Why Should I Remove the Carpet?
First of all, the question that arises is: Why should I remove a carpet covering a hardwood floor?
The answer is simple. It is known, that houses built in the 60s were generally provided with hardwood floors so if you live in such a house, more than likely you may have a wooden floor under the carpet. Moreover, the hardwood flooring must be in good condition since it was protected so many years by the carpet.
However, if you doubt that you have a hardwood floor and not a simple plywood underlayment, you can do some research. Go into a closet, hallway or another less visible corner of your home and using any kind of pliers grab the edge of the carpet and pull it up. It is better to do this research in a corner of the room, because you may easily grab a corner of the carpet and when you finish your investigation, it is easy to stretch the carpet back as if nothing occurred. If you pull it firmly and straight up, it will detach easily unveiling what is beneath i.e. padding and carpet strips. Now grab the padding corner edge and pull it up carefully. Use a flashlight to see what kind of material is underneath.
In case you observe a wood surface and it’s quite nice finished you would likely want to remove the smelly, unclean old carpet and eliminate it once and for all. After all, why not have a beautiful wood floor that is more hygienic than a carpet. Hardwood floors enhance the look of your home, are easy to maintain and clean not to mention that they can reduce significantly the number of germs and allergens in your home.
Photo by b+g design inc. – Browse bedroom photos
Removing a Carpet is not a Clean Job
But before you start you need to consider a few things. The most important thing you need to know is that removal of a carpet is a very messy task that also involves a considerable effort. While you are taking away the carpet you’ll see that even after a thoroughly cleaning and vacuuming of the room, it will be the dirtiest area of your home.
You need to wear work clothes and protection gear such as glasses, gloves and dust mask.
However, you don’t need too may tools only a utility knife, a pair of pliers and a tape to tie up the rolled up pieces of carpet. If you don’t want or you cannot throw away the old carpet call a company that is specialized in junk removal. It won’t cost you too much and they know where is allowed to be transport it.
Where to Start without Damaging the Underneath Floor
Removing a carpet is not a too complicated task but involves some risks, since you are working with a utility knife.
First, you should know that all the carpets are installed and held down with narrow wooden strips, which are nailed to the plywood underlayer, or in this case, to the hardwood flooring with small and thin nails that penetrate also, through the facing up sides of the strips. Therefore, make sure you start making a cut above the wooden strips that are positioned usually, at one inch from the wall. However, sometimes these strips could be at a greater distance from the wall, but it is better to cut as close as possible to the wall.
Take a pair of pliers, grab the cut piece of carpet and pull it firmly, straight up, and then turn the carpet, towards you, with the bottom side up. As you continue to cut, pull the cut piece into the interior of the room, as far as possible from the wall. Try to make a straight and parallel to the wall cut. As you work along the wall, you should be able to cut and pull the old carpet all the way to the opposite room wall.
Wrapping the Carpet Up
Roll the carpet pieces and tape them. After you have cleared the area of the pieces of carpet is the right time to remove the padding underlayer. You will not face any difficulty to remove the underlayer. Just place the padding on top of the wooden strips and roll them together into a roll of jelly. Tape these rolls and remove them.
Cleanup the Area
How I have mentioned above, this job is a messy job. Use a broom or a vacuum to remove the debris and dirt. It is advisable always to wear goggles and dust mask because this work as well cleaning will generate a lot of dust.
Carpet Stain Removal – Useful Tips and Creative Ideas (howtobuildahouseblog.com)
