Are you having a new carpet or hard floor installed? Do you consider doing the carpet removal yourself? That’s a great idea! It might save you some money if you put on your work gloves and did it yourself. If you’ve never removed carpet before, you might want to learn a few tricks and tips on how to remove it like an expert. You know, you never stop learning in your life, and you never should stop learning new skills. The more you can do with your own hands, the more money you save every day.

Have the right tools

Carpet removal doesn’t require a lot of specific tools. You may already have some of them at home and won’t need to shop for new ones. Here’s what you need:

Safety glasses
Pry bar
Utility knife with some spare blades
Locking pliers
Knee pads
Floor scraper
Heavy-duty gloves
Dust mask

Your old carpet will bring up quite some dust during the removal. Therefore it’s sensible to take advantage of a dust mask. Even if you know that you’ve cleaned it regularly, there will be a lot of dust and dirt that gathered over all those years. You might be alright with just one utility knife during the process, but it’s better to have a few spare blades at hand. Just in case one blade breaks. The knee pads are only there to make the task more comfortable for you.

Preparations

You can’t proceed with the carpet removal as long the respective room still holds furniture. Remove all the furniture and give them a temporary home in another area of your home. Otherwise, the carpet removal will be next to impossible. Also, remove any doors that swing into the room, including closet doors. Don’t forget to clear the closets for this job, too. Afterward, you’re going to remove the baseboards. You don’t have to do away with them if they’re still intact. They can be reused for your new flooring. Leave transitions in a place where your old carpet meets another carpet. The carpet guys that will install your new flooring may leave it in place anyway if it’s still in good shape.

A corner is the right place to start.

It doesn’t matter which corner you choose as a starting point. Your old carpet is attached to tack strips on the floor underneath. It might be sensible to use the pry bar to help you lift the carpet in your chosen corner. Once you’ve detached it, use your pliers to raise it further until you can comfortably grab it with your hands. Keep pulling the carpet along the wall. After you remove it along one wall, start pulling the carpet back and rolling it up. At this step, you can start cutting it up into strips with your utility knife.

Some experts suggest cutting up the old carpet into strips before pulling it up in one corner. However, you may not be able to cut your carpet down to the bottom and damage your subfloor. Cutting the carpet into strips from the back is a lot easier. Pay attention not to cut your walls accidentally. After you missed the first strip, you keep pulling the carpet and cut it up into another strip. Cutting it into strips makes the carpet removal a lot easier altogether. In the end, just roll up the strips and secure them with duct tape for easy removal.

Remove carpet padding and tack strips.

Generally, you can leave the tack strips if they’re still in good condition. Should they be rotten, rusted, or show signs of other damage, it’s best to replace them. You’ll need a hammer and a paint scraper to create some space underneath for this quick job. Once your pry bar fits through, you can use it to pry up those tack strips.

Next, it’s also time to remove the carpet padding. You go along with this task, like with the carpet removal. The only difference is that carpet padding is usually attached to the floor with countless staples. Should you have a cement floor underneath, it’ll be glued in place.

You’re starting with pulling up on the corner again, using your pry bar, your pliers, and your hands. Cut it into strips to handle it a little easier and keep going as you did during the carpet removal. If there are staples left on the floor, you can certainly go about one by one to remove them with your pliers. But that’s going to take you ages until you finish. Hence, use a floor scraper to remove them all in one beautiful sweep. Should the scraper dig into the floor, flip it over to use its other side or adjust the angle. Make sure you’re going over the entire floor to remove all staples. Sweep them up at the end and place them into a box for metal scraps that can be recycled.

Carpet removal from stairs

In case you need to remove carpet from stairs, it’s going to be an even more manageable task. For carpet removal on a set of stairs, you start at the top of the staircase. If the carpet is held into place with metal noosing, remove it with your pry bar. Should there be none, simply cut the carpet at the top of the top stair riser. Put on your heavy-duty gloves, if you haven’t already, and grab the cut end or the carpet.

Remember, Safety First!

All you have to do is to pull the carpet from the stairs bit by bit. If it’s one continuous piece, cut the carpet into smaller pieces during its removal. You may again have to face a bunch of staples that held the carpet into place; and Also, in this case, you can use the floor scraper to remove those within minutes. After the carpet removal from the stairs is over, roll it up or create little packages you secure with duct tape.

Final Thoughts

Once you complete the carpet removal, call junk removal to pick up your old carpet for recycling and eco-friendly disposal.

How To Remove Carpet Like A Pro