Pulling up old carpet is satisfying work, and it's often the first step toward LVP, tile or refinished hardwood. It's also dusty, sharp and heavy. Here's how it's done, what to watch for, and what comes next.
What you'll need
- Utility knife with plenty of fresh blades
- Pliers and a pry bar
- Flat bar or tack strip puller
- Floor scraper
- Staple puller or pliers for pad staples
- Heavy work gloves, knee pads and safety glasses
- Dust mask or respirator; old carpet holds a lot of dust and allergens
- Duct tape and contractor bags or a disposal plan
- Shop vacuum
Before you start
Check what's under it. Lift a corner in a closet. You may find hardwood, plywood, particleboard, concrete or old vinyl tile.
Watch for old resilient flooring. Some older vinyl tiles (especially 9-inch squares), sheet vinyl backing and black adhesives can contain asbestos. If you find old vinyl or black mastic under carpet, don't sand, scrape or grind it until it's tested. Often the safest approach is to leave well-bonded material in place and cover it if the new flooring allows.
Plan disposal. Carpet and pad are bulky. Check your municipality or hauler's rules for disposal.
Remove obstacles. Take out furniture, floor vents and doors that swing over the carpet.
How to remove carpet step by step
- Remove furniture, vent covers and any doors that swing over the carpet.
- Cut the carpet into strips about 2–3 feet wide with a utility knife, being careful not to cut into the floor below.
- Grab a corner with pliers, pull it off the tack strip, and roll or fold each strip and tape it closed.
- Pull up the pad and roll it up the same way.
- Remove every pad staple with pliers or a staple puller, or tap down any that break off flush.
- Pry up the tack strip with a flat bar, working carefully near baseboards, and wear gloves because the tacks are sharp.
- Scrape off any pad residue, glue spots or paint drips.
- Pull or set any nails and screws that stick up.
- Vacuum the whole floor thoroughly.
- Inspect the subfloor for damage, stains and squeaks and plan repairs before new flooring.
What you might find
Hardwood
Many homes have hardwood under carpet. It may be in great shape, or it may have pad stains, staple holes, tack strip holes around the edges, pet stains or old water damage. Tack strip holes along the perimeter are normal and can be filled during refinishing. Read hardwood refinishing basics to see if refinishing makes sense.
Plywood or OSB
The usual subfloor in newer homes. Check for soft spots, delamination, squeaks and stains. Pet urine soaked into subfloor may need to be sealed with an odor-blocking primer, or the damaged section replaced, before new flooring.
Concrete
In basements and some slab homes. You'll find tack strips nailed into the concrete and sometimes adhesive spots. Test moisture before choosing new flooring; see moisture testing.
Particleboard
Some homes have particleboard underlayment, which swells when wet and isn't a good base for some flooring. Many manufacturers don't allow their products over particleboard; it may need to be removed or covered.
Pet odor
If carpet had pet accidents, the pad and subfloor often carry the odor. Remove the pad, clean the subfloor with an enzyme cleaner, let it dry and seal it with a shellac-based or other odor-blocking primer. Severely damaged areas should be replaced.
After removal: next steps
The floor won't be ready for new flooring yet. Expect subfloor prep: repairs, screwing down squeaks, flattening and cleaning. See subfloor prep. If you're painting, now is a great time to paint walls and baseboards before the new floor goes in; see project order.
Doing it with new flooring
When carpet removal is part of a flooring installation, it's usually most efficient to have the installer handle removal and disposal too. It keeps the schedule tight and makes one crew responsible for the subfloor condition.