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New Homeowners Notice Strange Smell in Room—Horror When They Pull Up Carpet
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A couple living on a century-old farmhouse got to know something about the previous owners in the worst possible way.
Aidan and Catherine McGowan, both 30 and from Missouri, live on 10 acres in a 1906 home in South Dakota, and their lives are currently dedicated to doing up their new home and bringing out the potential they know it has.
Having moved in just weeks ago, they have been sharing updates on their Instagram account @littlefarmontheplains as they bring their vision to life.
"We knew it would be a summer of fixing-up, as the property sat empty for about 12 months before we purchased it—and it’s 120 years old," Catherine McGowan told Newsweek . "So far, it’s been full of not-so-great surprises."
One recent clip showcasing their renovations went viral as it started badly and just got worse.
In a video posted on June 25, the couple wrote: "Why does it smell weird in here?"
They showed a carpeted room , before the video switched to Aidan McGowan starting to rip up the carpets. And as he did so, what had been hidden underneath began to show up in all its anti-glory.
Enormous brown and yellow stains covered the underside of the carpet and the flooring beneath. Each part that Aidan pulled up revealed more and more—until there was just one very small area of the room that wasn't covered in the stains.
They wrote sarcastically in the caption: "We're starting to think they might have had a dog."
Catherine McGowan told Newsweek that her husband calls their home "a nesting doll of problems, because it feels like every 5-minute project turns into five more projects, and 50 more trips to the hardware store."
"When we ripped up the carpet, we were horrified," she went on. "Other carpets had stains, but the living room was absolutely wretched. We are planning to pull up the subfloor, remove the bottom 3 feet of drywall, and lay new hardwoods."
Viewers were horrified. One commenter writing on the clip—which has been liked close to 12,000 times— said: "This is why I hate carpet. It's so nasty."
Another shared a story showing Catherine and Aidan they weren't alone, as they recalled: "When we moved into our house, there was so much (previously hidden) urine. We smelled it as soon as we entered the empty house. The cement floor and the upstairs subfloors were stained as well."
And one advised the couple: "Replace the drywall too. If there is that much on the floor, the walls probably got it too."
Home renovations can be costly and time-consuming. In the U.S., whole-house renovation costs start at $20,000 and can reach up to $200,000, according to Airtasker .
Factors that affect the cost of house renovation include the house's location and layout, the contractor, materials, and labor. Doing some of the work yourself can help bring down the total cost.
In the McGowan's case, they told Newsweek , "we plan to renovate the house ourselves."
"Floors, bathrooms, popcorn ceilings and all! We have no experience in home renovation, so we have lots to learn."
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