How to Remove Carpet from a Cement Floor

Tack Strips

• 1

  Put on the protective eye wear and work gloves. Pull back the carpet and carpet pad in one corner of the room with a pair of pliers. The pliers give you a better grip on that first section of carpet. Continue pulling, and the carpet and pad will release slowly from the tack strips.

• 2

  Roll up the carpet and carpet pad and set aside.

• 3

  Place the flat end of the pry bar where the tack strip meets the floor. Hit the pry bar from behind with the hammer to begin separating the tack strip from the cement. Avoid being hit by pieces of concrete that may fly up while the tack strip is being removed.

• 4

  Lift the loosened tack strip from the cement. Continue using the pry bar until all the tack strips in the room are removed.

• 5

  Discard the tack strips, carpet pad and carpet.

Carpet Glue

• 6

  Cut lines into the carpet, one foot apart, the entire length of the room.

• 7

  Pull up each one-foot carpet strip from the floor.

• 8

  When all the strips are removed, pour hot water on a small portion of any remaining carpet glue. Wait 10 minutes or at least until the glue is pliable. Remove the glue with the scraper. Quickly wipe the glue off the scraper into a trash can before it hardens.

• 9

  Apply a chemical adhesive remover to clean up the glue that you couldn't remove with the hot water. Wipe the cement clean with the scraper.

• 10

  Discard the tack strips, carpet pad and carpet.