A pry bar needs to be hammered underneath the tack boards around the edges where carpet was tacked down. Once the bar is under you can lever the nails out, the hammer is so much better than trying to manually force it in. A floor scraper doesn’t look like it is going to work for me, so I’m going to return that. Pliers are great for getting staples out of the floor where the carpet was tacked down. In theory I know about some wood filler for some of my floor problems, I might leave that to the professionals. My front porch buckled when it rained, this looks like a quickly solved problem with hacking off 1/2 inch on a board…probably in the spring.

Cat stains that soaked through the padding can do some serious, stinky, damage to wood floors. Cleaning vinegar with essential oils, I have lavender due to moths, seems to neutralize the smell. I also used some lysol wipes to sort of scrub the floor and put some baking powder on top to absorb some of the scent. Since I cannot afford to get the floors finished yet, one job I’m not doing on my own, I will put down an inexpensive sprayed on topcoat to keep things from getting worse and seal in some smell.

If your sewer backs up, wasn’t that fun, don’t call a plumber right away check with your city instead. This tip could have saved me $200 and possibly gotten the problem completely fixed. I will have to wait for the next problem to get that sorted out.

A mortar bit is needed to make holes in older homes, however it is really worth it to be able to hang shelves, curtain rods, and hopefully pegboards.

This has been an amazing year of learning and empowerment. May that continue in 2022. Remember to live life a little more abstract.