Wickford Floor Sanding

The DIY guide to removing your old carpet

So, you've had a sneak peek under the edge of your old carpets and there are wooden floorboards underneath. With floor sanding and polishing you know they're going to look incredible and you've booked a floor sanding company to do the job but there's just one problem - that old carpet.

You'll need to rip it up, get rid of the tack strip and dispose of everything before you can fully reveal the beauty of those floorboards. Here's how to do it:

1. Get prepped

First you'll need to give the carpet a thorough hoovering to minimise the dust. Dust is the enemy when you're restoring wood floors, so the less there is in the atmosphere, the better. Now, check whether you can dispose of your old carpet at the local recycling centre.

2. Rip it up

There will be dust so make sure you're wearing an appropriate dust mask, especially if the carpet is old. Strong work gloves and eye protection are also recommended. You'll also need a pair of pliers, a sharp Stanley knife with extra blades and some gaffer tape.

Use your pliers to pull the carpet away from the tack strip round the edges of the room. Cut the carpet into strips that you can roll up easily, taking care not to cut into the floorboards, then roll up the strips and secure using gaffer tape. Deal with the underlay in the same fashion, taking care not to damage the floor, and save a strip to wrap up the tack strip for safe disposal.

3. Take up the tack strip

You'll need gloves and eye protection again, and work with care so you don't unduly scratch or scrape the floor. Start to ease up the end of the tack strip with a crowbar or pliers and look for the long nails that secure it to the floor so you can carefully ease them up. Break up the strip into smaller pieces and pull up the staples with pliers or a flat head screwdriver.

Sweep or vacuum to get rid of all debris so that it doesn't impact on the floor sanding equipment and bundle up the pieces in the underlay you saved for the job. Now, you're ready to prep your floorboards for your floor sanding specialists to bring them back to life.

Once you've uncovered gorgeous wooden floors, call us at the Floor Sanding Company to get them looking outstanding.