Sachin

While it’s nice to have a carpeted floor in your home, there will be a time when you will have to either change it or remove it to put in a different surface material. Hiring someone to do this can be a costly process, so doing it yourself at home may be a decent option. The steps are fairly simple, but they do require some time to get done and you may want to ask a friend or family member to help you out. Here are the steps you can follow to remove your carpet by yourself.

1. The first step is to determine if you want to keep whatever kind of material is underneath your carpet. Some older houses have very worn out and beat up flooring, while newer ones have tile or wood panels that are salvageable. Before you begin tearing everything apart, make sure you take a peek to see what is there and if it is something that you will want to have there in the future. Or perhaps you will want to put some new carpet on top, which is always a viable option as well.

2. Next you will have to come up with a game plan to get rid of the old carpet because it can be an expensive venture. You can hire someone to pick it up, but be aware that it will not be cheap. The other option is to call your local landfill and ask how much it will cost to dispose of your old carpet because the rates for getting rid of it may often be higher than just your average “junk” that you drop off there.

3. After you’ve figured out the logistics of removing your old carpet it is time to relocate all the furniture in the room that you are going to work in. This can be a harder job than it sounds because people don’t realize how much time it takes to figure out where to put all the items and furniture already in place. Once that is done, make sure to vacuum the area as well and clean up the carpet as much as possible to reduce the amount of dirt and dust that you are going to be working in.

4. Before you begin to remove the carpet always put on the correct protective gear to keep yourself safe. Thick gloves and hard toed shoes are a good idea to wear so that you don’t get injured on the job. Near any wall use a set of pliers to begin pulling up the material. It can be handy to have a utility knife on site so that you can cut strips of the carpet and roll them up as you go. But if you are trying to save the floor underneath just make sure that you don’t press too hard as you are working to prevent damage.

5. As you remove the exterior carpet you will also likely have to take out the carpet padding, especially if it is old or stained and needs to be replaced. This will be an essential thing to exchange if you are planning on putting new carpet on top, and you should take it out completely if you are going to leave the floors as tile or wood. Roll up all the material and store it somewhere out of the room you are working in.

6. Then, use a pair of pliers and remove all of the staples and tack strips from the floor and clean up the whole area. Clean the floor thoroughly, and apply a stain to it if you plan on keeping it as a wooden surface.


Written by Eric Sappington, owner of Sappington’s Carpet Care, the leading company for carpet cleaning in Columbia, MO has to offer.