Matthew and I have finished the last house we purchased. We are now out of houses to fix up until we can buy something and the market is just too hot now for us to get involved. When we purchased this house, I had done the "peel the carpet back by a furnace register" check of the floors. Sometimes hidden under that lovely carpet is an oak floor.
Yes there was an oak floor under the carpet and pad, but...
someone in the past, to have that "modern up to date" look, had glued down one of those lovely kitchen type carpets with the fuzzy grey backing. When they replaced the carpet and put in new, a few decades ago, they left the fuzzy grey and glue on the floor. I had a crazy thought and tried to scrape it clean. Decided it would be too much work. Matthew said "we can clean that floor". I think he may be rethinking that now. Between me and him we have about $1040.00 in labor time invested in that floor. A new floor on sale at Menards this week: $118.97 and $160.00 in our labor cost to lay it.
I sure hope this oak floor is worth the extra $761.03 we have invested in it. You can see the ink stain to the right of the door that we could not get out. It is soaked into the oak. We are going to call that character.
Still an old oak floor is always better than a new laminate, any day in my book. Question remains how much better. $250? $500? $750? At $760 I think we were pushing the envelope a bit.
I had wanted to save the carpet in the enclosed front porch. It was an expensive carpet when laid and it looked pristine. That is until I moved a box of books and saw the square foot of roofing tar that was spilled on it.
Yep, that carpet went to the landfill and a new floor went in. Matt's goal was to lay this floor in an hour. He failed. Had the last piece to cut and put in when the hour was up.
I had peeled back the carpet to take a look at this floor and was impressed by the fir floor underneath.
Nooooo! Only good wood was around the edges. Could have maybe used it for a game floor of some type, I suppose.
Covered up the fir floor. We also put the cold air return back in (when I say we, I mean Matt did). Some previous owner saw no reason to have a cold air register. How crazy is it that they put COLD air registers in when you are trying to HEAT the house. I have a feeling the house was kind of expensive to heat. Trying to push heated air up and the furnace gasping for air.
So we wrapped up our last house and I have free time ahead of me. How will I use my "free" time? Fact is, I don't have any "free" time. My time all belongs to God. Every minute of every day. Over the last years it has been great to see how God has been in control of our lives and all our activities. There have been times when I thought I had it all figured out and God had a different direction for us. It's kind of like me peaking under a carpet and thinking there is a good floor there only to find out I am wrong and have to make a new plan, except God is the one who has the "new plan". His plans always turn out better than mine. I am too much like the idiot closing up the cold air registers because I am trying to heat the house not realizing I can't heat the house with out those cold air returns.
I am sure God is going to fill my days with some of the volunteer organizations I am a part of in the next few weeks.
I can not encourage you enough to turn everything in your life over to God. He has a great plan for you. It floors me every time I see where he takes my life.
