Tearing Up Old Carpet

Then grab the carpet by hand and continue to pull it up along an entire wall.

Tearing up old carpet.

Use a utility knife or carpet knife to slice the carpet into manageable strips and roll the strips up as you go. Pull back the carpeting until the entire rug can be rolled up removed from your home and placed in a dumpster. Roll up the strips and tape them for easy handling. One way to do this is to lift the carpet away from the floor as you cut.

After you ve rolled up the old carpeting and removed it from the room you ll finally get a good look at the subfloor and any surprise damage that the carpet may have been hiding. To detach the carpet from the tack strip that holds the carpet in place along walls start in a corner. Carpet removal costs 1 to 1 50 per square foot including labor cleanup and waste disposal. Continue pulling up carpet a few feet at a time and cutting it into easy to handle strips.

Go to a corner of your carpeting and run a standard screwdriver between the edge of the wall and carpet. Use a utility knife with a sharp new blade to cut through the carpet backing. Keep both hands on the knife to avoid cutting a free hand. Continue pulling until you ve separated the carpet entirely from one wall.

Fold the carpet over for easy cutting and slice it into narrow strips. Just grab the carpet with pliers and pull. Pry up the carpet from the tacking strips underneath. Pull up a few feet of carpet and fold it over.

If you are trying to salvage the floor underneath make sure you do not cut grooves in the floor with the knife. Roll or fold the strip secure with duct tape and remove it from the room. If the pliers aren t cutting it you can also use a small crow bar to pry it back. Use pliers to grab the carpet and pull it away from the subfloor.

Pull up and dispose of the foam padding.