Starting to look at houses...carpet questions

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jesse

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Jesse
Tristan and I have been looking at houses. We've found one that is pretty nice for the money and real close to the airport. It is a split-level home and the upper level smells fairly strongly of dog urine.

I have a bit of a fear of the smell not coming out. If this is the case....does pulling/replacing the carpet and sealing the sub-floor always do the job or can it get to the point of having to replace sub-floor?

Replacing an entire upper level of sub-floor would indeed suck-ass. I'm probably being overly paranoid.
 
Jesse, it's all a matter of degree. Sometimes the plywood is impregnated. You can never tell. Sigh....

....don't ask me how I know this......
 
If the house was otherwise interesting I'd take a close look at the carpet and pad to estimate likely penetration...closed cell pad, no problem....open cell, maybe big problem.
 
We bought our place in 2002 and had similar pet stains and odors in the living room and upstairs back bedroom. We removed the existing carpet and padding, and cleaned the hardwood floors with a standard hardwood cleaner. The minor stain on the hardwood remained, but no noticable odors.

An area rug covered it up for a while since we liked the hardwood in the living room,.. then came the kids, and the hardwood was covered with new carpet and padding.

One of the first things I would do no matter what house you buy, is have the carpets cleaned by a company. (Stanley Steamer here in the PA area) For probably less than $200 you could have the whole place cleaned and it may make a huge difference right away.

Best of luck in home searching. We went through about 12-14 places before we walked up to this one. As we opened the front door, my wife new it was the place for us,... and I've been fixing it since :smilewinkgrin:
 
My big concern -- is how I can determine if its goign to be a BIG issue..or just a replace the carpet issue....before I purchase it?
 
Unless you can pull up a corner of the carpet, I guess you can't. Best you can do is factor in what you think it may cost, plus X % fudge factor, and hope for the best.
 
They say litterbox smell cancels out the dog smell. Kinda like the ANR headsets.

jesse said:
My big concern -- is how I can determine if its goign to be a BIG issue..or just a replace the carpet issue....before I purchase it?
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jesse said:
My big concern -- is how I can determine if its goign to be a BIG issue..or just a replace the carpet issue....before I purchase it?
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Short of pulling up the carpet and checking the sub-floor, you're only going to be able to make a semi-educated guess.
 
It's a buyers market. Express your concern to the seller and make on offer conditional on passing inspection of the subfloor. Tell'em your inspector will lift the carpet and pad in some areas. Tell'em (in writing and nice language) that they are responsible for the restretch if an agreement to purchase can't be reached after the inspection.

Remember, it's real estate so it's *all* negotiable...
 
jesse said:
My big concern -- is how I can determine if its goign to be a BIG issue..or just a replace the carpet issue....before I purchase it?
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Unfortunately you can't Jess. Trust me personal experience on this one. Previous owners of my house had pets. They wized on the rugs ( usually they try to whiz in the same area. The Smell was not bad but after a few years yes years we pulled up the carpet to redo the hardwood floors the smell was really strong that section of the floor was ruined.

Think about this for a moment. If it takes a leak once or twice it likely it won't smell too long. If its strong enough for you to smell now just think how long the pet was taking a leak on the carpet.

Perhaps you can get something written into the lease to get it cleaned to your satisfaction ( or is this a purchase)
 
Whatever you do, just make sure the carpet matches the drapes...
 
AdamZ said:
Perhaps you can get something written into the lease to get it cleaned to your satisfaction ( or is this a purchase)
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This will be a purchase.
 
Jesse, make a home inspector a condition of purchase, specify inspection of the floorboards upstairs and see what the seller does. If he's desperate enough, he'll consent to the inspection (which necessitates pulling up the carpet along an edge) and inspecting the underlayment. Just bring along a carpet stretcher to get the edge back down on the stretch-strips after.
 
Bruce is right on Jess. A home inspection is pretty much used all the time here. If you put in an offer insist that the home inspector be able to check multiple areas for pet urine. Problem is that you can check one corner in one room and the cat or dog could have urniated in other areas as well.
 
and when you do buy new carpet, try to find one similar in hue to cat hairballs!
 
Or get a quote on replacing the carpet/pad/subfloor and have the seller knock that off the asking price in addition to any other discrepancies noted during the inspection. Crazy how similar buying houses and airplanes realy is.
 
Jesse, my cousin bought a house which was absolutely and completely and disgustingly infested with dog urine and feces... the most foul conditions you could imagine.

All carpet and pad pulled, subfloors scrubbed an sealed, and it's just fine (with new carpet on top).
 
It's highly improbable that the smell is in the subfloor although I would not rule that out completely. In over 20 yrs as a residential remodeling contractor I only recall 1 or 2 homes where the subfloor was significantly affected. And in those cases, the clue was the severe disrepair of the home. I'm talking about tick infestation, rat infestation, plumbing blocked and leaking, holes in the walls or doors, etc. In those cases there are commercial grade spray applied disinfectants which do a superior job of not just disguising but removing any pet smells.

I wouldn't even debate doing it, I'd rip out the carpet and pad. Also any tack strips that show visible damage such as rusty nails or rotted wood. And that would be written into the purchase agreement as seller-provided. The seller either completes the work himself--conditional to your satisfaction--or discounts the selling price for material and labor.
 
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jesse said:
Tristan and I have been looking at houses. We've found one that is pretty nice for the money and real close to the airport. It is a split-level home and the upper level smells fairly strongly of dog urine.

I have a bit of a fear of the smell not coming out. If this is the case....does pulling/replacing the carpet and sealing the sub-floor always do the job or can it get to the point of having to replace sub-floor?

Replacing an entire upper level of sub-floor would indeed suck-ass. I'm probably being overly paranoid.
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There are chemicals which get rid of the smell. Ask your vet, they usually have them, if not, call in Serve Pro to do a good cleaning once the carpet is up, then put in bamboo floors and use rugs.
 
jesse said:
Tristan and I have been looking at houses. We've found one that is pretty nice for the money and real close to the airport. It is a split-level home and the upper level smells fairly strongly of dog urine.
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I'd be concerned about anyone putting a house up for sale in this day and age that smelled like dog ****. There could be plenty of other things wrong with it, make sure you check the whole place out thoroughly.


Trapper John
 
jesse said:
Tristan and I have been looking at houses. We've found one that is pretty nice for the money and real close to the airport. It is a split-level home and the upper level smells fairly strongly of dog urine.

I have a bit of a fear of the smell not coming out. If this is the case....does pulling/replacing the carpet and sealing the sub-floor always do the job or can it get to the point of having to replace sub-floor?

Replacing an entire upper level of sub-floor would indeed suck-ass. I'm probably being overly paranoid.
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You're afraid of a little dog pee smell?

How silly...
 
It is so totally a buyer's market dude. If you don't like it find another house.
 
Jesse-

1) Hire a good home inspector. Some are really good, some can be real ***holes, and some are just outright incompetent. Unfortunately, I've had experiences with all three types. The best are ones that are familiar with the area (the kinds of foundation/piping/construction issues in the area) and do commercial inspections too.

2) There are chemicals out now that can neutralize the smell. Pull carpet, disinfect, neutralize smell, seal subfloor. Then replace carpet. If there are wood floors (oak, etc) floors under the carpet, AND the finish is not too worn, you may be able to just have the floors refinished and the carpet placed on top. Refinishing wood floors will seal them.

3) Make sure it's just the carpet/floor. If the little "angels" have sprayed the walls or it's gotten into the air ducts, the issue is worse.

4) In the contract, you can specify an inspection by a de-odoring specialist. There are companies that specialize in cleaning and deodoring. You can certainly ask that one come out and inspect and prepare an estimate.
 
Just one tidbit. Do not ask a real estate agent to recommend an inspector.

To them a good inspector is one that gets the deal done. To me a good one is one that finds the show stopper.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
Just one tidbit. Do not ask a real estate agent to recommend an inspector.

To them a good inspector is one that gets the deal done. To me a good one is one that finds the show stopper.

Joe
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And to me, a good one is one that follows my instructions. The last one I had was so bound and determined to find "show-stoppers" that he issued a report that contained a clause that said "You agree to use this report and its findings only if each item marked as a discrepency is repaired by the seller PRIOR to closing on the house. If you don't agree, you must return the report to the inspector and you may not use any of the findings of the report for any purpose."

My instructions were to 1) note any "show-stoppers" (foundation issues, etc), 2) indicate things that were minor but could lead to issues later, 3) identify any code issues, and 4) that I would review the list with the seller and determine which I would accept (and have the repairs done to my satisfaction later) and which they would repair.

Inspector completely disregarded #4 and insisted that I have EVERYTHING he didn't like repaired by the seller. And some of the findings were just plain wrong (such as a fire door between the garage and living area).
 
Thanks to those that did reply with something useful. I seriously doubt the problem is *that* severe. Just want to make sure I approach it from the best angle.
 
jesse said:
Whatever. I'm going to be "afraid" of a lot of things when I'm paying six digits for something.
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Make informed decisions but don't sweat it too much. If it turns out to be a pig you can always put lipstick on it and wait for the next rube to come along and buy it...
 
Buy that house. It'll be a bargain and you can fix it in a day.

Mine, which was a foreclosure had a carpet in one bedroom where the previous occupants obviously never let the dog out at all.

So the place stank, didn't have a working light bulb, it was unheated and bone chilling cold in December and there were very few things that really looked bad.

I paid 20% less than the place sold for 2 years prior and this was almost a year before the real estate crash.

My first day in the house I ran around with light bulbs and a screwdriver and had everything working in a few hours. I ripped out the carpet myself. The smell went with it.

Even if you have stains soaked through you can neutralize those with the enzyme treatments from a pet store like Odor Mute or Nature's Miracle. If you have deeper stains you should be able to get them with scrubbing and/or sanding and you won't care too much if you're putting down new carpet over it.

The point is the buyers who run away from the place aren't bidding against you so you can drive a harder bargain and get a deal. Look for foreclosures! Just judge if the house is structurally sound and ignore the knucklehead piddling problems. :D
 
There are two smells you will never get out of a house without major rebuild: tomcat urine and fire (smoke).

Nearly every other stench can be mitigated reasonably. Those two require wall and floor tear out and replacement.
 
dmccormack said:
There are two smells you will never get out of a house without major rebuild: tomcat urine and fire (smoke).

Nearly every other stench can be mitigated reasonably. Those two require wall and floor tear out and replacement.
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That hasn't been my experience. I used to do residential casualty repair for several insurance companies.
 
dmccormack said:
There are two smells you will never get out of a house without major rebuild: tomcat urine and fire (smoke).

Nearly every other stench can be mitigated reasonably. Those two require wall and floor tear out and replacement.
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I assume dead body is on that list too
 
Richard said:
That hasn't been my experience. I used to do residential casualty repair for several insurance companies.
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Did you live in any of the houses you repaired?

Sorry -- unless the floors are replaced, male cat usine stench does not "wash out" -- neither does smoke damage (unless you seal it somehow).
 
A friend had a horrible experience -- they bought a very nice farm house (and 5 acres), with hardwood floors. Had it inspected. Everything was fine. The house was unoccupied when the purchased it.

30 minutes after the closing they stopped by their new house -- which had a strong odor of cat urine. $40,000 of work later... (yes, you read that right) they don't have hardwood floors, many of the lower walls have been replaced, and all the ductwork (maybe the furnace and a/c too, I don't remember the dertails). It was a disaster.

They settled out of court with the sellers and the real estate agent, but not for the full amount they had to spend to fix it.

This was an extreme case. After the fact, the new neighbors told them about the crazy people who used to live there... (they hadn't met the neighbors until after they bought it).

Good luck,

--david
 
dparter said:
the new neighbors told them about the crazy people who used to live there... (they hadn't met the neighbors until after they bought it).

Good luck,

--david
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Yikes, I wouldn't consider buying a house without meeting all the neighbors for more issues than just the house.
 
jesse said:
Thanks to those that did reply with something useful. I seriously doubt the problem is *that* severe. Just want to make sure I approach it from the best angle.
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When was the house built? Does it have hardwood under the carpet (early 60's or before (approx)) or plywood? Riping up and replacing a plywood subfloor should take, like, a day or two. You can even get the remains out from under the non-load bearing walls if necessary. Getting it out from under load bearing walls is a bit more effort but can be done.

But ripping up the carpet and using an enzyme treatment may do the trick (don't use bleach - it won't do the job). A UV light will show up problem areas.
 
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