Closing on my house was exhilarating. I’m pretty sure I signed my name more times that day than I had in my whole lifetime thus far. And then, like that, I received the keys to my first (owned) home. But exciting as that day was, the best day in my home-buying experience was a few days later: the day I pulled up the carpets.
The thick, ugly carpet that covered my living room, dining room and hallway stopped short at doorways, revealing hardwoods lining the coat closets and bedrooms, so I knew that hardwood floors likely lived underneath the full expanse of the carpeted flooring. But I didn’t know what kind of shape they were in. While tearing up the carpet was a risk, it was the first step to personalizing my home, and getting rid of that old, musty smell (no offense to the previous homeowner).
So, just a few days after I received the keys to my house, my dad and I crossed our fingers, extended our box cutters and got to work.
As we pulled up large chunks of carpet, we started to giggle. The hardwoods were pristine. They had some light, lived-in wear, but none of the water or termite damage we had steeled ourselves to expect. My heart pounded as I moved down the length of the living room, telling myself not to get too excited. There could still be issues. But there weren’t.
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Flooring projects are a lot easier before you move in. I was happy to find pristine hardwood floors under the carpets in my living room. (Photo by Sarah Lockwood)
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We filled our pickup truck to capacity with discarded carpets. (Photo by Sarah Lockwood)
I still need to add quarter-round molding along the edges of those rooms where we pulled up the carpets. (A house is always a work in progress, right?) But it was so worth every staple we plucked individually from the floors. This tiny facelift meant everything; I could now see my furniture here. I could see myself making this a home. And I am so grateful we took the time to tackle this day of work before moving in.
What other projects should you consider before moving in? For me, it was important to build a fence for my dog, Merlin (see the March/April issue of R•Home, on newsstands now). I also painted a few key rooms before moving in. Here are a few projects and tasks to consider before renting a U-Haul and promising your friends pizza:
- FLOORING: Even if you’re not ripping up carpets, consider any carpet steaming or refinishing before blocking access to your floors with furniture.
- DEEP CLEAN: It’s a lot easier scrub the fridge (if it conveyed) and wipe down closets before you fill them. Invite that neat-freak friend who loves to clean (everyone has one), crank the tunes, and spend a day exterminating grime. My house had been occupied by the first owner for more than 50 years, and had also been uninhabited for six months when I moved in, so this was very necessary. If you really want to treat yourself, check Groupon for a cleaning service deal.
- SET UP UTILITIES: Is a house really a home if you don’t have Netflix access? Oh, and running water and electricity, too.
- CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS: Bed Bath & Beyond coupons may magically find you anywhere, but other equally important entities will need to know your new address as well. Think payroll, voter registration, and your bank and insurers.
- LOCATE IMPORTANT FEATURES: If a fuse goes out or a pipe springs a leak, you’ll be glad that you located your circuit breaker and water main valve beforehand. If you are present for your inspection, you’ll probably already have a handle on these key areas. But if you spent your inspection dreaming of the projects that would complete your “Move That Bus”-style reveal (guilty!), be sure to review the report from your inspector. In addition to those faulty items you may have reviewed during the sale, a good inspector’s report will also share key facts about the home that you may have missed in your DIY-daydream haze.
- THINK SAFETY: Install smoke alarms and carbon-monoxide detectors (or check for batteries) and buy a fire extinguisher.
- REKEY LOCKS AND COPY KEYS: If you’re anything like me, you’ll use the key-copying vending machine (thanks, technology!) at your nearest home improvement store and stash a few spares outside of your home as well. I climbed through a back window onto my laundry machine one too many times to figure this one out. Learn from my mistakes.
