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Tips for Removing Carpet
Carpets last for between 5 to 15 years, and after that, they will need to be removed and replaced. For most of us, that means we’re going to have to remove and replace carpet several times during the ownership of a home or property. If you’re about to remove carpet, here are a few carpet removal tips that can help.
Carpet Removal Tips
Removing the carpet is something that you may have heard horror stories about. A lot of people view it as time-consuming, hard work. It is true that removing carpet can take a lot of effort but if you do it right, it won’t be as hard as you may think.
What makes carpet removal difficult is that a lot of people don’t have the proper tools on hand. You have to have the necessary tools and it also helps to know how the carpet is installed. Removing the carpet is basically doing the installation in reverse.
What Tools Will You Need?
As long as you have these tools, removing the carpet will not be difficult. Don’t forget to have strong, protective gloves as well as dust masks when you go to remove a carpet. A lot of dirt and debris get captured by a carpet and removing it can be messy.
- Utility knife
- Pliers
- Floor scraper with a sharp blade
- Pry bar
- Knee pads
While going through the process, there are a couple of other tools that you might need, but not always. These include:
- Flat blade screwdriver
- Heat gun
- Sandpaper
Once you have all these tools or know where you can get them, you’ll be ready to start.
How Carpet Is Installed
A full carpet installation has more pieces to it than just carpet. The first thing that goes down is the carpet pad. The pad under a carpet is what gives it volume and a bit of bounce. The pad also helps to keep the carpet in place and insulates the floor.
Carpet pads can be installed using staples or glue, depending on what type of floor is under them. After the pad is placed, a tack strip is often used around the edges of the room, which will hold down the carpet. The carpet is the final thing laid down on the floor and secured using the tacks.
What Type of Floor?
One of the biggest variables you’ll have to confront is what type of floor the carpet is on. If the flooring beneath the carpet is cement, then the pad under the carpet will be glued to the floor. If it is wood, then the most common method is staples or tack strips.
Staples and other fasteners are easy to remove, but glue isn’t always cooperative. This is where you may have to use a heat gun and sanders to get the glue off of the floor. This is especially true if you are dealing with a hardwood floor that you want to preserve.
How to Remove Carpet
Now that we know what carpet removal will require and how carpet is installed, let’s get into removing it. The easiest way to remove a carpet is to start from the corner of the room. You can work up the edge and, if you’re strong enough, lift with your hands and rip the carpet free of the tack strip.
This may require a pry bar or other tools depending on how secure the carpet is. If you can’t get the carpet to pull up, don’t worry. You can cut a small square out of the corner of the carpet using your utility knife. Then, use this square to pull up on the carpet. It will be easier.
The next step is to cut the carpet into strips. The carpet is the size of the room, so cutting it down makes handling it a lot easier. You can then remove each strip the same way, either ripping it up or prying it up.
Once that is finished, you can move on to removing the pad. The process doesn’t have to be a struggle, as long as you have the right tools on hand. It is also helpful to have someone assisting you, as two people can make the removal much faster and more efficient.
Disposing of Carpet
Once you decide to remove the carpet, make sure you have somewhere to put the carpet. One of the best carpet removal tips for this is to have a small dumpster on hand. You can contact a waste management company and have one delivered to your home.
On Call Services & Rentals
If you’re removing carpet in the Tulsa, OK area, On Call Services & Rentals can help. We can provide you with the size of dumpster you need to make any remodeling project successful. Once you’ve put the carpet in the dumpster, we’ll come and get rid of it for you.
This removes the hassle of having to haul the carpet yourself to the dump. You won’t have to wait in line or deal with the fees and issues of going to the landfill. If you have any questions about what we can do for you, or are ready to get started, contact us.
