Should You Remove Carpet Before You Put Down Foam Floor

On a concrete floor the carpet pad is often glued into place.

Should you remove carpet before you put down foam floor. The flooring carpet guy said that the rubber removal by itself might ve been a 600 job minimum for a little 12 12 room maybe more if the material was really that awful to remove. The damp proof membranes installed in concrete floors to stop moisture rising through them can be ineffective. I regret the without. Mineral spirits is a good solvent with which to start experimenting it can soften synthetic adhesives and it s safe for most floor finishes.

A third option is spray lubricant which is a petroleum distillate like mineral spirits and can loosen the adhesion of the latex to the finish. Removing it the wrong way could cause damage to the floor and to the carpet and that s the last thing you want. So you really want to be careful before you consider taking off tack strip to put in new carpet. These are the five things you need to know about carpet removal.

Any moisture that does reach your carpet can cause it to become moldy and start to rot. Unless you are working with a pristine floor with absolutely no imperfections go with foam. As such it s vital you seal your concrete floor properly before laying any carpet. It should be replaced even if it looks like it s in good shape.

On a concrete floor the pad is glued in place so big chunks of pad will remain stuck to the floor. Remove carpet padding in sections like you did with the carpet. When you ve torn off all the carpet and pad pull out all the staples with pliers. If mineral spirits doesn t work try denatured alcohol which is good for removing dried latex paint.

To remove them use a floor scraper. Cut the pad into strips and roll it up just as you did with the carpet. Because whenever you remove the tack strip those nails don t leave behind divots. You may want to remove the carpet padding yourself but if you re hiring a professional to work on your wood floor it may be better to have that person remove the padding as well.

If you are thinking about ripping up your carpets before you get in over your head stop to consider everything it entails. Also it is significantly louder. It s not uncommon to find floors covered with foam backing material that s been glued straight to the floor. In this case use a floor scraper to remove the pieces.

The truth is you re liable to find anything under your old carpeting. Then add the cost of refinishing. Put on a pair of sturdy work gloves and start tearing up carpet in a corner of the room. Vinyl flooring doesn t always sit on the floor on every square foot as it is floating and not tied down.

Every floor imperfection comes through. I ve done it with and without.