Rugs, Carpets and Carpeting - Carpet removal?

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View Full Version : Carpet removal?


lbphathead19
07-06-07, 01:27 PM
I am removing some existing carpet, to lay some laminate down. What would be the best route to take to remove the carpet. I am going to try to save the existing baseboards and keep them in place. Can i just cut the carpet and then peel it back.

Thanks in advance.


Smokey49
07-06-07, 08:45 PM
If the carpet is stretched in over pad, it's actually pretty easy to remove. That is, unless the builder got in a hurry and installed it before the base was installed. If so, you'll most likely have to remove the base because it will be sitting on the tack strip, effectively trapping the carpet under it. Hopefully, that isn't the case and it will come up normally.

1) Cut the carpet at the the door way, making the cut on the side of the door farthest into the room the laminate is going into. You want enough carpet to work with when it comes time to terminate the carpet to the laminate.

2) From this point, work your way around the room and disengage the carpet from the tack strip so you're left with a big throw rug. Hypothetically speaking, say the room is ten feet wide and fifteen feet long.

3) Fold the carpet into thirds from the walls on the fifteen foot sides so you have a strip folded in thirds that is fifteen feet long.

4) Begin at which ever end is most convenient and roll it up into as tight a roll as you can pull off. This method will leave you with a compact, easily hauled, manageable piece to haul out.

5) Once the carpet is out, use one of those floor scrapers that looks like a garden hoe that someone has straightened out to go along all the perimeters and seams of the pad. Get under it and scrape vigorously to pop the pad and staples loose from the floor. Keep working until all the pad is laying loose. Then, put any small pieces on the larger pieces and then roll it up. This will leave you with easily hauled, manageable pieces of pad. The old rip and tear method works, but makes a big mess that takes trash bags and a broom to clean up. Done in this tidy manner, the job is easy and goes quickly. The scraper may not get all the staples out, but normally gets a lot of them.

6) Use a flat bar and pop all the tack strip loose. Use a small piece of pad to lay out on the floor and stack the strip up on it until you're done, then roll it up and haul it out. When you're finished, everything is neat, compact, and easy to load into the back of a pickup and haul off. It's also less likely to blow all over the place as you're going down the road.