Home improvement project gets out of hand (05/24/06)

As the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of do-it-yourself projects.

Or maybe, the relevant motto should be, “If you build it, he will come.”

On the other hand, maybe it should be something simpler: If he's coming, you need to get cracking.

Let me explain, or try to.

Next month, my high school class is celebrating its 40th reunion.

(I know, I know. That doesn't seem possible.)

At any rate, I need to tell you that my class is a special one. I know, your class was special too. But this group has done an amazing job of staying connected, We've gotten past all that “who is cool and who is not” nonsense from high school and just appreciate one another for who we are.

As evidence, I'd cite the fact that Gyles Webb, our American Field Service foreign student that graduating year, is returning to Jay County for the class reunion, all the way from South Africa.

And, cool as that is, that's where the complications start.

Gyles will be staying at our place, and the “guest room” needed a little work.

Actually, “guest room” is a relatively new designation.

More than 20 years ago, when we moved into this house — once a barn, later my great-grandmother's home, and still later my parents' house when I was born — the small extra bedroom on the south side seemed perfect for a study or office.

I put my typewriter there — to give you an idea of how long ago that was — and wrote stories for my children.

But, over time, the use of the room changed. It morphed into a sewing room when computers came along. My work moved to the landing, and Connie took over the “guest room” space.

All along, things have been pretty simple.

Her sewing table is a couple of stock pieces of low-end kitchen cabinets with a piece of faux-butcher block countertop as a work surface. My desk at home is an old door on top of a pair of filing cabinets.

But the invitation to Gyles has ratcheted things up a bit.

On Sunday, we found ourselves staring at the “guest room” space.

Connie had already gotten rid of an old sofa-sleeper and ordered a daybed replacement. But that wasn't enough.

Under the influence of far too much home improvement television, I found myself recommending that we rip out the carpet.

Now, on TV, that always looks easy.

It's not.

First, there’s that little matter of emptying the room. In this case, that meant hauling out not just furniture but tons of fabric that had apparently been stockpiled for future projects.

Then there’s the matter of the carpet itself. It pre-dated our purchase of the house and looked it. Pulling it up was relatively simple, but getting it down the stairs and out of the house was another story.

But, underneath, just like on TV, there were hardwood floors. They're oak from the looks of them, but they're not in great shape. Paint spots, scratches, gouges, all the stuff that the 30-40 year old carpeting was supposed to hide.

So, what do we do next?

Refinish the floors? Paint or whitewash the floors? Re-carpet?

At the moment, your guess is as good as mine.[[In-content Ad]]