Ripping Up Old Carpet

Put on your safety goggles and work gloves.

Remove any transition strips at doorways leading out of the room. Transition strips are made of wood or metal, and are used to provide a finished edge where two different types of flooring meet. Push the pry bar under the transition strip and pry it up, working from one end of the strip to the other. Don't be concerned about damaging the transition strip, because they are not intended to be reinstalled after removal.

Grip the edge of one corner of the carpet with the pliers and pull up until it separates from the floor.

Set the pliers aside and grip the carpet with your hands. Then pull back on the carpet to separate it from the floor. If the carpet is held to the floor with a tack strip, you may have to shake the carpet to dislodge it from the tack. If there is no tack strip, the carpet may be glued to the floor and you can simply pull it back to separate it from the floor.

Continue pulling back on the carpet, working your way from one end of the wall to the other. Pull the carpet back halfway across the room, then lay it back on the floor, avoiding the tack strip if there is one. The carpet on that side of the room should now be loose, but laying flat on the floor.

Remove the carpet on the other side of the room in the same fashion, starting at the edge of one of the walls where the carpet is loose and working your way around until the rest of the carpet has been pulled up from the floor.

Cut the carpet in strips from one side of the room to the other using a utility knife. To make the carpet easier to dispose of, the width of the strips should be no more than 3 feet.

Roll up each strip of carpet, then wrap a layer of duct tape around each end of the carpet to prevent it from unrolling. This will make it easier for you to remove from the home and dispose of.