We named the rug in the sunroom Stinky. We were feeling literal, and it was damp in the corners from moisture seeping into the sunroom from bad seals in the old sliders and some wood rot. The previous owners knew there was a moisture issue (along with a serious smell issue) in there, which definitely came into play when they set the low-enough-to-be-in-our-range listing price, so although this rug sounds like a curse, we actually consider it to be a blessing (heck, if we can take care of something that might turn off other buyers and it helps us afford a house that we LOVE, we’re all about it).
So here’s how we got that rug up and outta there along with the glued down rug pad underneath – and some pretty serious nails and staples that were lurking below. First we yanked up the rug in the corner using a small crowbar to free it up from some of the nails in the tack strips around the perimeter of the room that were holding it in place.
After we got the rug free from the tack strips around the edges of the room, we rolled each side like a scroll, towards the midpoint of the room. Once we got them there in the middle, we used a box cutter to slice the rug in half so it was easier to carry out of there (you can cut a rug before you roll it, but we found that the extra slack that it gained after it was rolled made cutting it easier once it was in this position). Then we carried each section away while trying not to inhale or think about how much of our body it was touching.
Next we attacked the rug pad, which sadly was glued all over the place (we hoped it was just a floating pad so the concrete under it wouldn’t have glue stains out the wazoo). Soon enough… we hit glue. Boo, glue, boo. And suddenly this post is an ode to Dr Seuss.
Oh well, still had to get it outta there, glue stains and all. We yanked up as much as we could with our hands and for the areas that were super stuck to the glue, we used the same $25 floor scraper from Home Depot that had come in handy when we removed the carpet in the upstairs bedrooms. It has a pretty sharp and smooth blade at the end of it, so just like you’d use a razor to get paint off glass, you run it across the floor with some force and it basically slices the glue right off so the floor is smooth and flush again.
So glad the glue bumps could be removed, even if the glue stains were still there (I’ll show you those a little closer in a second).
While I was slicing my way around with the floor scraper (yes, with my dangly earrings on because I’m cool like dat) John got to work on busting the tack strips out from around the perimeter of the room. They were basically spindly old wood strips with nails sticking up that had held the carpet in place, and they were a pain to get up since they were so brittle (they kept splintering and breaking instead of coming up all as one strip – even when John worked the prybar under them every few inches to pry them away from the floor). It probably took a good hour and a half just to get the rug pad, excess glue, and tack strips up after spending about ten minutes pulling up the carpet itself.
Once all the tack strips, random nails, and glue spots were up it was time for the shop vac. First I picked out the longer shards of wood to bag and dispose of separately (no sense in trying to suck up a foot-long shard of wood with the shop vac) but all of the small splinters of wood, nails, balls of glue, and tufts of old carpet got swept into piles and vacuumed up.
And with that, the room turned a corner. The raw concrete, even with the glue stains that it has, is definitely an improvement on the swampy old carpet.
And thanks to my little scraper action, the entire floor is flush and smooth now, even with those frustrating glue stains that have soaked into the concrete (at least they no longer bump out along with a slew of nails and staples).
So we think a good cleaning followed by a coat of stain & odor blocking primer (just to be sure the stink is really gone) along with some porch and floor paint will cover up those stains, seal in any lingering smells (so they won’t waft out to greet us on a hot day), and we’ll have a room that’s approximately 98% more pleasant to be in.
And down the line we have big plans for this room. So beyond this little carpet’s-gotta-go first step, we’d love to…
Rip up old stinky carpet and padding- Scrub the concrete and seal in the smell somehow (so it doesn’t leech odor forever)
- Stain or paint the concrete floor as part of Phase 1*
- Permanently remove the half-broken base heater
- Eventually retile the floor with outdoor-safe stone to upgrade the old concrete floors (down the line for Phase 2)
- Convert sunroom to an open covered porch with new columns and no more sliders (many of the sliders are bad and the posts are rotten) – we’re envisioning something like this
- Possibly build a brick outdoor fireplace off of the sunroom after we open it up? Kind of like this, but different…
- Add beadboard to the ceiling and paint it soft blue?
* This is just a first-thought brain dump, so if we learn that painting the floor won’t allow us to tile it down the road, we’ll course correct and share the new plan as we go
So glad to have that old carpet gone. Even though we had to carry it out to the garage ourselves (which sends a shiver up my spine every time I think about it) it was totally worth it to have it outta there.
Psst- Clara’s having more conversations over on Young House Life. Number 5 made us laugh until we cried.
Christina says
My in-laws have a wood burning outdoor fireplace (fueled by gas) that makes their outdoor living room usable all year. Definitely do it!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome!
xo
s
Helen - myliladventures says
Just a FYI – that floor scraper/giant razor blade tool is GREAT for scraping off wallpaper overhead :D
YoungHouseLove says
Good to know!
xo
s
Gretta says
I’ve used Kilz paint to seal in bad cat urine smells. It is the best!
Janine says
I was wondering: if you paint the concrete now, what are the risks of that interfering with the thinset for the tile (that you want to install in Phase 2) from adhering to the floor?
This coming from a person with a basement floor that was painted three times by the previous owners, and the paint is now flaking up, and there’s NO WAY to put down a floor on top of that paint. *pout*
YoungHouseLove says
Great question! This is just a brain dump first-thought post (we’ve lived here two weeks, haha!) so we always make sure Phase 1 won’t interfere with Phase 2 (for example, if we wouldn’t be able to tile over a painted concrete floor, we’d course correct and possibly go right to tiling, or just leave it raw for a while and then do something else). You know we’ll keep you posted!
xo
s
Danielle says
Janine… do you live in my house?! :) We pulled up nasty carpet in our basement when we bought our house and decided to paint the concrete floor- man I wish we had stained it instead. My understanding is you can always paint over stain, but not the other way around. It is flaking really bad as well and it just not a good long term solution in our living space there, and we were hoping to tile! I assumed we could just tile right over it. So I’ll have to do more research now if people are thinking it might not work. Glad YHL will keep us posted :)
Anna says
This looks so much better! An open porch would be lovely :)
Kris B says
If you ever consider screening it in once you get going on the project, I recommend looking into 4 track windows. It’s a large screened window with four individual windows (with vinyl, not glass) and they can be moved all up, all down, or all in the middle. We have them now on our screen porch and having them has extended the use of it to about six months vs. just a few here in WI.
These aren’t the company we purchased ours through but gives you an idea of what they look like. http://www.cantonaluminum.com/ohio-vertical-4-track-windows I believe ours came from a company in Canada.
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds cool!
xo
s
Tina says
LOVE the open porch with fireplace idea, so swanky!! FYI, I had a YHL-related dream last night – which is so crazy because I hadn’t read the blog in a few days. Maybe it was my brain’s way of saying CATCH UP! In my dream I was reading posts that you didnt even write, I guess my subconscious was writing them for you;) I am SO weird, so sorry!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, so funny!
xo
s
Allen says
I’m so glad to hear how much you LOVE your new house! A few weeks into unpacking I’d be curled up in a closet regretting growing up! ;-)
Miss Charming says
For some reason, it was oddly fascinating seeing the pictures of you ripping out the smelly carpeting. (You guys make everything seem interesting.)
And huge congrats on the photo spread in HGTV magazine!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Miss Charming.
xo
s
Erin says
Wow, we are on the same wavelength…
I just ripped up some old carpet at my rental property. It was DISGUSTING thanks to 3 years of tenants with multiple dogs ifyouknowhatImean. The pad was stapled down in various places, I could have really used your floor scraper! It was a stinky task, and I completely understand just NOT thinking about what you are hauling away to get through it. Yuck!
Lis says
The first thing I thought when you said you were going to paint a cement floor then tile it later was “will flexbond, or whatever cement product you use to tile, adhere to a painted cement floor”? I think cement won’t bond to cement (or so my husband tells me). So what if that paint doesn’t hold, then your bonding agent doesn’t hold and your tiling doesn’t hold?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, if you scroll back through the comments we have elaborated more that this is just a brain dump (we’ve only lived here two weeks, haha!) so we always make sure Phase 2 will work after doing something in Phase 1, so if we look into it and it would hinder tiling later, we certainly won’t paint, and will share whatever else we come up with :)
xo
s
Courtney says
I second the suggestion to try using vinegar. Or, a vinegar/water mix to soak and wash the concrete, then baking soda or charcoal powder after it dries to soak up the smell?
YoungHouseLove says
Great tips for the smell everyone! Thanks!
xo
s
Catherine says
If you are planning to tile in the future be careful about painting the cement. I think there can be issues with thinset over paint.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Catherine! This is just a brain dump, but we’ll be sure to look into everything further before we actually get ‘er done :)
xo
s
pamela says
If you are considering tiling over the painted floor down the line you may want to look into that. We have a concrete utility laundry room in our 60+ year old house and had to have the entire painted surface sanded to the bare concrete before applying tile. I guess it has to do with adhesion of the tile.
Also, I know you are extremely conscientious when it comes to using environmentally safe products, but a coat of Zinsser Alcohol Base Shellac Primer will certainly do the trick to eliminate stains and odors. You will need to ventilate when using, but having sliders will certainly help. It dries super fast. We used it to eliminate 60+ years of smoking stains & tar in our entire house! The Zinsser products are amazing; much better than Kilz in my opinion.
Good Luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tips Pamela! There were a bunch of comments about the whole tiling-over-paint thing, so we added an update to the post.
xo
s
Lisa E says
Huge difference already. Stinky carpet is the worst! Total subject change. Bought the latest HGTV mag last night while shopping at Costco. Seriously impressive layout. Congrats you guys. It’s so nice to see talented people get recognized and that you stay humble and genuinely nice!!! Much deserved. Well done Petersilks. Well done!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks so much Lisa! You’re so sweet.
xo
s
Meredith says
Excited to see this sunroom transformation! Is it just me, or do you guys think it’s really weird to have multiple sets of sliders all around the room… I dunno, I just keep scratching my head at that construction choice! Haha :-) Have you guys thought about removing the sliders and attaching screens? I’m sure you have, but I would love to hear your thought process on screen porch vs. open columns like your inspiration. Also I see electrical outlets where the wall/columns are, would you remove those or could they be converted to outdoor-safe outlets? Sorry to bombard you with questions! Feel free not to answer now if you have already planned to discuss these items in future posts :-)
YoungHouseLove says
I think we just like an open look and since we have a ceiling fan (which bugs seem to hate) we don’t worry about mosquitoes and think it’s simpler than adding screens, so we’d rather have it open. As for the outlets, yes we’ll convert those to outdoor outlets as we go!
xo
s
Jamie says
Looks totes better! BTW…did anyone else snicker like a five year old when they read the line: “(you can cut a rug before you roll it…)”?
Maybe it’s just me…but I totally pictured you doing the Elaine dance before rolling it up.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yeah, everyone else noticed that pun but me. Is it really good or really bad that I’m accidentally producing puns at this point? I can’t decide.
xo
s
Barbara says
There’s a super duper great product out there called Ur-In-Control, and it’s made by Black Diamond, who makes all sorts of products to care for your “stone” (granite, etc.). It has a really nice, faint putty smell that doesn’t linger, and is by far the best stink remover I’ve ever tried. I’ve bought it by the case!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks!
xo
s
Megan says
Thanks for this! I have my own icky, moist carpet in the finished basement of my new house (closed yesterday!) and was thinking about if/when/how to pull it up. Now I know! You guys are seriously the best.
P.S. For kicks I went back and started reading your earliest posts from way back in 2007 the other day. It was a hoot! I’d never seen them (became a reader round about 2011) so to see the house in its original form and see how your blogging style has evolved was neat. The personality in your posts is still the same, but the word count and picture sizes have grown! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t that funny? Sometimes I’m in the archives like “holy cow, one picture and three lines?!” – half of me envies the brevity and half of me wishes we had written more since I forget those old details and I need more info! Haha!
xo
s
Heather says
Coveralls. They are my go-to for icky jobs like this, to minimize that skin contact. They don’t photograph as well as dangly earrings, but they help me get through tough jobs.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, good tip! Maybe I need to get some, dye them black, and add some earrings for flair…
xo
s
Kimberj says
I’m curious about whether you’ll be able to stain it. I wanted to stain the concrete in my art studio but it was poured in 1971. Several concrete stain specialist told me to forget it. That only freshly poured will properly take the stain. They guaranteed mine would no doubt turn into a blotchy mess and turned the job down. They told me to tile it.
Before I can tile I have to buy 5 gallons ($250) of pour-on self leveling membrane. That way if the concrete ever starts to crack the tile won’t. Can’t wait to hear what you find out. My studio floor budget went from an $80 bucket of stain to over $700 for 210 sq ft. of membrane and tile :(
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
That was number one on our list of things to do the day we closed on the house. We went the cut the whole thing into squares route because the carpet was way too massive (17′ room living room) to cut in half and haul it out. I enlisted my mega big brothers to do the muscley things like the bedroom carpets over the shoulder and out to the curb, but by the end of the time we had 6 rooms emptied of carpeting the end of the driveway was the leaning tower of green/aqua blue/and tan-turned-gray carpet squares. Yes we did leave the garbage men a case of bottled waters right next to it too! Sometimes you gotta grease a few palms to get things done around here. Ha!
My best, Lynn
*what worked best for us was the soap and water wash first, then blasted it with the vinegar and left the doors and windows open for about 2 days to air it all out. It worked like gangbusters.
Lynn @ Our Useful Hands says
Oh question…does the house smell like you guys yet? You know what I mean? Like we moved in and even after a week or 2 we were like “It still smells like…not us.” My mom and dad were laughing because they were like “Give it some time, one day the house will turn a corner and you’ll know when it’s really home to you.” What do you think? Are you feeling at home yet?
MB, L
YoungHouseLove says
Nope, not like us yet. But we keep reminding ourselves that it’s only been a few weeks so it might take a little longer. It’s definitely starting to feel like home as we slowly find spots for all of our stuff.
xo
s
Sarah says
We moved into our current home about two years ago and for some strange reason, the upstairs linen closet had a super strong curry smell that would smack you in the face everytime you needed a bar of soap or a new tube of toothpaste (we didn’t actually keep our linens in there due to the smell)…then suddenly about 6 or 8 months after we moved in, the smell disappeared. We still call it the Curry Closet, but thankfully we are now able to house our linens in there.
Katie says
This is SO weird but I love house smells and have always wondered what your house smell is. Do you use any fragrances or is it just a Petersik smell. This comment is so weird and I swear I’m not a creepy McCreeperson…although I’m even questioning myself after this comment.
YoungHouseLove says
We usually only clean with eco stuff that’s really mildly scented or completely unscented, so other than if we have a taco night (when people walk in they say “mmmm smells so good!”) we don’t think it has much of a scent to us. But I bet everyone’s like that – you can’t smell your own scent, only other “unfamiliar” houses, right?
xo
s
KathyG says
I love removing carpet (well you know what I mean). For the eventual patio, it would be a cover for all the deck, right? (not just where the sunroom is now?)
If so, what were you thoughts about covering the now concrete with some low decking to ‘match’. (I just have a similar situation, was wondering if you pondered the pros and cons)
YoungHouseLove says
Just the sunroom part would be roofed in with columns around it (the rest of the area- like the deck – would either be completely open or have an airy pergola over it for a little shade but not roofed). We just thought something stone under the roof would be a nice “defined” eating or lounging area (and then the deck could be another zone).
xo
s
christina @ homemade ocean says
Man oh man! It will look sooo amazing once you open it all up…like a little Petersik Paradise :)
Laurie says
When you do projects like this do you consider wearing a mask so as not to breath in all the funk or are they just removed for photo ops?
YoungHouseLove says
Sometimes we photograph ourselves with them on, and other times they’re off when we’re snapping away – we stop so often to take photos that it’s a toss up :)
xo
s
Heather says
I’m so glad for you that the carpet is gone. You must feel so much cleaner. Great progress on the new house so far!
Andrea says
Timely post, thanks! Our sunroom also features a Stinky though I’m afraid it’s our fault as the room serves as a giant dog house during the day (complete with dog door so our boy can go in and out). But the old-to-begin-with carpet has suffered and must go soon — looks like an Anti-Icky-Poo (!?!) purchase might be in our future.
Hmm, might wait on renovations, though, to be creepy-stalker-like and see what you guys do first! Your list was helpful – I’m not sure I would have thought about the flooring tile needing to be weather-appropriate. Thanks!
Vane says
Even though this carpet was just stAAahnky and not covered in mold, you two should invest in some personal respirators for projects like these… Especially since for some reason I foresee a lot of spray painting in your future! ;)
They actually aren’t that expensive (like maybe $25 at Home Depot) and if you store them in a small sealed Rubbermaid container they last forever. Plus you can pretend to be Darth Vader!
Sorry about this unsolicited grandma advice, I love your blog but have a weird (paranoid?) neurosis about personal safety gear (and how so many DIYers never seem to use any)(you guys are usually great about it tho). I am probably making a big deal because for the first few years of my career I disregarded masks/respirators for particulates and noxious smells leaving me cray sensitive as an old.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we have those! They were great for when we Drylocked the basement of our first house!
xo
s
Jillian@TheHumbleGourmet says
We have this horrible eighties carpet/bad marble tile combo happening in our house, and I’ve been dying to look underneath to see if there’s hardwood. You have just inspired me. Thanks!
caroline says
you might want to rethink your plans for how you are painting the floor.
the carpet might have been stinky because of moisture coming up thru the concrete. it can happen.
so maybe there is some kind of dry lock primer you can use? im not totally sure, but just look into whether you are having some moisture coming up thru that concrete, because that would maybe reek havoc on regular paint. it might even be such a small amount that you cant notice it, but it builds up over time…
YoungHouseLove says
We’ll definitely keep it bare to be sure there’s not moisture coming through it, but we can clearly see where the water is coming in through a few leaky sliders and rotten wood around the perimeter so we’re pretty sure that’s the issue. Will keep you posted!
xo
s
ali thompson says
why do i feel like you will eventually paint this floor with some stripes or some fab pattern :)
caroline says
ps or tearing up the concrete and making sure there is a moisture barrier underneath.
here is some info on concrete sweating and moisture migrating up in a concrete slab: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/porch/msg1122540320583.html
Becky says
My husband and I stained our concrete sub floor in a bathroom and in the dining room. I would definitely recommend it! We got our stain at DirectColors.com. If you are interested in staining, wait to seal the concrete after you stain. The acid stain we used had to do some chemically-reaction-thingy with the plain and dry concrete, then we sealed it in.
Stacey says
Ok, I may have missed the post on this…been busy this past couple of weeks with church VBS…but…did you ever talk about your amazing spread in HGTV magazine??? I bought my copy this weekend and was surprised and thrilled to open it up and see your happy faces. Love, love the story and the pics. Y’all look great as always and Clara cute as a bug. I am sure you are aware…but I think the reason we (your readers) love you so is because you are genuine and honest (not fakey fakey). So glad you are getting some love from HGTV Mag…it is my personal fave. Congrats!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Stacey! We haven’t blogged about it yet, but we’ll have to check if we have any fun behind the scenes photos to make it a fun post for you guys :)
xo
s
Katy @ The Non-Consumer Advocate says
I see you remembered to wear long sleeves this time around!
It is very interesting to read about all the projects you are tackling. First the grunt work, and then the fun stuff!
Have you noticed that Jenny from “Little Green Notebook” and Daniel from “Manhattan Nest” also just bought new houses? Daniel’s one is a HUGE fixer-upper, and I am looking forward to seeing what he does with it. That kid is crazy creative.
Katy
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, I love both of those blogs! So excited to follow along!
xo
s
JG says
What?! My jaw just dropped- Daniel bought a new place?! Guess I have some catching up to do! :} Just when I was thinking their apartment was their forever apartment! Oh, sorry, wrong blog, hee :)
Marcie says
Your sunporch is looking so much better already! Our porch had 1940’s patterned linoleum over nice pine floors! I’m in the process right now of painting the bead board ceiling light blue (with everything else white). It’s almost exactly the background color of your responses here in the comments. It’s not a common thing to do in Wisconsin so I’m getting lots of raised eyebrows from people who see it, literally and figuratively. I have to explain that it’s a traditional southern thing and then they REALLY don’t get it! LOL
Jennifer Otey says
Use Killz Max! It’s AMAZING stuff! Will seal any odor on concrete. We used it in our basement where the previous owners let their pets pee all over the place. After that and done paint the smell is gone!
beth says
So, don’t know if this is because I have a Mac (tried both safari and firefox) but i can’t open your links, invalid URL. i see other have been able to though. i’m jealous. :(
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, we have a mac too. Could it be because you’re at work and sites like Pinterest are blocked? I’d try at another location (home, the library, a smart phone, etc). Hope it helps!
xo
s
Susan says
Hi guys, While I was reading this I was thinking…they are probably doing this while Clara naps. I know when my babe is sleeping I try to get all the things I need to do done, however, what are you going to do when she doesn’t take naps anymore! I guess she will be in school longer at that time. Seems like just when you get into a rythmn with kids they change!
YoungHouseLove says
We have no idea what we’ll do without naps! Maybe go back to night-time projects? We did those a lot when she only took quick naps (when she was little) since we needed bigger blocks of time. We painted so many rooms from 10-12 at night! Haha!
xo
s
bekah says
ooh ooh ohh! Exciting!
I actually painted a concrete floor in our mudroom too! I bet we could go head to head on stinky carpet stories! (We had TWO layers of orange shag in there. It was totally groovy.
The finished product was totally worth it though! As I am sure yours will be!
http://www.countrymousetales.com/2013/05/a-painted-floor.html
I doubt you remember since you field a bajillion questions a day, but I actually asked you guys first if you had every painted concrete and if it was slippery. You did answer – so THANKS!
YoungHouseLove says
So charming! Love how that turned out!
xo
s
Cassie says
I LOVE the open covered porch, but I have a question:
After loving your sunrooms in the past two houses and making us all envious of them, what made you want to convert this one into an open covered porch instead of fixing the sliders and keeping it as a sunroom here?
YoungHouseLove says
It just feels closed in and we’d love for it to flow into the deck more easily instead of being boxed off. There’s also radon in the sunroom, so opening it up will cure that – and we never used our old sunrooms in the winter anyway (the heating system is no match for the doors which let in tons of drafts) so we hope it’ll get just as much use if not more.
xo
s
Alex says
Think of how much use the carport got in house 2!! This’ll be just like that, only…you won’t have to move the car out of the party-zone. :) :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s true!
xo
s
Lessie says
Just have to say thanks. Your helpful posts are so very cool, and you give me inspiration that is hard to come by. If you ever wonder why you do it — as an aside, maybe, you have touched lives! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Lessie!
xo
s
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
Wow, what a big improvement already! Can’t wait to see how it comes along. Although I did get a chuckle about some of those comments about the Anti-Icky-Poo. Guess it really works!
Eve says
Yay! Goodbye carpet! I can’t wait to see what you guys do with converting it to a porch & treating the concrete. Funnily enough we just tore down our inherited deck and jackhammered out the inherited (ridiculously uneven) patio in our backyard. We are debating between pavers, pavers & gravel, or stamped concrete for our new (enlarged) patio and front walkway.
A word of warning with your (new inherited) deck – part of the reason why we had to tear ours down now was because we used Cabot’s outdoor stain last summer. It looked great last year but this year it was all peeling off and taking wood with it, plus it warped a LOT of the wood. Our formerly straight front porch posts are crooked and curved now. After a bit of Internet research, it appears this is a pretty universal issue with this brand. An expensive mistake for sure!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh no! Thanks for the warning. That stinks!
xo
s
Jessie M. W. says
The whole first two paragraphs I was waiting for you to saw who the person was that was helping Sherry pull up the carpet! John looks very different when he is disgusted by carpet, lol!
Keep up the good work on the new house! I’m so happy for you both (along with all my girlfriends who read your blog religiously!). We were texting like crazy the day you announced the purchase!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! It’s that his hair looks so dark and although he has some gray at the tips it’s really bright here! Strange lighting!
xo
s
Lisa says
Whenever someone mentions “dangly earrings” I think of Home Alone:
“She’s got a whole shoebox full of ’em! Dangly ones!”
YoungHouseLove says
Best movie ever.
xo
s
Katherine says
We are building an outdoor lanai – a similar idea to what you are transforming your sunroom into.
A couple of tips regarding the fireplace that we faced going through the process:
1. if it’s wood burning there are different restrictions because of flying embers from the chimney stack.
2. The cost to build wood burning versus a gas insert is higher because you have to build the chimney stack with cinderblocks before you face it with whatever materials you decide for the pretty factor.
3. check with your insurance company before your build and obtain a quote of building woodburning versus gas for outdoor.
I painted a concrete patio many years ago. There is concrete paint in all the colours, it held up well and frankly the bit of fade was a nice patina.
I love the inspiration with the white columns – so pretty.
YoungHouseLove says
Great tips!
xo
s
Megan says
Ha Ha–best line: “Then we carried each section away while trying not to inhale or think about how much of our body it was touching.”
Jordan Nelson says
If only there was a “smell now” button. You know, just to really experience the new place.
YoungHouseLove says
Smellovision, now available in blogovision.
xo
s
Shannon says
BE CAREFUL! Do some research before you seal and paint/stain that concrete if you want to lay tile over it in the future. I did that in this house. We ripped up 30 year old carpet with TONS old carpet fresh soaked into it. (GAG!) and I hastily painted it so we could move in. Only to find that tiling over concrete can be an issue. So before you do anything to that concrete, make sure you do not necessitate sanding off all the stuff before you can lay tile. NOT FUN!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the warning Shannon! We added an asterisk update saying we’ll be sure to do research and go with another solution if it can’t be tiled someday :)
xo
s