There's a Better Way to Remove Carpet!!! 

I save the last strip of carpet to wrap the tack strips in. Throw the strips in the carpet and then roll up the carpet, encasing the strips (and all those nasty tacks).

My 12 year old is the best tool ever for pulling carpet strips and staples!

Good call checking what's under the carpet before you go cutting through it. In my new house, we ended up ripping up a bunch of the carpets and discovered that somebody had actually decided to carpet over a bunch of beautiful hardwood floors(!) We pulled all the carpet out, only had to do a slight refinishing on the hardwood, and the floors absolutely gorgeous now. We really lucked out.

Being a landlord, I remove the carpet myself to save cost. After it's all clean I paint the floor before the new carpet goes down. It prevents any smells from the last tenant and protects the wood from any pet accidents.

whoa, the shovel idea is genius!

This couldn't have come at a better time for me. The wife wants the whole house done in LVP and the carpet gone. You're doing the lord's work lol

Even though KNEW it was a fake finger, I physically winced every time you took a swipe at it!😆

You don't make so many videos as others but when you do they are spot on and of the right size. Same difference as many conventional bombs vs those winged precision ones. You definitely deserve more subscribers!

Save a piece of carpet or padding to roll the tack strips up in. You’ll bleed less!

I learned a trick a long time ago, when you get the carpet rolled up cut a 2" strip half way across the edge, on the top of the roll cut two slits parallel about 6" wide in the middle and then tuck the strip through them, keeps the roll together without tape and makes a handle to carry it outside.

Great Video! Just did this to my carpeting and yes, wish I had used the shovel trick! Great points all around! Thanks!👍

Loved the shovel trick!

When I was replacing our carpet last weekend and pulling all those nasty staples I said, I can’t imagine a contractor on his hands and needs prying 200 staples out. Here’s my answer. Great vid!

Great video. I also learned a few tricks when they installed my carpet. You can just throw the carpet out the window once you roll it. Also, if you cut partially down the rolled up carpet so that you have a ribbon hanging off and then make two slits along the center, you can just shove the ribbon through the slits so that it stays rolled up.

Regarding the staples - I don't have a scraper and will certainly consider one next time, but corrugated needle-nose electrician's pliers are absolutely amazing for removing staples. They have the grip and the leverage that put normal pliers to shame.

Best Funny Carpenter on RU-vid! Keep up the good work! Seriously, thanks for all the awesome vids, super informative and well done.

You have great tips on your videos! You do all these things I do all the time but find some magic tip. I am a painter by trade but a handy man as well. The tape video for balusters… genius. Black line on caulk, spade and floor scraper.. really thanks.

U, are the greatest dude, who saved a lot of dudes, all over the planet. 😮

I've been in the home improvement - restoration business for about 30 years and I use the same procedure and it's the best way. I do use duct tape for holding the rolls together, but really anything you have handy will work, even box tape. I use a regular utility knife but I'm sure that other type is fine. One thing that was left out and it will save you years of aggravation is take care of any floor squeaks before reinstalling carpet or whatever flooring you're using. Get a box of 2.5 inch torx head deck screws, or really any 2.5 inch wood screws that you have handy, even 2 inch is better than nothing, and go down every floor joist and screw the subfloor down. This will prevent squeaks and will also eliminate existing squeaks and this is the perfect time to do it. You can go around and target the areas that squeak, but I generally go through and just screw everything as if it is a new subfloor. If it was originally installed with screws then you probably won't need to. But most subfloors are put down with nails and they tend to get squeaky when you walk on them after a few years. On the butt joints put a screw about every 4 or 5 inches, and maybe five screws is fine for the places where there is no butt joint, you can do more if you want. A power drill will work but an impact driver is much better for this.

Useful advice. Thank you for sharing.

The reason why i do the staples the same time as the pad as an installer is because I can just take a razor scraper and just go under wherever the padding has been stapled down, and just knock them out of the wood nice and easy. it's pretty easy since most of the time you just have staples along the seems, and the corners.

Really appreciate the way you explain things. Thanks for sharing this!

The end was brilliant. Thank you sir

Very good video: informative and funny. Thank you!

Having done carpet demo myself I wish I had known these tips first! Great tips!

Would love a tip for tearing tac strip up off cement. I basically pried off the strip and then used nail pullers to rock out every tac strip nail. It was a pain and breaks up the concrete a bit too.

The paddy shovel will always lead to your arrest if you are pulled over by the plod on the way home.

Watching the "PROS" use the scraper to pop the staples, they only get about half or so, the rest of the staples just get pressed flat into the plywood; and they leave them. So don't roll up the pad, use the scraper with the pad still stapled down. That tiny bit of pad under the staple's crown gives the scraper something to push against and pop the staple instead of plowing it down, and you'll have a lot less to go back and pull by hand to do the job correctly.

One of those tools for removing shingles from roofs actually works pretty well for the tack strip as well.

I wish I had seen this video last year. We removed all the carpet from our upstairs bedrooms. The underlay had so many staples in it there was no way we could have rolled it up like you did. I had no idea we could have left the tack strip in place for the new carpet that was going in. Lesson learned.

Thanks for the great video, at the end I really liked the bonus tip to get rid of those pesky pointer fingers!

This is amazing!! I’ve removed all those nails really fast and easy with the spade shovel! Thanks!!

Yeah, I caught the "rocket surgery" throwaway. Good one.

Rocket surgery 😆😂🤣, outstanding tips!!!

Wow! Learned something new today. In one room of our 1898 Queen Anne there is 50 year old carpet on top of 100 year old carpet which is on top of a horsehair pad. Talk about yucky! The pad doesn't roll up, I have to pull it off in chunks and bag it. I'll have to be careful with the spade too, as I don't want to damage the oak flooring beneath. But I'm going to give it a try. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Very good video as always. One suggestion that I have found works remarkably well (hence my remark), is the hook blades! Great for shingles, and also amazing for things like carpet. Thanks for your combo of education and humor!

Amazingggggg, I owe you a lot of time. That shovel trick killllled it. Thank you

Great tip with the tape on the rolls!!!

Thank you for saving me three days of hassle!

Nice simple tips for everyone, like it! Just one modification: having cut a convenient width of carpet, _do not_ roll it as demonstrated, but gently flip it to the side it's not that difficult, and roll it _inwards_ not outwards. The woven top surface of the carpet remains intact and is comfortable to grab hold of and won't leave your clothes impregnated with sh*t, whereas the bottom of a 30 year old carpet has probably turned into black tar-like glue that will crack and fragment everywhere once you start rolling it, and the underlay is the worst substance known to man for flaking into sticky bits impossible to get out of the wallpaper and carpets of the rest of the house as you brush against walls and banisters and tread in the bits. Especially foul is the ancient 35+ year old rubber or extruded man-made gooy foam stuff that sticks to the boards and wants to break into bits. That's when you grab the nice long wide scraper as demonstrated, keep away from the stuff, and scrape it all up and over onto your flipped carpet and remains of underlay, then roll up the whole shebang with "nice clean" (filthy threadbare!) intact carpet on the outside ready for you to manhandle.

“It’s not rocket surgery.” I’m gonna use this gem many times in the future!🤣🤣

Great video. Only thing I'd suggest is using a carpet knife instead if you're going to be doing this a lot. They last a lot longer and cut through carpet like it's nothing. I never tried a shovel to remove tack strips, I usually use my long pry bar and essentially do the same thing as the shovel.

My water heater blew water all over my house last week and i had to tear out about 600sq ft of carpet. I cut it into about 2ft wide lengths, rolled them up with the pad and set inside contractor waste bags. Tied the bag up and tossed it to the curb. My house is on a wood slab, so I didnt have to worry about staples. The tack strips came off quickly with an Irwin pry bar. Now I got to learn how to lay vinyl plank flooring.

My tip... open the window & screen and just toss the rolls out. Don't drag the mess through the house. LOL Those trim pullers are worth their weight in gold. I have the version that has a hinged portion in the middle of its blade (Goldblatt)... love that tool for yanking baseboards, door/window trim, etc. Saves the drywall from getting all banged up.

Best hack ever!!!!! Thanks 🤩🤩

Thank you, Funny Carpenter.

About z4 yr ago i had to remove 1600sqfrt of carpet i did the staples 1 by 1 with the claw, now i have some regrets over the hours i could have spent doing something else. Great tips thanks

They make an actual spade for this on a pole but the shovel works just as well.

My previous homeowner used hundreds of staples to attach the rug, and then did it again with the padding.

So I use a rotor hammer and a shovel bit for both these jobs. Ten times faster and far less labor. Works super well on concrete as well. Try it.

You’re pretty good actually.

You'll find its easier to cut carpet with the grain which almost always runs with the length of the room. If you do it right you don't cut any carpet at all. The blade goes in between the rows of yarn and all you cut is backing.

the scraper is okay for plywood floors for the staples.But if you have hard wood floors it doesnt work that good at all ,the hard wood holds those staples in there.Plus you dont want to be scrapping the floors your going to redo.you also dont want to use the shovel on a hard wood floor either.

I saw a guy take a 'T' shape multi-tool blade and ground the back edge into a hook, that he then sharpened the edge of. He said it was good for cutting carpet. No demonstration, and I haven't tried it, but it sound like it has potential. I've been cutting my carpet into 1-foot strips so it will fit in my garbage can.

quote of the day at minute five..."it's not rocket surgery". 😂 LOL

Are you able to use the scraper for the staples if you have hardwood floors under the carpet you intend to refinish?

My issue is that the floors underneath are brand new. They installed carpet on brand new floors. House was built in 1973.

Carpet layer here. All that's good except use the scraper to knock loose the tackstrip and fold the carpet over and cut it from the back. Much easier and faster. Cheers.

The shovel, two questions: who was the first person crazy enough to try this, and why didn't any of us think of it sooner?

a carpet hook for the multi tool is the only way to cut carpet! like butter, so fast!

So I’m removing old baseboard and trim and installing new. The floor is carpeted but I’m getting new carpet in the spring. My question is…. How high should I install the new base board up off the floor so that the new carpet can still tuck under it? Is there an ideal height that is not to high or too low? The new carpet is probably going to be a medium pile and I will probably be keeping the existing tack strip as long as it’s in good condition. Thanks in advance for any tips/info you can provide!!!

"rocket surgery" LOL!!!

I had a lot of carpet to remove and I bought a set of electric rotary shears on Amazon. I think they were 40 bucks and they go through carpet like butter.

It’s a lot easier to cut burbour carpet with the grain instead of against it, as you did. Also, you can get rid of those staples in seconds with a belt sander.

Ah damn! I’m getting that spade shovel tip about a month late!! Ah well, C’est la vie, I didn’t throw my back out with my pry bar so if to that going for me

For more than thirty years I owned multfamily housing. I have ripped up a lot of carpet. I think I am going to find out that I could have done it a lot faster if I had know what is in this video. We'll see. Pulling the carpet out: Little or no improvement. I liked rolling it into as big a roll as I could handle. I might have even been faster. Pulling out the tack strip: Big improvement. Using the shovel looked great to me. Pulling out the staples: I'm not sure now, but I think I did it sort of like that. I used a heavy floor scraper.

I just discovered wood flooring under the 1970s orange carpeting in my Dad's house. Any thoughts on how to not cause damage to the wood flooring underneath?

First of all this was very helpful thank you! Second of all “rocket surgery” is very Michael Scott 😂

Is the Zenith tool safe to use on hardwood floors?

Wuss - two hands. smh but on a serious note wouldn't have thought of a shovel for the tack strip - adding to my mental tips for next time. Last time I did it, it was painful.... tho it was into concrete. Looking forward to a SLC video in the near future - mapei or sika125 - oh the suspense!

I’m on a cement slab. Taking up carpet would be pulling that tacking edge out of cement right?

Sadly I have beige carpet throughout the apartment - ha! But it is laid on a concrete slab. The baseboards will need repair and painting then new carpet laid - any suggestions as to how I should approach this project.

The best thing about cutting the carpet into strips is your trash service will accept it with your regular stop, no need to call for bulk disposal.

Great video!! And you're right...its not rocket surgery 😂

as a carpet fitter of 40 years i used to use a spade but I couldn't help but notice how car the gripper had been fitted from the skirting lol how the hell can you get a nice tight tuck with that,

with both you justc grab and pull. carpet will come out with a good tug and bring all the carpet grips with it. maybe its a rough approach but its what ive always done and its all over in ten mins.

Important question: With the staples, what do you when you don’t want to mark up the floor? We renovated much of our house and the owners before us put carpet over very nice pine floors. We decided to take the carpet out and refinish the pine flooring. We ripped up the carpet downstairs and had to take out the staples one by one on our hands and knees… Which was a very long and painful process. We still have staples to take out upstairs and it would be so nice to have an easier way to take them out. Thoughts?

3:55 oh man, I totally see an easily made custom tool for this job.

Scraping staples is faster, but pulling them one by one is the way to go. Scraping them sends them flying. One gets stuck in the bottom of your shoe. You scratch your brand new floor. I've seen it happen.

Tell us about those Saucony shoes!

I knew that!

can you take a video of how to peel up copper tax strips on a plywood in subfloor please at micro on 1338 Margaret Rd. please?

Some cities have carpet recycling programs. Some will recycle carpet, some carpet and padding. Beats paying to haul it to the dump.

Try that when the tac strip is done on concrete.

Unfortunately shovel will not work when it’s a concrete subfloor. Wood subfloor is way easier

Did you know for the majority of carpets the gripper should be placed the thickness of wood part only of the gripper away from the skirting inable to stretch the carpet over it.. tuck it down and hold in place... that gripper in the Vid is to far away from the skirts

slamming wholeheartedly into the wall is such a mood fr XD

The floor scraper you recommend is no longer available based on your link

Spade shovel?

my kitchen has really disgusting carpet that im trying to remove. I pulled a corner up and it looks like cement underneath. How do I keep the concrete from pulling up with the carpet? TiA

I wish I did it that way 😂 I still have the strips to do though so that's useful. Carpet is so nasty. Why would you want it when you could glide through cleaning with a giant industrial broom thing on a hard floor anyway? 💡

What tape do you use to wrap the carpet please? Thanks

Wow, i didn't know that Canadians were made of carrots..!!!

Leave the tac strip up side for renters who never ever pay

If the carpet is fighting, a C-clamp bites harder than your hand and provides a handle to grab.

Thank you.🤣

At 4:53 “it’s not rocket surgery” 😁 Nice. Combining brain surgery and rocket science!

The inside of Canadian fingers are weird😂😂

Wish I saw this months ago when I tore up 3 bedrooms of carpet

where to send carpet to be recycled?