yeah, yeah, in a minute.....

When we first bought this house (more years ago than I care to remember), it was pretty bloody obvious that the previous owners had done everything on the cheap. The house itself was well up to standard. It was the extras that were (basically) shit.

The paint was the cheapest, flaky, powdery stuff. The BIRs were (cringe) chipboard, as were the vanity and the laundry cupboard. The stove was the least expensive on the market. Power points were an absolute minimum. The lino was WA salvage quality (we're not fancy but we're cheap!). The curtains (if they even qualify for the name) were Kmart sheets with gathering tape (roughly) sewn on. Door furniture was revolting plastic knobs. Light fittings were bald bulbs.

And then there was the carpet. Oh god, the carpet.

It was nylon. Glossy. Static-y. A random swirl of gold, brown and white. Raw edged. Rubber backed. Glued to the floor. Totally, totally gross.

We had four kids under 8 and bugger all money. We slowly plugged away at the things we could change on our meagre budget.

The bedrooms of pink, blue, mauve and lemon paint were covered in cream. The living area's grunge green got the same treatment. The chipboard built-ins were ripped out and replaced with free standing robes and cupboards. Power points were doubled and new ones installed. The sheets came off the windows and were replaced by blinds. Plastic knobs were changed to brass levers. Bald bulb were covered or changed to recessed light and spots. The stove was eventually traded for something a little more up market.

And then there was the carpet. Oh god, that carpet.

It was going to be a big and expensive job to replace and had to deferred until we had less kids (and therefore less expenses) at home. About five years ago we girded our loins and got tiles in the living/kitchen areas. We laid them ourselves so the money went further. A shitty shitty job but well worth the effort.

With Jack coming in a few weeks to do the renovations on the spare rooms, the last of that revolting nylon atrocity has to come up. It has been covered over with other carpet in the bedroom but the passage has the last visible remnant. All of it has to come up.

When we did the tiling, preparing the floors was my job. I discovered then that elderly, well walked-on cheapo carpet is crapful to get up. Not only are the edges choked with contact cement, the tracked areas have welded the rubber backing to the floor. It is a real elbow grease job to get all traces off. I spent days and days with wire brushes, scrapers and turpentine scouring that floor.

I started on the latest lot the other day. The bedrooms aren't too bad. Most of it will come off pretty easily. But the passage is a different matter. The most trodden bit of floor in the house, it has had 20+ years of kids, dogs, spills and muddy feet. And it has done it's job well.

I pulled it up yesterday. Well, more accurately, I tried to pull it up. What I ended up doing was ripping the carpet off the rubber. Because that rotten (both literally and figuratively) black backing is 100% welded to the floor.

The wire brush has been dusted off. The scrapers have been sharpened. Several bottles of turps have been assigned. The garbage bag is lined up., waiting.

And I am sitting here writing about how shitty it is going to be because I really really really don't want to get started.

Procrastination is me (and I do it so bloody well).