the start

When we bought our current house it was only 18 months old and looked very spick and span; lots of neutral walls and carpets giving the place a lovely spacious feel.

Fast forward more than five years, adding an extra child in the process, and the pale carpets and walls are now marked and in dire need of replacement. To be honest they were pretty bad a few years ago but we're just getting around to doing something about it now. And that first step is ripping out the hall carpet to put down some substantially more durable wood.

If you hate DIY look away now: if you ever find yourself doing any kind of flooring work or taking skirting boards off, get yourself this tool... I've no idea what it's called but it's brilliant! Also great for lifting the staples that held down the underlay and getting gripper rods off.