Taking Up Carpet From Hardwood Floors

Tools for restoring hardwood floors under carpet.

Taking up carpet from hardwood floors.

The basic rule of thumb with removing the carpet for a hardwood installation is that you just go in reverse to take things back to the original subfloor. Prybar for pulling up the carpet tack strips. If you are trying to salvage the floor underneath make sure you do not cut grooves in the floor with the knife. Hardwood flooring makes a welcome addition to any home but it can be daunting to deal with once it s time to remove or replace it.

The next step would be to refinish your floors but before you can do this you need to sand them to remove any scuff marks left by the carpet or by your cleaning. Not only will it help to loosen any extra dirt and grime but in the event that you also missed a little bit of adhesive the hot steam from the mop will help to loosen the material so it can be. Carpet padding strips staples nails glue. Have you tried restoring hardwood floors under carpet.

Utility knife for cutting up carpet and or padding into more manageable size strips for rolling up and removing from the room. It s a project for an optimist if there ever was one. Use a utility knife or carpet knife to slice the carpet into manageable strips and roll the strips up as you go. Remove the carpet tacking strips which may be nailed or stapled to the hardwood floor.

An even better option when it comes to getting your floors clean after removing carpet is to opt for a hardwood steam cleaner. Even though you are probably eager and excited to finally see your hardwood floors underneath please push down your excitement and take this step slow. The home stretch refinishing after sanding your floors you should plug any holes caused by nails by filling them with wood plugs or wood paste a combination of saw dust and white. Stripping hardwood flooring the wrong way can cost you hours of backbreaking work leave you with an enormous mess and even cause permanent damage to your subflooring.

Or are you planning a project of your own. Dispose of tacking strips and any staples or nails that held the strips in place. Once the carpet is up it is not going to be very pretty. But take it from the experienced pros who have.

Use the pliers to pull up any staples that remain stuck in the floor. You don t want to cause any damage to your floor by ripping up the carpet hard and fast. One way to do this is to lift the carpet away from the floor as you cut. Use your standard screwdriver to pry them from the floor.