OT Prgress on house... epic length!

Phew! What a huge (pretty disgusting) job to have tackled. Good going time-wise I should say. At least you get satisfaction in spades from a job like that. . In message , melinda writes

That is a lot work. We had a rental when I was a kid. I remember some really big messes we dealt with. Funny the folks that seem like they would be clean were slobs. Yuck. BTW, if you vinyl floors are pre 1980 they probaly have asbestos in them. That opens a whole new can of worms on removal/disposal.

Taria

Most of the garden work was done before Christmas, we've been lucky to have help from my parents. Dad sanded the timber floors over the weekend they've come up beautiful - Cyprus Pine, which is apparently a rather oily timber. DH's parents have it in thier house, in the kitchen it's unfinished and apart from being a little gray looking is still in good condition, so for time reasons we're considering doing the same.

They stopped using asbestos in building stuff, etc a lot earlier than that here in Oz, think it was sometime in the

We have Cypress Pine cupboard fronts in the kitchen which have been sealed with a clear finish and look fantastic.

Our deck is also Cypress Pine but looks a lot different due to the oil finish we have on it.

Personally I wouldn't have unsealed timber floors, just my opinion.

Our family room (Radiata Pine) has 5 coats of Cabots CFP (?) on it due to being a high traffic area and still looks good.

Dee in Oz

Hi Melinda,

After taking up the floor coverings, how didyou get rid of the smell of the cat urine. We have to replace our carpet in the loungeroom because of the previous owners dogs and cats and our animals setting their territory.

DH has looked at getting something for the floors, I think he may yet put something on them a lot depends on how much it'll cost for the stuff.

We hope to get it all done in the next week, DH goes back to his normal work on the 19th. A little more cleaning to do, the kitchen cupboards and the stove being the worst left, sort out the bathroom floor and a coat of paint over what needs it and we're pretty much done.

Sanded the timber :-) or Dad did, some of the areas were rather smelly when he put the sander over them...

Is it the floor or the walls? If it's the floor, being that chipboard stuff it will need to be replaced :-( If the smell is just near the walls then try washing the walls, a general purpose wall and floor cleaner - lemon scented - works wonders...

Today was a short day, we got the bathroom floor scubbed down with bleach, the windows on the back enclosed verandah mostly clean, the stove & oven clean (that was a disgusting job!) and dad water blasted most of the outside walls. The top of the walls at the back of the house aren't that clean as they are so far up off the ground. DH made and instlled props for the shelves in one of the built in wardrobes, which he painted before installing the props. He fixed the grill door as well and was trying to find a flat spot in the yard to set up a garden shed to store stuff in. We'll be splitting the yard with a semi temp fence so we can try and control the privet and other weeds.

Yes, it is the floor and we have poured gallons of Urine Off on them and it is realy bad when it is a humid day. I think we are resigned to the fact that we will have to replace the floors but finding the money to do that is a big thing at the moment, my OH has had his job cut down to 2 days a week from 4 days.

We are taking up the carpet and underlay when it cools down and go from there.

H>> Thanks Melinda, we cant sand as the flooring is that special chipboard

This isn't from tenets! This from the previous owner...

There was a grilled grasshopper looking bug in the bottom of the grill area... and masses of cat fur around the door areas of the oven and grill, it's a side-by-side bench top unit so cleaning in between the doors is a pain.

Oooh, yuck.

Sounds like the woman who owned our house before us.

We had to replace the oven, redo the first bathroom and get the plumber back (>> Yes, it is the floor and we have poured gallons of Urine Off on them and >> it

Our previous owner wasn't that bad, just old and careless about what her cats did. One of the kitchen cupboards I cleaned out today really stunk like cats had been marking territory on the kick board around it. I'm not looking forward to cleaning the bottom shelves of the other cupboards...

The walls that need painting are all clean, but just need some holes patched before we start. The end is in sight!