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When having work
done by professionals one can save money by
pulling up carpet themselves. Most carpeting is
installed by the stretched in method, requiring
the use of carpet tack strip; called tackless by
the professionals. I have
no reason why they call
it tackless because those little buggers have
extremely sharp pinheads used to keep the carpet
stretched. Wear gloves when removing at all times.
Our
first step would be to pull back a section in the
corner of a room with pliers. Release the rest of
the
carpet from the tack strip by shaking or wiggling
and begin cutting into sections of 3-4 foot width
shown on the right. This method will allow
manageable rolls to be removed from the premises.
If you should have existing hardwood underneath be
careful not to cut too deeply. It's best to hold
the carpet off the floor surface then cut.
Hopefully your carpet padding that was under the
carpet is not attached with thousands of staples.
This will depend on the original installer as some
will load a bunch of 'em into the floor. To remove
staples, needle nose pliers work best. It may
take time but you should get the hang of removal
by not yanking them quickly, but grabbing a piece
and twisting in rollover fashion. Placing a wide
bladed putty knife underneath will protect from
dinging the hardwood floor. Should the carpet
padding be glued to the existing hardwood floors,
the use of mineral spirits to soften the adhesive
will work.
Often with much older hardwood floors that were
carpeted over, previous owners may have used nails
or screws to stop squeaks. Yea, I know...pretty
disheartening to think someone could actually do
this to what was probably a jewel of the house.
Removing the nails is often too troublesome and
causes too much damage. If there are far too many,
you may want to consider keeping a distressed or
antique appearance rather than trying to use a
nail set.
If
you should happen to have concrete subfloors some
carpet pad may be perimeter glued. This padding
can be removed with the use of a flooring scraper.
Flooring supply stores are a great source, but
Home Depot and Lowes also carries them.
Removing Tack Strip
 Informing the
contractor that will handle the hardwood floor
work you've taken care of the carpet removal
doesn't stop there. Tack strip removal becomes the
hardest part if the subfloor is concrete. Removing
can be accomplished with the use of a hammer and
pry bar (wonder bar).
With
existing hardwood floors that are to be
refinished, it becomes important to be careful
once again as damage can be incurred. Use of a
wide putty knife works once again here. Tack strip
is commonly attached with small nails that are
spaced about six inches apart. Set your pry bar
near where it will engage with the nail and pound
with hammer. Carefully pry back and move onto the
next one.
For
concrete subfloors tack strip or the actual nail
removal can be frustrating. If you're aggressive
enough, one or two solid blows with the hammer
against the heel of the pry bar should be
sufficient to dislodge the nails. During removal,
small divots in the concrete will appear and
should not be a concern. |
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