It is helpful to know how to remove the carpet whenever the flooring in your home is being replaced, whether you are doing the flooring yourself or are hiring a professional. Rather than paying someone to repair your carpet or install new flooring, you may save money by removing the old carpet and preparing the subfloor yourself.
With a little thinking and organisation, the process may be made less painful and more efficient.
Replacement of carpets in a room can transform the aesthetic significantly, and even have longer-term returns. It is however a good idea to understand the costs related with the job before you start selecting carpet samples. Depending on room size, the average cost for installing a carpet is $1,463. If you plan to replace your carpet Yourself, you will cut expenditures.
The article includes some nifty methods on removing your carpet and making your work faster.
You will save time and irritation by having the appropriate equipment to remove the carpet before you start.
- Tackless Strips
- Carpeting of Choice
- Carpet Scissors
- Hammer
- Staple Gun
- Utility Knife
- Dust Mask
- Gloves
- Knee kicker
1. Assess the size of your carpet that is needed.
You will need to determine how much carpet you will replace and which type you will choose before you start making any permanent modifications. Evaluate the area by recording all measures by windows, closets, or passageways, even small places.
Talk to your installer to find out how much you save by yourself removing your carpet project. Your installer will also be able to advise you on how to handle unexpected scenarios in your home and the old carpet. Many trash transport companies accept short carpets and ordinary waste, and in certain cities carpets recycling programes are in place.
Remove any doors into the room, including bifold doors on the wardrobe, before you start breaking up your carpet. You can keep doors swinging in neighbouring rooms. Remove all furniture from the room and then clear the floor completely. Put your knuckles on a pair of gloves to protect against the abrasive backing of the carpet and the sharp tack strip. Inside the older carpets there can be lot of dust. So if you’re dust sensitive, strap a dust mask as well.
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PRO TIP
With the carpet padding removed, now is a good time to identify and fix any loose or squeaky subfloor panels before the new floor covering is installed.
2. Tear out the carpet and padding into pieces.
You must remove the existing carpet and carpet padding and don’t forget to wear gloves and a dust mask to protect your hands. Separate the existing carpet from the strip from a corner of the room. Fold back and cut into portions you can manage, approximately every 3’ or so. You will need to remove the padding as you have removed the carpet. Pay attention not to strike any walls at the base of the carpet that is course and can scratch your painted walls.
How to remove the carpet from the steps:
- Start at the top of the stairs.
- Pry the nose of the metal and take it away if present. Otherwise, cut off the carpet on the top of the top stair riser.
- Pick up the carpet and pull it off the stairs while wearing work gloves.
- Cut off handy parts while the carpet is in one continuous unit.
- Roll the old carpet, duct tape, bag and discard it.
Usually the existing tack strips of tackle can be kept in place if you replace an old carpet with a wall-to-wall carpet. Remove and replace the strips if they are rusty, rotted or otherwise damaged. When you have a different flooring type installed, thoroughly remove the tack lines.
- Use a paint scraper and a hammer to build enough room to fit a prybar.
- Pry up the strips. Pry up the strips.
- Throw the strips out into a large trash bag.
PRO TIP
When removing tack strips, always wear work gloves. Not only are the tacks sharp, but when you remove them the wood strips can split and hurt you.
3. Cleaning the floor.
You will always want to be sure that you start with a clean floor, particularly if the floor replacement was caused by a spill or by several pet incidents. Swallow the floor and vacuum the floor till the surface is cleaned. Remove any doors or barriers.
Check the flooring to ensure the liquids have not contaminated any of the floors or base boards if you replace your carpet due to spill or recurring pet mishaps. Substituting the mount does not help the odour. First, you can use bleach to try a mild solution. Dry baked soda to absorb any scents on the ground. The current and future scents should indeed be removed. If irreversible harm has been done in the areas concerned then it needs to be cleaned professionally.
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4. Laying of the pad and carpet.
After that, it’s time to put the carpet pad down. You don’t want the padding to overlap, so make sure it fits well. Attach it to the inside of the tackless strip using a staple. Stretch and staple any padding seams as well. Remove any surplus cushioning and tape any joints.
Cover the carpet pad with the carpeting, allowing a few inches of extra. Make sure the carpet pile is facing the right way, especially if you’re mixing and matching carpets. Attach the carpets to the tackless strips with the knee kicker. To stretch the carpet into strips, place the kicker against the carpet and hit it. Trim the carpet using a utility knife and tuck the edges between the wall and the strip with a metal edge to produce a neat effect.
5. Throw the tack strip or not?
In most circumstances, the old tack strip should be left in place, although there are a few exceptions: Remove any rotting, delaminating, or highly corroded portions. Rust can seep into the carpet and leave stains on the surface. If the tack strip is less than 1/4 inch from the baseboard, it should be removed as well. To tuck the carpet edge against the baseboard, the installer needs a gap of at least 1/4 inch. Simply pop the tack strip up with a flat pry bar to remove it. Tack strip is available at home centres for approximately $20 per foot, but installing it yourself will save you very little money.
6. Cleaning
Clean and vacuum the area to finish your project, and clip any excess threads. Remember to clean your carpet on a regular basis to keep it in good repair.
Conclusion
It’s not easy to replace and install your own carpet, but it’s a project you can be proud of. These instructions will give you the information and tools you’ll need to replace your carpet on your own.
Replacing the carpet yourself will not only save you a lot of bucks but also develop skills in you which would be helpful forever. Thisay not be the easiest method but if you think in terms of money, then following this post for your next renovation would be life-changer.
As you have come to the end of the post it is evident that you are about to renovate your place or are thinking about it, either way you I highly recommend reading this insightful post to get an idea for buying new carpet 5 things to know before buying new carpet