Change in the house is difficult. You see there’s little time on a busy farm to move furniture or take up an old carpet. It’s a delicate piece of negotiation. So is it any wonder that it has taken me about 10 years to organise to change the living room carpet. The last few days have been tricky. I’ve been walking on eggshells. You see my husband is allergic to change in our house. Change in farming practices and new innovations on the farm are all perfectly fine. But upset his comfort zone in the house and you’re in awkward territory. My response is to plough ahead, make it as painless as possible and do as much as I can myself. But I still need the men’s help.

Our living area was carpeted 23 years ago. Colm was four at the time. I remember the first morning the four of them sat on that floor. We had moved into the house the evening before. The Lion King had just been released on video and I had purchased it to keep them happy. Julie was 10 and in charge. Philip was six and Diarmuid seven. Our life was in boxes and that morning we couldn’t find the kettle. We boiled water in a saucepan to make the tea.

The four of them grew up on that carpet and it took a serious battering. Then the teenage years made sure that the life was well and truly beaten from it. The pile was no more, every inch of it had been washed.

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THE LONG PROJECT

About 10 years ago I started talking about changing the carpet. Maybe we’d put down wood. There is a long period of conditioning for a job this size in terms of family disruption. I flipped between carpet and a wood floor often. I’d settle on a time for the job – before Christmas, before Julie’s wedding, or during the summer. Each time I’d drift and put it on the long finger. It was threadbare in places.

So a few weeks back, my trusted friend Haulie, who has fitted every unit in our house, alerted me that there was a Sunday sale in one of the big local stores. It was the catalyst that spurred me on.

Meanwhile, we had decided on a hard-wearing, oak laminate floor. The purchase was made and delivery organised for the next Monday.

A few weeks later Haulie’s wife, Eileen, was on the phone. Denis would be out to put down the floor on Thursday and Friday. Just my luck, I was travelling to Donegal on Tuesday to give a talk in Ballyshannon on the Wednesday.

Tim was not happy. I got a good lecture about the timing of my trip and he built a mountain of problems. Who would take up the carpet? Who would undo all the awkward grips around the edges? Who would move the furniture? And so it went.

I felt guilty that I’d be gone, but you don’t cancel a craftsman. I decided that I’d do as much as I could before leaving. I cleared the living room of all the small stuff then I got my tools and removed all the grips around the edges. I was exhausted, but less guilty.

A BIG JOB

I left for Donegal. When I returned on Wednesday evening the living room was cleared of furniture and the carpet gone. According to Tim the job took them most of the day. Adding fuel to the fire, Colm added: “Don’t mind Dad. It took us 20 minutes.” The truth lies somewhere in between.

Then Philip arrived. He has been doing these things in his own house, so he said: “The door saddle will have to be cut or taken away.” Now, this was a step too far for Tim.

“There will be a draught. No … way.” However, Philip wasn’t done. “Dad, he’ll have to take the door off. Are ye taking off the skirting boards?”

I was ready to throttle him. Tim was already annoyed enough, but Philip was like a dog with a bone. My project was close to going up in smoke.

Denis came with Haulie the following morning. They chatted about the measurements and direction of the wood and so on. Calmly, Denis brought in his tools and began his work. Obviously a professional and competent carpenter, all people relaxed. Within the hour the door was off and the saddle up.

Now as I sit here writing on the empty half-finished floor, it is looking particularly well and is giving a new lease of life to the area.

But you know when you change something as huge as the floor covering, new couches and curtains should follow too. I wonder what are my chances with those??? There might be method to that man’s protestations. Maybe after all these years, I have him finally sussed. CL