TIL that old shag carpet can hide hardwood floors in decent shape

I was about to rip out this nasty green shag in my 1970s split level in Phoenix and just lay down laminate over the subfloor. My neighbor came over and said I should pull up a corner first to see what was underneath. After about 20 minutes of yanking staples, I found oak planks that just needed a good sanding. I spent $120 on a drum sander rental and three weekends refinishing them now they look way better than any new floor I could afford. Has anyone else found a hidden gem under their old carpet?

2 comments

2 Comments

karenf401d ago

Man, I used to think pulling up old carpet was a waste of time. I figured it was just gonna be beat up plywood or particle board underneath. But then I had this gross beige shag in my living room that kept making me sneeze. I was ready to just lay down carpet tiles over it. My dad talked me into checking, and sure enough, there was pine plank flooring under there. It needed a lot of work, but a few hundred bucks and some sweat later, it looked solid. Totally changed my mind about ripping stuff out without looking first.

thea_knight1d ago

Woah wait, you had SHAG carpet? I'm so sorry @karenf40.