We just bought a house in which most rooms have an old stinky carpet!!! To cut the costs, we are going to take the carpet off ourselves. How exactly do we do that?? How about the carpet glue, how do we get that off?
2007-06-01 04:52:27 · 6 answers · asked by Brasilian_cutie_pie 3 in Home & Garden ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
If it glued carpet you will just need to cut in to sections and pull. it will take some time and will seam never ending but it how it done. Also you can try a flat shovel to help get under it and pry it up. if it take board around the edges then just cut it down the middle and pull it up.
2007-06-01 05:08:55 · answer #1 · answered by Mr fix it 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
MANY older houses have glue-down carpet in them.
It was cheaper and people often bought this in complete rolls from discontinued carpet warehouses (probably the reason it is throughout the house).Lots of good answers on removal here already but here are a couple other tips and suggestions:
If you use a "tile digger" as suggested in the first answer, you`ll have to set the blade depth a little lower if it is hardwood floor underneath or it will continue to gouge into the wood and work you to tears.
I would`nt recommend using one if wood.
If concrete, you have no worries. Except these are VERY heavy and cumbersome.
We use the wide replaceable razor blade knife with handles as Also suggested earlier. You can Sometimes find longer handles to fit these..
It`s easier to pull up the carpet first `tho and use the razor blades on the "backing" (as close to the floor as possible).
Depends on what you plan to cover the floor with after, how smooth the floor needs to be.
If you plan to tile/linoleum of any kind you will probably want to rent a disc sander/buffer (like the janitors use) as these areas will have to be super smooth.
If you are planning to go back down with stretch-in carpet I would`nt worry about it much, as the new pad and carpet will absorb a Lot more raised areas than you might hear from some of these answers.
Simply scrape the *Really high* backing as best you can and feather the edges Good.
Unless of course the backing of the old carpet stinks as well. Then all bets are off.
Good luck with it!
But as others have said "it ain`t no Big thing" just tedious and you`ll be proud of yourselves when it`s done (:>
If you have any other questions, email me. I`ve been doing carpet and hard surface floors for Years and will help all I can.
RT
2007-06-01 13:08:19 · answer #2 · answered by 2returner@sbcglobal.net 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most carpet will not be glued down. It will be held in place by being stretched toward tack strips. There is your danger.
Removing carpet is sooooooooooooo easy that I wonder why anyone would pay someone else to do it. I mean, it's trash. You are getting rid of it, right?
Get a utility knife. Cut the carpet into manageable strips, roll them up and carry them out. You can do the same w/ the padding. Watch around the edges, the tack strips are sharp and are knuckle-killers.
If there is carpet glue, it is typically easy to scrape it off. With what are you replacing the carpet? If anything other than sheet vinyl, vinyl tiles, something like that, you don't need to get the subfloor to a smooth finish. When the new floor is installed no one will ever know.
2007-06-01 12:14:50 · answer #3 · answered by catsovermen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Carpet is typically not glued. There are tack strips around all of the wall edges. they are small pieces of wood with tiny nails in them. When the carpet is placed on them and pressed down, they act like velcro to the carpet holding itin place. You simply need to get under one of the edges and pull it back enough to get a hand in there. Once you have an edge up...PULL. Beware, as the tack strips are full of the aforementioned nails and are often dirty and rusted. If for somestupid reason there is glue and it is on a concrete surface, i'd get a 6-9 inch razorblade scraper (Home Depot) and get to work. it will be tedious, but will provide much better results than a shovel or anything else as it is sharp and will get closest to the flooring. Good Luck
2007-06-01 12:13:11 · answer #4 · answered by jman 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Are you sure it is glued down? Check along the edges for tack strips. If it is glued, you may need to rent a machine to do the job. I believe the same machine that removes tile would work. You may also need to sand off the remaining glue depending on the type used.
2007-06-01 12:05:14 · answer #5 · answered by sensible_man 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can geta couple razor knives from Home Depot and it cups up ok, watch out for staples!
2007-06-01 12:16:05 · answer #6 · answered by Mary Beth 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋