Ripping Up Carpet Tack Strips

Grab the cut end of carpet and pull it from the stairs using gloved hands.

Ripping up carpet tack strips.

Roll up the strips and tape them for easy handling. Pull up any staples or nails you find using your pliers. Loosen the carpet from its anchor whether a tack strip or metal cap. Once the carpet is up you ll need to go along the edges and pry up the tack strips.

Pull up carpet tack strips and underlayment. You could use a hammer or pry bar for this and goggles of course. How to remove carpet tack strips use a pry bar to get under the edge of the tack strip. To detach the carpet from the tack strip that holds the carpet in place along walls start in a corner.

Begin at the top of the stairs. Pry up the metal nosing and remove it if present. Carpet tack strips can usually remain in place but look for rust rot or other damage. Flimsy wood tack strips yield easily to a sharp utility knife so you can replace pieces as needed.

It s okay if it breaks as you go. Once the carpet and underlayment is torn up you ll be left with an ugly and somewhat treacherous assortment of staples nails and tack strips. Removing these strips that once held your carpet is the most tedious part of carpet removal. Ripping up a rug removing the rug pad tack strips we named the rug in the sunroom stinky.

As the carpet comes off you ll need to yank up the underlayment too. Carpeting is big heavy and bulky lincon says and just the act of pulling it up is more difficult than it might seem at first for starters carpeting attaches to the floor along the edges. We were feeling literal and it was damp in the corners from moisture seeping into the sunroom from bad seals in the old sliders and some wood rot. After pulling up your carpet you will most likely have tack strips left around the perimeter of the room.

Then grab the carpet by hand and continue to pull it up along an entire wall. Fold the carpet over for easy cutting and slice it into narrow strips. Step 1 position the pry bar as close to the bottom edge of the tack strip as possible. If not cut the carpet near the top of the top stair riser.

As a tip push the short end of the pry bar under the tack strip as best you can then use the hammer to drive it further under the strip. If your threshold is a. Push the pry bar down to pop the tack strip up.