Carpet takes more of a beating than anything else in your home. Kids, pets, and messy guests trek in all kinds of stains — everything from mud to marinara — which can dull the fibers on your floor and leave your living room in need of a facelift. While replacing the carpet yourself might be a bit too difficult, you can at least get a head start on the contractor doing the carpet removal and disposal yourself. Doing so could save you hundreds of dollars and give you the chance to inspect the flooring underneath. Keep reading for the 5 easy steps on how to remove your carpet yourself.
After you’ve gone through the work of ripping your carpet up, contact the guys at Junk Shot to take it away for you! Download the Junk Shot app today to see how it works.
What You’ll Need:
Carpet removal involves more than just grabbing a swath of floor fabric and pulling (though that is part of the process). To properly do the job you will need the following tools:
- Utility Knife
- Gloves
- Duct Tape
- Floor Scraper
- Knee Pads
- Hammer
- Nails
- Safety Glasses
- Dust Mask
1. Clear The Floor
Once you have your supplies, it’s time to prep the room. Move all furniture out of the room and remove any doors that might interfere with the carpet-stripping process. Next, vacuum the carpet. It might seem counterintuitive since you’ll be tearing it out, but giving the carpet a good once-over prevents crumbs, dirt, and dust from falling on the floor and getting trapped under your new carpet.
2. Rip It Up and Start Again
Now comes the fun part. Put on your safety gear, pick a corner of the carpet, and start pulling. Carpeting is attached to tack strips — thin strips of wood with hundreds of small nails — so be careful not to prick yourself. Continue pulling the carpet back until you have a sheet that measures about three feet in length then fold it over and cut it with your utility knife. Make sure to cut from the underside of the carpet because it will be much easier to slice. Once the piece has been removed, roll it up and duct tape it together to make it easier to handle. Continue this process until you reach any transition areas where the existing carpet meets a different flooring surface, usually in another room. Separating these seams or dividers between rooms can be tricky and is best left to the pros.
3. Scrape Up the Remains
With the carpet removal taken care of, you can turn your attention to any other unwanted hanger-ons. If any of your carpet pads have rotted, strip them in the same manner you did the carpet. Underneath everything, you will find staples, glue, or a combination of the two that was used to hold everything intact. Place your scraper at a low angle and run it along the floor to remove this mess and leave your floor clean and ready for recarpeting.
4. Hammer It Out
With your old carpet gone, now is the perfect opportunity to inspect your flooring. Removing the carpet may have moved the tack strips away from the wall. If so, give them a gentle knock back into place with your hammer. The same goes for your floorboards. Now is also a good time to look for signs of rot and termites.
5. Dispose of Your Carpet
You’ve done plenty of work removing your carpet, now leave disposing it to the pros at Junk Shot. Our app allows you to snap a picture of your unwanted carpet, get a quote, and set up an appointment. We’ll give you a call within an hour of your appointment time to confirm. Our team will take care of the rest of the carpet disposal for a fraction of what the contractor would charge and we’ll do our best to see that it is properly recycled. Download the Junk Shot app today or contact us at 855-297-5865