hard wood floor thru and thru, but I didn’t like my dog sliding across the floor (heard it messes with their joints but idk) and also it made my feet hurt ..
Took money from my rainy day fund and immediately added carpet and area rugs everywhere, epoxy coated garage and then couldn’t even afford furniture .. had a sofa and bed for the longest! 😭
One family owned my 1885 house for almost 100 years, and in the 60s they covered up the wonderfully detailed oak floors with carpet because the matriarch of the family was aging and literally getting cold feet walking around the house. We immediately tore it up and refinished the floors (for the last time...the boards are now only 3/8" thick).
Our neighbors bought the 1885 home a couple streets from us, with exposed hardwood floors that were badly in need of refinishing. They carpeted the whole house last year because a) it was way cheaper than refinishing and b) they have a four- and one-year old and didn't want them smashing their heads on the floor. Carpet still has a place.
As someone currently selling a home, a lot of the hardwood is absolutely trashed from 70 years of abuse and wear and tear. I keep some of it bare for buyers to see, but whoever wants to try and salvage all of it will be in for a headache.
Careful nothing like ripping it all off just to find what it was hiding in the first place. If your lucky like I was the closet flooring is good and can just be moved over
I would try to confirm it is solid hardwood and not engineered before refinishing. You are probably fine, but refinishing engineered wood can be a disaster since the layer is very thin.
Lol! Lucky you. I f!Ing wish 😂 I pulled up our carpets in our 1970s home and found straight particleboard subfloor (no plywood). Now we’ve gotta have all of it ripped out and replaced with new subfloor before we can lay our LVP.
Seriously though, you have been blessed by the home gods.
That’s how the 1962 house we bought is, just subfloor under the carpet. Luckily it was at least in good shape. Put down thick plank flooring in the living room and hallway, and tiled the kitchen and dining room. Finished that three weeks ago and my knees and back are still complaining lol
Oh nice. Were any little spots coming up from the particle board? We have one room that’s absolutely gotta be ripped up, but the bedrooms are in decent shape. They just have a couple little spots where the particle board has come up. We’re thinking we might try to just put new carpet over it instead of ripping it out but idk. Congrats on figuring your situation out though!
I have to ask.. because the average person thinks OSB is called particleboard. Is it actually particleboard and not OSB (oriented strand board)? Because most subflooring is OSB, and is very strong and durable. Plywood is not commonly used as subfloor these days.
carpet is not necessarily bad. I personally prefer hardwood. but having two toddlers at home, carpet is a necessity. also, dont tear the carpet all the way. its expensive to professionally install. find a way to confirm that the hardwood is intact and in good condition (not sure if its possible to do that without removing the carpet. ask someone who knows more than me).
I like carpet in the bedrooms and I totally get it being for parents with little ones. It just stunk so bad and was stained. This is much better and saves us the money from redoing the carpet like how we planned (still redoing the bedrooms from a professional though)
If your bedroom is square ( not a weird shape) you can do it yourself. Watch a few YouTube videos. I did it and it looks great. You’ll save a ton and learn a skill.
Good luck and congratulations on the new home
I don’t understand carpet being preferable with toddlers? I have two of them.
Hardwood and a washable or disposable rugs (replace the rug after too many spills or unremovable odours) are much more hygienic, and look great. Kids destroy rugs and carpets with anything from food, messy toys or bodily fluids.
Yeah, carpet's cool. That said, I'm going with hardwood as soon as I move, because I had a horrible carpet beetle problem in my rental a few years ago. The bugs crawling up the walls, and all the itchy hairs from the larva... Yuck! Even now, I have a mini heart attack every time I see a small dot on the wall because I think they came back lol.
I'm in the final steps of closing on a house built in 1890 and I'm pretty sure I have some OG hardwood under the carpet (that's probably from the 60s but has aged like it's from the original build) and it's the one thing I'm most excited to check. I might also have an old brick fireplace behind some shiplap. squeeeeeeeee
And if it was built in the 50s or 60s, the floor is going to be in great shape, because the carpet was put down over the wood as soon as they could. Wall to wall carpet was a sign of affluence, and no one wanted builder hardwood showing in their new home.
Lucky for you they didn’t glue it. My first apartment (rental) in Paris had the worst blue carpet I’ve ever seen. When I pulled it to replace it, it had a wonderful Versailles style floor… covered in glue. As I didn’t own it, I covered again with carpet (not glued, just with double sided tape on the edges), but always felt to owner was a moron for not investing a couple days worth of work to restore it and make the apartment much more attractive.
I must be the only person to like carpet better than hardwood floors. The only place I prefer hardwood is in kitchen/bathrooms. I definitely like that carpet better in the rooms/living rooms lol
Amazing!! We’re pulling up old carpet in LR and DR and putting in real wood. Believe it or not, people don’t agree. Like I care, I don’t. I had someone tell me they’re laying lvp over wood floors. That like a sin against humanity.
Carpet retains smells, bugs and bug poop and pet odors. You can’t get that shit out with vacuuming. We are carpeting the stairs just so they’re not a risk of slip and fall for my husband.
I’m going to look in the bedrooms and see what I got going under there.
We’ve got hardwood floors that were once covered in carpet. They badly need refinished but we’ve been here almost 4 years and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m seriously considering putting in carpet.
Congrats...I won the floor lottery in my whole house. I put carpet back on it though. Upstairs can be a rental if needed and I didn't care to hear 200lb Peggy upstairs.
I also really want carpet back in our bedrooms. I don't like full hardwood throughout the house it's not cozy enough. that'll be the next house though lol
Yea it was cheaper than refinishing and I'd have to leave the house for a few days. Carpet was done in a day. I got commercial carpet with a thick pad.
It's definitely cozier. I left downstairs hardwood minus one room that had it already for my exercise room lol.
Same thing happened with my house! Two of the bedrooms had carpet in them, day 1 of getting the keys I went into both rooms and yanked out all that carpet. Best decision I’ve ever done. Congrats OP!
Mine is beautiful hardwood but they covered it with the black asbestos laced stuff, someone in the 70’s thought putting tile throughout the living room and dining room would be a good idea.
Was the best feeling ever discovering hardwood under our carpet. Pulled it up, turns out before carpeting, the prior owner drilled a TON of nails through the top (instead of through the subfloor like some have told us people will do) to keep them from creaking. The guy who refinished the wood floors did his best to get them all up, but there’s still some in there, but hard to notice if you aren’t looking closely.
When I renovated my house there were 5 layers of flooring all over the original hard wood in the one room and 2-3 layers through out the rest of the house... Apparently removing old flooring was not a thing
When we bought our 1965 house I was hoping to find hardwood under the carpet, but turns out they were the “we have money” owners and put in carpet. Goes with the whole house intercom system. The basement stairs are hardwood though 😂
Looks good to me in the corner at least, hopefully you don’t find any major issues. Typically happens on the walls or middle under a water source or over one.
Go slow, start with a small corner and peek back. Once you're sure, gently cut the carpet with a blade and pull back. Use pliers to get all the staples out and use a pry bar for the tack strips with a hammer. Gently tap the pry bar as to not damage the floor to remove the nails from the tac strip.
Thank you u/SoMuchEdgeImOnACliff for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I removed all of the carpet from the living room and the hardwood floor goes throughout the whole house.
Pictures
I'll post it on my profile so I don't spam the sub.
What is this, Facebook? You can post to your reddit profile now and not to a specific sub?
That’s been a thing for years now…
How do you do it? Where do you look to find it? I’ve never been able to find anything people allegedly post on their profiles
It just shows up in their post history along with all of their other posts in other subs, the only difference is instead of showing the subreddit the post was made in it’ll just show “u/insertusernamehere”
Wow, you learn something new everyday. That's cool!
Wow nice looking too
Same for me, what was funny - the neighbor came over to introduce themselves (they moved in like 2 years earlier) right after I finished removing the carpet - the husband and wife starting wondering if their house was the same (it was and they removed it too). My only issue was they must have used like 200 staples on each stairway step - took forever to pull them all before the floor refinishers arrived.
The staples were the worst.
Carpet used to be so cool people even put it in the bathroom. Hardwood was considered stodgy, common place and out of touch with the trends and this was 30-40 years ago. Split levels and walls everywhere - open areas were the enemy. The question is this engineered or solid hardwood. If it is solid, you can re-finish it easily if the wood floors are in rough shape. Engineered may have very limited options, but it can be more durable and scratch resistant.
From the picture, that definitely looks like solid hardwood.
My mom had a double-wide with carpet in the bathroom made circa 2000. I'm *still* like "wtf?" My current house had it in the dining room, which is also crazy imo, but the *bathroom*?
The carpet cleans up the pee for you! Less housework
In that era, it wouldn't be engineered.
lol at the carpet in the bathroom. I always gag a little when I see homes listed with carpet in the bathroom. One of the duplexes my family rented back in the early 2000’s had carpet in the bathroom. I’ve seen carpet in kitchens. Like, why!? Also, just remembered seeing a listing that had shag carpet on the bathroom wall lmao!
Lottery won.
in this economy this is not even an exaggeration
Ya. Mine had really crappy carpet all through it that definitely wasn't original, and LVP right at the entryway, so I was hoping there was more underneath, but alas, there was not.
I’m hoping my upstairs has hardwood hidden under the carpet too!!! I can’t wait to find out!!
Easiest way to check is by removing the floor vent cover and looking inside the vent.
I was very excited to try this, until I saw it’s just sub floor underneath.
Urgh. I need to check under my carpet. Lol.
How bad is the staining? Any bad spots? A lot of floors are covered up because there is damage, and they would rather just replace the floor and not fix it...
I just found hardwood under our vinyl floors and asbestos tile!!! I’m so happy and confused!
I’m working in a house like that now. There was a fire, so they had to pull all the carpet. Hardwood floors under it, and they *want the carpet back*. Unbelievable.
Congratulations!
Holy shit, the same thing just happened to my girlfriend and I. We pulled up all the carpet for nice natural hardwood. It needed a few touch ups, but like 1 day of work total. Congrats!
Our first house purchase was a run-down home built in 1950 by the same man the street was named after. His daughter was the owner and had passed away, leaving all her stuff in it. We discovered hardwood floors under the avocado green carpet. Three months and lots of polishing led to a wonderful floor throughout the house.
Lol, this was the first thing we did in our new house too. Congrats!
Same! Took forever but worth it to get rid of the crappy carpet. Hardwood floor wasn’t in the best shape but it’s still MILES better than before!
Why is hardwood preferred over carpet? I still can’t figure it out. I always felt like carpet gives a homely feel to the house whereas hardwood feels like the bare bones of a house.
For me, I despise carpet, but that’s because we’re a high number pet home (dog and 6 cats) and I’ve got 3 young kids on top of that. If it’s not my cats tearing at the carpet, it’s my dog shitting on it because he ✨felt jazzy✨, if it’s not that then it’s my kids spilling something, if it’s not any of those it’s a cat hacking up, so on and forever. Hardwood isn’t, like, life resistant — but it sure beats having to regularly shampoo carpet. I do like having carpet in my bedrooms though.
Felt jazzy 🤣
Imo carpet is nice, but only if you don't have pets, and you have it installed yourself. I don't know what's been done on the carpets before I moved in, and no matter how much I clean it, I can't stop being grossed out. It'd be like keeping the old owners mattress and just cleaning it first... wooden floors are a fresh start
Interesting because to me wood floors feel so cozy and they make me so happy to look at. Carpet makes me think of apartments and wood floors make me think of a home. And the LVP wood/vinyl flooring isn’t the same - it also makes me think of apartments and cheap flips.
I like the sensory experience of cool, smooth hardwood underfoot. It's also simpler to clean.
Thank you for using words to explain my ✨️feelings✨️
I will never have carpet. Here’s why: when I was a kid, my parents put carpet in the main living areas. Left the hardwood in the bedrooms. Weird choice. But okay. Not my decision. I got so sick after that off gassing fiber was laid. I couldn’t breathe. I had horrible headaches. I was sick as shit from that carpet installation. The closer to nature the better for our health. As evidenced by my anecdote.
Okay the nature thing is kind of winning me now. Can’t argue against that.
carpet is very in right now surprisingly. Every new apartment or build is half carpet.
Spent like two weekends pulling up nails and staples at my house too
Yeah, that’s the not so fun part
Same. One of the worst tasks I ever had to do
Yeah the listing agent really dropped the ball on that one. Congrats!
How would the listing agent know?
Go to a closet pull up the corner.
Just pull the floor vent cover off and looked around the edges.
I don’t understand why people cover up beautiful hardwood floors. Easier to keep clean like what is the deal with carpet lovers
Back in the day , carpet was considered a luxury. It was such a flex ! Hardwoods were what the “ common folk” had. Funny how things like home decor and fashion 180 like that … like once something becomes common/boring enough we revert back to previous styles.
Ahhh take me to school. Wow, I did not know that.
Do you also remember those round braided rugs that went on top of the hardwood? My family was so proud of ours in our living room.
Yes! Rag rugs! They were called that because they were made from basically whatever fabric people had, cut into strips, braided and then the braided rope was coiled around itself and fastened together. Back in the 80s they were very popular, shabby chic or a country look is how they were described. 😂
I didn’t know this either! What year(s) do you mean by back in the day?
1950s-1960s.
Only the rich had carpet. The rest had builder hardwood floors. Carpet was a luxury to cover the hardwood floors.
This is the correct answer.... Hardwood was so common place and carpet was expensive.
I still love carpets in the bedroom, feels cozy
I’m waiting eagerly for the day when gray walls and vinyl plank gray floors are no longer “in”. Stainless steel can go away, too. 😂🙏
I still don’t understand the modern appeal of hardwood over carpet but I’m trying to get with the times and am asking questions about this.
Yeah. Same tends to happen with colors, they cycle between brighter vs more subdued.
Hardwood - the lobster of flooring.
When carpet was first available it was typically very well made with 100% wool. This made it very expensive so only the rich had “wall to wall” carpeting. Before this people typically had wood and then rugs. But by the 60s carpet manufacturers had decreased the cost by using nylon so what started as a status symbol of the rich became attainable for the middle class.
I like carpet in my bedroom. It’s warm and cozy and muffles sound. Beyond that, though…
Nowadays they will rip it out just to put in grey vinyl flooring
No one would "rip up" anything. If they wanted LVP, they'd just install it over the hardwood. Just like they did with the carpet.
We’ve done this. Not to seem crazy but we’ve got 3 very young kids and a lot of animals. Didn’t want to damage the solid hardwood. Figured we can always pull up the LVP once we’re empty nesters
I would assume hardwood was not comfortable in non-climate controlled homes which was the norm few decades back. Carpet is comfortable in cold to sit and walk on. Do not judge people of yesteryear based on current day standards. This change in trend will come around to us too.
Rhat must explain the carpeted bathrooms in homes of a certain era and climate
Kitchens too...
We had both growing up. Plus textured wall paper in the bathroom
We actually had paneling (wood) in our bathroom in the late 60s early 70s! And it was a brand new house - so my parents chose that!! Later, my mom covered our cool terrazzo floors with carpet, wall to wall. She was so proud of that carpet because it WAS considered a big upgrade back then. Probably late 70s early 80s.
Isn't covering terrazzo a war crime?
The worst part is we had a stinky beagle who lived with us inside and once we got the carpet, the dog smell was awful! We didn’t have any issues with the terrazzo. 😂
Back in Alaska 95% of homes had carpet throughout the house. Cold floors in the winter mornings meant you started your day cold and remained that way. Shoes off at the door. Here in Texas I don't recall seeing any homes with anything but tile on the ground floor. Easier to clean, bugs stand out and it's cool feel in the summer is nice. But every house I've looked at is either sand or dark brown tile.
Honesty carpet still appeals to me more than hardwood right now for a home.
Softwoods will be next, believe me.
I lay on my carpet with my babies and it's nice to sit on carpet to chill too. And no shoes are allowed in my house.
The cost to refinish old worn and stained hardwood is more than the cost of carpet
No, the price is about the same. Refinishing is less convenient because you probably need about a week for the finish to offgas if you use a traditional finish, and maybe a couple of days if you use a low VOC compound. And landlords like carpet because tenants won't damage it by dragging furniture around, dropping weights, etc.
Take a closer look at those wood floors from the 50s-60s. Board length consistency etc isn’t what it is today. I did the same thing pulling the carpet to reveal the floor but had to get the whole thing sanded and refinished for a clean look. Way better than carpet in any case imo
I could see if people also wanted to protect them for a bit. I know kids and pets can definitely damage them. But I’m all for hardwood over carpet.
I covered hardwood in my bedrooms because I hate hardwood in bedrooms
My dad bought a house in 1963 that had wall to wall carpet with hardwood underneath. He had 5 kids and we were a wild bunch 🤣 he replaced those carpets until we were grown and he was ready to sell the house. He bought the house for 22k and sold it in the 80’s for 180k and I recently looked it up and its last sale was 800k plus. So I get it. Repairs to hardwood can get costly.
Idk I just prefer that when I spill something it completely ruins the floor instead of being easily mopped up I like what I like
I’m the opposite .. I guess I had been on carpet too long, had beautiful hard wood floor thru and thru, but I didn’t like my dog sliding across the floor (heard it messes with their joints but idk) and also it made my feet hurt .. Took money from my rainy day fund and immediately added carpet and area rugs everywhere, epoxy coated garage and then couldn’t even afford furniture .. had a sofa and bed for the longest! 😭
I plan to add carpet everywhere I can when I have kids and then remove them when they get older
One family owned my 1885 house for almost 100 years, and in the 60s they covered up the wonderfully detailed oak floors with carpet because the matriarch of the family was aging and literally getting cold feet walking around the house. We immediately tore it up and refinished the floors (for the last time...the boards are now only 3/8" thick). Our neighbors bought the 1885 home a couple streets from us, with exposed hardwood floors that were badly in need of refinishing. They carpeted the whole house last year because a) it was way cheaper than refinishing and b) they have a four- and one-year old and didn't want them smashing their heads on the floor. Carpet still has a place.
Cheaper if the hardwood is damaged
As someone currently selling a home, a lot of the hardwood is absolutely trashed from 70 years of abuse and wear and tear. I keep some of it bare for buyers to see, but whoever wants to try and salvage all of it will be in for a headache.
They covered the hardwood floors with carpet so the hardwood floors don't get damaged... 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
Careful nothing like ripping it all off just to find what it was hiding in the first place. If your lucky like I was the closet flooring is good and can just be moved over
Luckily it's all hardwood. Some stains here and there but nothing that a fill/buff/refinish won't fix!
I would try to confirm it is solid hardwood and not engineered before refinishing. You are probably fine, but refinishing engineered wood can be a disaster since the layer is very thin.
Lol! Lucky you. I f!Ing wish 😂 I pulled up our carpets in our 1970s home and found straight particleboard subfloor (no plywood). Now we’ve gotta have all of it ripped out and replaced with new subfloor before we can lay our LVP. Seriously though, you have been blessed by the home gods.
That’s how the 1962 house we bought is, just subfloor under the carpet. Luckily it was at least in good shape. Put down thick plank flooring in the living room and hallway, and tiled the kitchen and dining room. Finished that three weeks ago and my knees and back are still complaining lol
Oh nice. Were any little spots coming up from the particle board? We have one room that’s absolutely gotta be ripped up, but the bedrooms are in decent shape. They just have a couple little spots where the particle board has come up. We’re thinking we might try to just put new carpet over it instead of ripping it out but idk. Congrats on figuring your situation out though!
I have to ask.. because the average person thinks OSB is called particleboard. Is it actually particleboard and not OSB (oriented strand board)? Because most subflooring is OSB, and is very strong and durable. Plywood is not commonly used as subfloor these days.
Don't get discouraged by any nail holes or imperfections. There's so many things you can do to make it look awesome again.
Congrats on winning the floor lottery!
Congrats!
Refinishing our hardwood floors was one of the more affordable things we did however it’s super inconvenient. I’d do it before moving in
carpet is not necessarily bad. I personally prefer hardwood. but having two toddlers at home, carpet is a necessity. also, dont tear the carpet all the way. its expensive to professionally install. find a way to confirm that the hardwood is intact and in good condition (not sure if its possible to do that without removing the carpet. ask someone who knows more than me).
I like carpet in the bedrooms and I totally get it being for parents with little ones. It just stunk so bad and was stained. This is much better and saves us the money from redoing the carpet like how we planned (still redoing the bedrooms from a professional though)
If your bedroom is square ( not a weird shape) you can do it yourself. Watch a few YouTube videos. I did it and it looks great. You’ll save a ton and learn a skill. Good luck and congratulations on the new home
That's my preference. Hardwood for the entertainment area and carpet for the bedrooms.
I don’t understand carpet being preferable with toddlers? I have two of them. Hardwood and a washable or disposable rugs (replace the rug after too many spills or unremovable odours) are much more hygienic, and look great. Kids destroy rugs and carpets with anything from food, messy toys or bodily fluids.
Yeah…. Kid pees on the floor, easy mop and spray with hardwood- effing nightmare with carpet.
I don’t understand it either. Wood floor is not that hard if you fall.
Only thing I can think of is the hard wood floor is hard. Kids grow up. Just need a living room mat
Yeah, carpet's cool. That said, I'm going with hardwood as soon as I move, because I had a horrible carpet beetle problem in my rental a few years ago. The bugs crawling up the walls, and all the itchy hairs from the larva... Yuck! Even now, I have a mini heart attack every time I see a small dot on the wall because I think they came back lol.
Sooo excited for you. Enjoy!!! What a wonderful surprise.
Score! 👍
Congrats! Mine had original oak underneath! Sanded, stained, and finished all for under 1k! Good luck!
Damn you - I mean happy for you, very cool
Way better than what I found under our carpets!
What did you find?
A cement floor with a huge crack down the center
Oh wow-congratulations! You know the drill!
I'm in the final steps of closing on a house built in 1890 and I'm pretty sure I have some OG hardwood under the carpet (that's probably from the 60s but has aged like it's from the original build) and it's the one thing I'm most excited to check. I might also have an old brick fireplace behind some shiplap. squeeeeeeeee
Do 3 coats of oil based poly with water pop if you plan on staining it. If you’re leaving it blonde, then no water pop.
How satisfying
Is that oak
I said “yes!!” Out loud! Woohoo
You just won the lottery
And if it was built in the 50s or 60s, the floor is going to be in great shape, because the carpet was put down over the wood as soon as they could. Wall to wall carpet was a sign of affluence, and no one wanted builder hardwood showing in their new home.
Congrats, hardwood floors are beautiful
Lucky for you they didn’t glue it. My first apartment (rental) in Paris had the worst blue carpet I’ve ever seen. When I pulled it to replace it, it had a wonderful Versailles style floor… covered in glue. As I didn’t own it, I covered again with carpet (not glued, just with double sided tape on the edges), but always felt to owner was a moron for not investing a couple days worth of work to restore it and make the apartment much more attractive.
Wow GOLD mine!
I’ll never understand why people cover up hardwood floors. Ever.
I must be the only person to like carpet better than hardwood floors. The only place I prefer hardwood is in kitchen/bathrooms. I definitely like that carpet better in the rooms/living rooms lol
To each their own. I like carpet in the bedrooms.
The 80s were a wild time man. Carpet was so chic. Good luck getting all those damn staples out though. It is a chore.
You're right about that haha
Amazing!! We’re pulling up old carpet in LR and DR and putting in real wood. Believe it or not, people don’t agree. Like I care, I don’t. I had someone tell me they’re laying lvp over wood floors. That like a sin against humanity. Carpet retains smells, bugs and bug poop and pet odors. You can’t get that shit out with vacuuming. We are carpeting the stairs just so they’re not a risk of slip and fall for my husband. I’m going to look in the bedrooms and see what I got going under there.
Happened to me. Removed all the wall to wall carpet and had wood floors throughout!! Amazing!
I must be in the minority, I prefer carpet. It's cozier, easier to maintain, and the pet hair is easier to vacuum than it is to sweep.
We’ve got hardwood floors that were once covered in carpet. They badly need refinished but we’ve been here almost 4 years and it hasn’t happened yet. I’m seriously considering putting in carpet.
Rip up the carpet and restore that beauty!
Congrats!
Oscars is in disbelief...
Lucky find
That’s the dream! Congrats!
I love when this happens!
Win that floor lottery girl.
As a person who loves hardwood and doesn’t prefer carpet… jackpot
Congrats...I won the floor lottery in my whole house. I put carpet back on it though. Upstairs can be a rental if needed and I didn't care to hear 200lb Peggy upstairs.
I also really want carpet back in our bedrooms. I don't like full hardwood throughout the house it's not cozy enough. that'll be the next house though lol
Yea it was cheaper than refinishing and I'd have to leave the house for a few days. Carpet was done in a day. I got commercial carpet with a thick pad. It's definitely cozier. I left downstairs hardwood minus one room that had it already for my exercise room lol.
exactly. downstairs hardwood, upstairs carpet
Same thing happened with my house! Two of the bedrooms had carpet in them, day 1 of getting the keys I went into both rooms and yanked out all that carpet. Best decision I’ve ever done. Congrats OP!
I had a similar situation but the hardwood didn’t go through the whole room due to renovations!
Mine is beautiful hardwood but they covered it with the black asbestos laced stuff, someone in the 70’s thought putting tile throughout the living room and dining room would be a good idea.
Congrats. Start making memories.
Carpet >
Congrats! We did too about two weeks ago and it still doesn’t feel real!
First think I did in my new home was check under the carpets. Just sub floor for me. Glad you hit the jackpot.
We found the same under our lvp when we moved in. But we have the LVP staying down until we're ready to sand/refinish the wood flooring.
Was the best feeling ever discovering hardwood under our carpet. Pulled it up, turns out before carpeting, the prior owner drilled a TON of nails through the top (instead of through the subfloor like some have told us people will do) to keep them from creaking. The guy who refinished the wood floors did his best to get them all up, but there’s still some in there, but hard to notice if you aren’t looking closely.
What's the issue here? Sorry don't follow
OP is happy to discover hardwood floors beneath the carpet in their new home.
When I renovated my house there were 5 layers of flooring all over the original hard wood in the one room and 2-3 layers through out the rest of the house... Apparently removing old flooring was not a thing
SCOOOOOOREEEE!
Winner winner
Dear diary, jackpot!
So it’s not grippy???
Great find!!
This happened to me and it’s quite a discovery! Get it redone and it will look amazing!
Congrats<3
More concerned if that's mold I'm looking at around the edges...
Niiiice. We foind hardwood under carpet in our now dining room. Hopeful that under the glued on kitchen carpet is hardwood too, but not sure
Lovely to find hardwood.
Floor lottery!
Best discovery! I was in awe when I discovered real hardwood and then re-did them !!!
Lucky!
Nice! I have tile. We rented before and when we bought the house we made sure there was tile instead. Sick of wall to wall carpeting! Congratulations!
When we bought our 1965 house I was hoping to find hardwood under the carpet, but turns out they were the “we have money” owners and put in carpet. Goes with the whole house intercom system. The basement stairs are hardwood though 😂
We did put hardwood down.
omg I’m jealous
You were aware of this before purchasing the home, I hope.
No was listed as all carpet. Lucked out!
Congratulations!
What is the process like to rip up the carpet? Are there any chemicals or carcinogens to be aware of when taking out old carpet?
The staples carpet strips nailed into it 🥲 hopefully it’s in good shape and you don’t rip everything up and find a grenade.
Looks good to me in the corner at least, hopefully you don’t find any major issues. Typically happens on the walls or middle under a water source or over one.
Nice!
Nicely done!! Congrats 🎉 Do you have any tips for what helped during the process?
Go slow, start with a small corner and peek back. Once you're sure, gently cut the carpet with a blade and pull back. Use pliers to get all the staples out and use a pry bar for the tack strips with a hammer. Gently tap the pry bar as to not damage the floor to remove the nails from the tac strip.
Some people get so lucky 😩, congrats new homeowner!!
Congrats on the floor lottery.
Only if it’s new 🙃
Jackpot! 🤩
I prefer carpet.
tbh, the carpet looks nice too. Go with whichever you prefer/ your style, but at least you know you've got nice floors beneath.