How To Remove Carpet
Cut it into strips and roll it out the door then deal with the underlay and grippers before the new floor goes down.
The short answer
To remove carpet, clear the room, cut the carpet into strips about 60 to 90 cm wide with a sharp utility knife, then pull each strip off the gripper rods and roll and tape it. Lift the underlay, pull out any staples and lever the gripper rods up with a crowbar or chisel. Take the carpet to a household recycling centre or book a council bulky waste collection.
Pulling up an old carpet is a dusty job, but it's one of the most straightforward bits of DIY you'll do and there's no need to pay anyone for it. Depending on the size of the room, you can have the carpet, underlay, staples and gripper rods out in less than an hour.
We've pulled up carpets in the properties we renovate and the Airbnbs we manage, and the method below is the one we follow. The main photo above shows a patterned carpet being peeled back to reveal old floor tiles underneath.
Tools For Taking Up Carpet
- Utility knife with a pack of fresh blades
- Heavy-duty gloves
- Dust mask
- Knee pads, if you have them
- Duct tape
- Crowbar or a wide wood chisel
- Hammer
- Pliers for stubborn staples
- Rubble sacks for the gripper rods and staples
How To Remove Carpet Step By Step
1. Clear The Room
Take every bit of furniture out of the room, because you can't lift carpet with a wardrobe or sofa standing on it. If the carpet runs through a doorway, take the door off its hinges as well, so you have a clear run and don't scratch it while dragging rolls past.
2. Cut The Carpet Into Strips
Don't try to pull the carpet out in one piece. A whole room's worth is heavy, awkward and won't fit through a doorway or in the back of a car. Cut it into strips with a utility knife instead, working from the back of the carpet where possible.
Strips of 2 to 3 feet, or roughly 60 to 90 cm, are a good width to carry. Go narrower in an awkward room or where the carpet is thick and heavy.
Put a new blade in the knife before you start, and keep spares handy. Carpet backing blunts a blade quickly, and a blunt knife slips, which is when people cut themselves.
3. Pull The Carpet Off The Grippers
Start in a corner, grip the edge of a strip and pull it up off the gripper rods. The edges take a firm tug, as the gripper teeth hold the backing tight, but once they've let go, the rest of the strip comes up with little effort.
An old carpet can be full of dust and grit underneath, so wear a dust mask and gloves for this part.
4. Roll Each Strip And Tape It
Roll each strip up tightly with the pile on the inside, then wrap a few turns of duct tape around it. Taped rolls don't unravel while you carry them out, and they stack neatly in the car or a skip.
5. Lift The Underlay
Underlay comes up more easily than carpet. Where it's stapled down, it pulls free in big sheets. Glued underlay is harder work, and if it tears into small pieces, a floor scraper gets the stuck bits off. Roll and tape the underlay just as you did the carpet.
6. Pull Out The Staples
Stapled underlay leaves a lot of staples behind in a timber floor. Prise each one out with the tip of a chisel or a small crowbar, and use pliers on any that snap off. It's fiddly rather than difficult, but leaving them in will damage new flooring or catch on bare feet if you're keeping the boards.
How To Remove Carpet Gripper Rods
With the carpet and underlay gone, take the gripper rods up too. You can reuse grippers that are in good condition, but replace any that are rusty, water damaged or split, and they need to come out anyway if you're laying a hard floor.
Slide a crowbar or wide chisel under the rod next to one of its nails and lever it up. If you can't get the blade under, give it a tap with a hammer to drive it in, then lift. Work along the length, nail by nail, so the rod comes up in long pieces rather than splintering.
Wear heavy-duty gloves when handling grippers, as the pins are sharp enough to draw blood. Bag them in a strong rubble sack, because they'll tear straight through a standard bin bag.
The Carpet We Pulled Up In One Of Our Airbnbs
The before and after photos below come from an Airbnb we took on. The living room had a loud, heavily patterned carpet that was far too dated for a modern Airbnb, and pulling it up uncovered bare timber floorboards underneath.
What To Do With The Floor Underneath
Once the carpet's up, take the chance to check the floor. On timber boards, screw down any that creak and replace any that are split or soft. If the room is cold underfoot, now is the easiest time to lift a few boards and fit insulation under the floorboards before anything new goes down.
A concrete floor that's uneven or patchy will need levelling before most new floors, and our guide on using self-levelling compound covers that. For a hard-wearing replacement, our guide to Karndean flooring is a good place to start.
Getting Rid Of Old Carpet
Most household recycling centres take carpet and underlay, so you can bag and take it yourself if you have a car or van big enough for the rolls. Check your council's website first, as some sites have rules on how much DIY waste you can bring.
For larger amounts, a skip or a council bulky waste collection saves a lot of trips, though both come at a cost. Grippers and staples should go in a separate sack so nobody gets caught on them when the waste is handled.
Taking Up A Carpet Yourself
Removing carpet needs nothing more than a sharp knife, a crowbar, gloves and a bit of elbow grease. Cutting it into strips is what makes it a one-person job, because it turns a heavy, awkward carpet into rolls you can carry out on your own.
If you've only got a stain problem rather than a worn-out carpet, a deep clean can save replacing it. Our guides on getting paint out of carpet and the best carpet cleaners are worth a look first.
Your Questions Answered
Can you reuse old carpet gripper rods?
You can reuse carpet gripper rods if they're firmly fixed, the pins are still sharp and there's no rust or water damage. If the new carpet is a different thickness, check the gap between the gripper and the skirting suits it. Gripper is cheap, so we'd replace any rod that's loose, split or rusty rather than risk the new carpet working free.
Do you need to remove skirting boards to take up carpet?
No, you don't need to remove skirting boards to take up carpet. The carpet is held by gripper rods fixed to the floor just in front of the skirting, so it lifts away without touching the boards. Take care when levering up the grippers so the crowbar doesn't dig into the bottom of the skirting.
How do you remove carpet that's glued to concrete?
Carpet glued to concrete comes up by cutting it into narrow strips and peeling them back slowly, using a floor scraper to break the bond as you go. Patches of backing and glue left behind can be scraped off with a long-handled scraper. Clean the floor fully before laying anything new, as old adhesive stops levelling compound and new floor adhesives bonding.
How long does it take to remove a carpet?
Removing carpet from an average room takes less than an hour once the furniture is out, including the underlay, staples and gripper rods. Larger rooms, stapled underlay and glued carpet all add time, as does carrying the rolls out. Having a sharp knife, spare blades and a crowbar ready before you start makes the biggest difference.
Why cut the carpet into strips instead of pulling it up in one piece?
Strips are far easier to handle because a whole room's worth of carpet is heavy, awkward and won't fit through a doorway or in the back of a car. Cut strips roughly 60 to 90 cm wide, and go narrower in an awkward room or where the carpet is thick. It's the step that makes the job manageable for one person.
When should I change the blade on the utility knife?
Fit a new blade before you start and keep spares handy, because carpet backing blunts a blade quickly. A blunt knife slips, which is when people cut themselves. Cutting from the back of the carpet where possible also helps, and a pack of fresh blades is the first item on our tools list.
What's the best way to get rid of the old carpet and grippers?
Take the carpet and underlay to a household recycling centre, since most take them, or book a council bulky waste collection or a skip for larger amounts. Check your council's website first for limits on DIY waste. Put grippers and staples in a separate strong rubble sack, because they tear straight through a standard bin bag.
What should I check once the carpet is up?
Check the floor underneath before anything new goes down. On timber boards, screw down any that creak and replace any that are split or soft. If the room is cold underfoot, lifting a few boards to fit insulation is easiest now. A concrete floor that's uneven or patchy needs levelling before most new floors.
Richard has spent years renovating properties and turning them into rentals and Airbnbs. Like a lot of people he started out as a beginner, and these days there isn't much DIY he won't take on.