After closing on the church and starting to move forward with some changes, we rather delightfully came upon about the greatest surprise we could have found. Buried beneath the red carpet was naturally a thick layer of carpet glue. Buried beneath that was a layer of paint. Beneath that a layer of stain. But beneath that are some of the most beautiful original hardwood floors that we could have imagined.
We're still trying to piece together if the church was constructed in segments over the years. The front of the church (the sanctuary room) appears to be all original red oak hardwoods. The back of the church where the various rooms are appears to be original long-grained pine.
 The long-grained pine found underneath the rear rooms
 The original red oak hardwoods underneath the sanctuary carpeting
Even more spectacular than the wood itself is the condition in which it's in. While there are many layers of gunk to work through, they appear to be in absolutely pristine condition. I'd say it's a testament to how well the church was kept up over the past century of its existence.
There are a number of tools required to clean it all up. I wound up purchasing CitriStrip, an industrial grade kind of orange oil typically used for loosening up old glues. I started using a standard floor scraper, but the shorter handle required a great deal of effort to work into the glue. I've since purchased a similar one with a 5-foot long handle so I can get some legitimate torque over the glue. Once I strip most of the glue up I'll be able to start in with the drum sander from Home Depot.
 Posing with the chemical gloves I bought for applying the CitriStrip
It's going to be a hell of a job removing that much carpet and sanding down that much square footage. But I am quite confident that the end product is going to be something absolutely amazing.
 Atti perched atop some of the removed carpet
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