Gluing carpet squares to a concrete floor was once a popular DIY home improvement project for homeowners with basements. These self adhesive carpet squares were inexpensive and easy to install, and brought warmth and color to an otherwise unused room.
Removing those old carpet squares and glue is an easy DIY project for a homeowner, but does take time and patience.
Getting started
Before tackling a carpet & glue removal project, you will need a few basic supplies. These include:
Contractor sized hefty bags for collecting the carpet
2" wide putty knife
Rubber mallet or hammer
Razor scraper or pole sander
Removing the carpet squares
Starting with the threshold, slide the putty knife beneath the carpet edge to locate the corner of one of the squares. Use the putty knife to gently pry up enough of the corner so that it can be grabbed with the fingers and peeled off the floor. Repeat this process with each of the remaining squares.
If the carpet squares won't budge, they must be chiseled off instead. This is done by placing the putty knife beneath the carpet square, and gently tapping the handle with the rubber mallet.
Removing the carpet glue
While there are many commercial adhesive removers specifically for carpet glues, one of the drawbacks of this type of product is that it will wick into a porous concrete floor and prevent future floor adhesives from bonding. If you plan on replacing those old carpet squares with new carpet, tile, or linoleum, you should avoid commercial adhesive removers and try one of these methods instead:
No comments:
Post a Comment