Good on you for choosing to do the carpet removal yourself. It’s certainly not the easiest task in the world as you will need a lot of strength for the job. If you’ve never done carpet removal before in your life, it’s never too late to learn a new skill. Before you start, have a chat with a carpet removal service to find out how much you’ll save exactly. Click here to find a reputable one with affordable prices and amazing service. They will certainly also be more than happy to give you any last-minute advice. And if all fails, they’ll certainly take care of the mess.
Remove all furniture
As the first step in preparation for carpet removal, you need to ensure that the regarding room is completely empty. There cannot be any furniture left, no matter how big or bulky it is. Since you have to find a temporary home for your furniture, you’ll certainly have to make sure you’ve got the space. It could become a little cramped in your home when you remove the carpet and install the new flooring. Remember, putting it outside may not be an option. Unless you live in a temperate climate where it hardly ever rains. You may need some help with this task considering that most furniture simply is large. Leaving furniture will make the entire endeavor a lot more difficult and time-consuming.
While the process of carpet removal can be daunting, maintaining your carpet shouldn’t be. Regular professional cleaning, such as the services offered by carpet cleaning fort myers, can prolong the life of your carpet, making removal a less frequent necessity.
Remove all doors
To remove at least all doors that swing into the room. It could just be the door from the hallway or additional doors connecting the regarding room with another. This also applies to doors of built-in cupboards or closets. Unless the doors of built-in furniture are raised with skirting they will be an obstacle for the carpet removal. The carpet will easily get stuck underneath those doors and putting in the new flooring might be difficult, too. You certainly don’t want to pull out the doors with the carpet.
Do you have all the tools?
Technically, carpet removal doesn’t require too many tools. You most likely have the tools around that you need, but it’s good to check if you’ve got what it takes:
- Pliers
- Pry bar
- Carpet knife with a bunch of replacement blades
- Heavy-duty gloves
- Dust mask (and even a pair of goggles if you’re allergic to dust)
If you’re missing one of the above-mentioned items, you can get them for a fair price pretty much anywhere. The tools for carpet removal are not expensive. There certainly are modern tools or other equipment for carpet removal. But think about it very carefully before you invest in special equipment. Unless you’re planning for carpet removal on a regular basis, it won’t be worth it. Pliers, a pry bar as well as a carpet knife, and heavy-duty gloves can be used for lots of other DIY projects.
Hoover the old carpet before you start
To minimize the impact of any dust sensitivities it’s advisable to vacuum your carpet before you start pulling it up. You will certainly come across lots of dust underneath it, but it won’t be as bad. Moreover, you never know what kind of debris could be hidden in your carpet. You may have heavy-duty gloves, but it’s always best to be on the safer side of the story. Don’t ever put off your gloves either as they provide you with a better grip for the carpet. Additionally, they avoid any injuries you would otherwise easily get with the number of staples you’re facing.
Remove tack strips
Technically, you don’t have to remove tack strips and it’s usually best to keep them where they are. But you’d have to pry underneath them and pull up the carpet from underneath them. Hence, the carpet removal is going to be a lot easier if you removed the tack strips. Beware, it’s going to be a mind-boggling and annoying task since they’re attached with countless nails. But what don’t we all do to make a task easier instead of making it more difficult? Simply start at prying up a piece of it in one area. Be careful not to break or damage them. You’d like to re-use them for your new flooring, if possible. Only replace those that have already been damaged.
Pull it up
Now we can finally head over to the carpet removal itself and leave behind all advice for preparations. There’s a rule of thumb to start with the carpet removal at the furthest corner from the room’s entry. But it doesn’t really make a difference. It’s probably to make it easier to cut the old carpet into strips and to have it all neatly at the exit. At the end of the day, you’re going to cut the carpet into strips and roll it up anyway. Therefore, it doesn’t really matter where you start.
Roll up your sleeves!
Take the pry bar and lift up a corner of the carpet. Starting at a corner would be sensible, of course. Once you’ve loosened it, take the pliers to pull it up further. It’s going to require quite some effort to do so. As soon you’re able to grab it with your hands, you can continue pulling it up further along the wall.
Cut the carpet from the back
Pretty much every piece of advice tells you to cut the carpet into strips to make it easier to handle. You can already try to cut it into strips before you start pulling it up. Most knives, however, don’t actually get through to the other side of the thick carpet. Cut it from the back. It will be a lot easier for you if you start to cut it into pieces once you’ve pulled it up. Roll up one strip of the carpet after another and the carpet removal is almost done. You’ll end up with several rolls that you can take outside to the curb on your own. You won’t need any additional help.
