Remove Carpet And Padding

Our installation of the floating floor requires carpet, pad, and tack strip removal over a concrete subfloor. Approximately 500 square feet has been installed in this new home with the balance of the hardwood installed over vinyl floor coverings in the kitchen and laundry areas. Wait! Brand new you ask? Why did they install anything to begin with? In many localities it is necessary to have floor coverings for occupancy before you move in. Considering the cost of builders upgrades and limited choices, it sometimes pays to rip it out and start from new.

Getting Started. Removing Carpet and Pad

Only the carpet needs to be removed as any floating floor can be installed over vinyl floors providing they are secure to the subfloor. To do so, cut the carpet into manageable Cutting carpet before removing sections for ease of removal with a sharp utility knife. In this case a little time is saved by cutting through not only the carpet, but also the padding, but may take some extra effort.

You would think, considering we're dealing with new construction the actual subfloor itself wouldn't need much preparation. Think again! Painters are notorious for spraying over anything. In this case we discovered they didn't bother to sweep out anything when their work began.

We also discovered considerable chunks of dried mud that was removed with a flooring scraper. One would also think the carpet installers would remove it as well. Eventually the homeowner will wonder what that lump is they're always walking over, in a high traffic area to boot!

Folks if you want the work done right these days it pays to visit the jobsite often. With floating floors it isn't necessary to prep the floor like we often have to do with glue down installations, specifically dried paint. A cushioned foam underlayment is placed over it before the actual Rolling up old carpet installation. However it is important to remove all lumps left behind by drywall finishers, painters and block masons. For more on floor preparation, recognizing and fixing high or low areas visit some of the links shown near the bottom of this page.

Save time and effort by rolling carpet and padding so they can be disposed of easily. Banding with duct tape will also make the waste removal guys more willing to pick up instead of seeing a big loose pile at the edge of your driveway on garbage day.

Removing Tack Strip

Our next step would be to remove the carpet tack strip. Tools include a flat pry bar and a hammer. Position the flat bar in the area of the nail that holds down the tack strip and Removing carpet tack strip strike firmly a few times. This should loosen the nail. Move onto the next nail and repeat. Tack strip nails are located approximately 6" apart. Upon removal and sweeping or vacuuming, it is not uncommon to find depressions left behind by the tack strip nails. With floating floors it is not necessary to fill.

Surprisingly no prep was needed on this one except for scraping and sweeping the floors. Off to starting the installation, but first a few words about the product, Coastal Woodlands by Bruce. The product was their thinner 3/8" engineered longstrip type floor, discontinued in late 2007.

Go To: Starting The Installation

Back To: Floating Floors Introduction

• Hardwood Over Vinyl
• Flooring Scrapers
• Floor Leveling
• Dust Control