Removing old, worn out carpet and replacing it can give your home a gorgeous new look! A new floor covering can instantly make your home feel brand-new. Hiring professionals can be expensive, and it’s often unnecessary. This complete guide will tell you everything you need to know about how to remove carpet!
Gather Your Supplies
Before you take on the task of carpet removal, it’s important to get your supplies together. You will need:
- Dust mask
- Utility knife
- Shank nails
- Crowbar
- Duct tape
- Sturdy Work Gloves
- Knee pads (you can also use a pillow if you’re working on a budget)
- Safety glasses
- Locking pliers
- Hammer
Once you have all of your supplies together, it’s time to get started with the carpet removal process!
Always Remember To Use Safety Equipment
Safety glasses, knee pads, and a dust mask are not necessary to remove carpet. However, it’s always important to use safety equipment. A few simple steps like laying down knee pads and putting on safety glasses can save you from a lot of pain, and a possible hospital trip, during this process.
A pair of safety gloves are another important piece of safety equipment. Make sure to use heavy gloves, such as leather work gloves. When removing staples, they will get stuck in the leather work gloves, and won’t puncture the skin because the heavy gloves are so thick. It’s easy to find a pair of gloves like this at any home improvement store.
Start Pulling Up The Carpet
Starting in one corner, begin to pull up the carpet. At the end of the carpet, there will be tack strips. These are boards that have several small tacks that are used to hold the carpet into place. Be careful to avoid them.
If you are having a difficult time pulling up a corner of the carpet, use your utility knife to cut a small square of the carpet near the corner where you would like to get started. Then, begin to pull back the carpet. If carpet staples were used, these should come up with the carpet as you pull it up. Use your pair of pliers if you are having a hard time gripping the carpet and pulling it up by hand.
Cut The Carpet Into Strips
Most people prefer to use their utility knife to pull up the carpet in manageable sections instead of pulling up all of the carpet at one time. This is a great way to keep an eye out for carpet strips during the removal process, too.
To cut the carpet into manageable pieces, use your utility knife to cut it into strips that are approximately three feet across. These small rolls of carpet will be easier to remove.
If you do pull up the carpet all at once, you’ll need to cut it into strips after the removal process. This makes carpet disposal easier. The majority of carpet recycling programs prefer that people give them a strip of carpet instead of large rolls of carpet.
Most people can cut the carpet into three or four long strips to carry it out of the house. After cutting it, roll the carpet into rolls. Use duct tape to prevent the rolls from unrolling.
Remove The Carpet Padding
Most carpet installers put padding underneath the carpet material to provide a cushion underneath the carpet. This needs to be removed after the carpet to reveal the hardwood floor.
Padding is typically stapled to the floor. This makes it easy to simply rip up padding in sections. However, there will be several staples left on the floor. Use the claw end of your hammer or your pry bar to remove them from the floor.
Inspect The Floor
Once the carpet and carpet padding is gone, inspect the floor. Make sure that carpet tack strips are removed. There should be no more staples on the floor either.
Occasionally, during the installation of carpet, carpet installers glue to carpet to the floor instead of using carpet padding and tack strips. This can make the cost of carpet removal higher if you choose to hire a professional, and more laborsome if you’re removing the carpet yourself.
After removing the strips of carpet, it’s critical to check the floor for leftover carpet glue and remove any residual carpet glue.
Additional Tips To Help Make Carpet Removal Easier
Carpet removal seems like a simple process, but it can take days to remove carpet from the floor. There are quite a few problems that homeowners can run into if they aren’t careful. Learning a few tips and tricks for DIY carpet removal can make the process as seamless as possible.
Use A Sharp Bladed Floor Scraper To Remove Stubborn Glued-On Carpeting
Carpet installers often use carpet glue. If carpet padding was not used underneath this type of flooring, it will be difficult to simply pull the carpet off the floor. Use a paint scraper, and place it underneath the carpet. Gently scrape it along the floor to remove the carpet. Work with sections of carpet at a time.
If you have a difficult time doing this time-consuming work on your knees, pick up a long-handled floor scraper to do the job standing up.
You can also use a steel putty knife or metal spackling knife. Avoid plastic tools. These are not sharp enough to cut through carpet adhesive.
Use A Shop Vacuum After Carpet Removal
Carpet Installers often use hundreds of staples. These can easily fall on the floor, resulting in a possible injury later. Make sure to run a shop vac over the floor to guarantee that no staples are left lying around.
Pick Up Heavy-Duty Trash Bags
Carpet staples and tack strips will slice through average trash bags, making a mess for trash haulers. Purchase heavy-duty bags from a local home improvement store that are designed for DIY projects. These trash bags are thicker and designed especially for projects like this so they do not rip as easily.
Once you’re finished with your carpet removal project, it’s time to find a floor covering replacement! Browse through our beautiful selection of large, luxurious area rugs today!