Photo by Rodrigo Souza from Pexels
Want to reveal that hardwood under your carpet? Or maybe you're ready to lay down new flooring? In either case, carpet removal by a professional adds significant cost to the project. Fortunately, removing carpet is something you can do yourself with minimal cost.
It does require a little upper body strength and some patience. So be ready to put your back into it.
And know that carpet removal is a "no harm; no foul" kind of job. If you find it's more than you can complete, professionals aren't going to charge you more because you did some work before they got there.
Set aside at least two hours per room. But if you're new to a home project like this one, it might take longer.
If the carpet is coming up in a specific spot like next to the door, start there. While wearing your gloves and mask, try to pull it up from the edge. In some areas, sharp tack strips hold down the carpet. So be careful.
*Pro tip* Go into a wide stance and don't put all your strength into the tug to avoid falling over if it gives suddenly.
If there's no right place to start pulling or it won't give, carefully cut a 6" square into the carpet in the corner of the room. Then begin cutting and removing section by section. Be careful with the knife, especially if you want to preserve the flooring underneath.
Eventually, you'll get to a point where you can pull up a huge section.
Fold and roll large pieces of carpet. Use duct tape to secure it for easy carrying. Then grab a friend to help you take it outside. Gather the smaller scraps and place them in a bin or dumpster.
The padding is tacked down with staples along the perimeter. The padding will already be shredded in places where you cut the carpet, so simply start pulling it up slowly.
The staples should come up with it. But if any remain, you can get them up with a regular staple puller or something similar.
*Pro tip* If you need to use a prying tool, wear eye protection.
Now, repeat step two with the padding.
That's it. You're ready to have a professional lay new carpet or pull up your tack strips to lay a different type of flooring.
For more fun, DIY-friendly projects, follow our blog.
I'm John Mahan, Sales Associate with William Raveis Real Estate, Harwich Port Office.
Throughout his childhood, John Mahan spent summers on Cape Cod at his parents’ home in Dennis Port. His intro to the Cape was, as he puts it, when his parents “carried me down the stairs at Sea Street Beach when I was a week old.” With a lifelong connection to Cape Cod, it seemed only natural for John and his wife, Mary, to move to Harwich – where they still reside – with their two young children in 1996.
Prior to moving to Cape Cod, John lived in the Worcester-Auburn area where he worked for Mass Electric for 10 years and was a member of the International Brotherhood of Utility Workers. When John and his family moved to the Cape, he worked at NSTAR for six years.
John began his career in real estate in 2002 when he joined Team Waystack Realty in Harwich Port. He has been a consistent top producing realtor in the Harwich area for the past 20 years. John’s approachable demeanor, combined with an integral understanding of the Cape Cod residential real estate market, have allowed him to build trusting, long-term relationships with his clients – both sellers and buyers.
