Whats the best and cheapest way to remove carpet on stairs?
Please help, I need to know how to rip up carpet on a budget and correctly.
Related Discussions
Vinyl plank flooring vs pergo (laminate)
I currently have stinky dirty carpeting in my living room and I want to replace it with a durable flooring that can stand up to dogs and kids.
How to remove popcorn ceiling that has been painted?
Does having a paint over a popcorn ceiling change how I'd remove the popcorn ceiling?
How to apply peel and stick wallpaper?
I want to spruce up my walls with peel-and-stick wallpaper. Has anyone used this before and can advise me as to how to apply it properly?
How to stain wood floor?
I've heard staining is a good technique for updating floors. So how do I stain my wood floor?
What is the best way to remove old carpet glue from linoleum floors?
The carpet was an indoor/outdoor carpet. It has been in my grandparents’ home since the 80's and I need to remove it. My husband is severe COPD and using somethin... See more
What is the best way to remove kitchen soffits?
I am going to renovate my kitchen and have soffit I want to remove to add cabinets yo the ceiling for more storage.
Tammie,
Use a utility knife with a new blade to cut the carpet under the lip of a stair from one side to the other and peel it back. If you accidentally knick the the wood it won't show. You will quickly see if the treads are real wood or just plywood. Depending on how well the carpet was installed, you might find the carpet is attached to tack strips and the padding is stapled to the wood. It could also have been glued or have double sided carpet tape. Just pull the carpet free from the tack strip and cut it again so you are not dealing with unwieldy pieces of carpet. Use a pair of needle nose pliers or a small flat head screwdriver to get at difficult staples. If you are going to re-carpet, leave the tack strips in place. If you decide to restore the wood, remove the tack strips with a small pry bar. Once you remove the carpet from a tread, you will be able to get to the staples holding the padding or any pieces on the side, which may also have been glued. There are a ton of tutorials on Youtube, Pinterest, and here on Hometalk on how to refinish your stairs.
Here's a link:
https://www.homedit.com/how-to-remove-and-install-carpet/
I tackled this project as well! Check out my how-to post here:
https://www.unexpectedelegance.com/inexpensive-stair-runner/
Hi Tammie,
Here's an article from Home Depot that should help you. Note that they recommend safety equipment. There is probably a lot of dust, dirt and germs under that carpet so that is important. Wishing you the best.
https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-remove-carpet-from-stairs/9ba683603be9fa5395fab901bb59c986
Here's an idea https://www.hometalk.com/diy/staircases/removing-carpet-from-stairs-and-painting-them-191558
Removing Carpet from Stairs and Painting Them
No specific easy way. Get a small pry bar. The come in all sizes at Home Depot or even Walmart. Start at one edge and pull up a spot then get the pry bar under the nail heads and start to remove them. Since you aren't saving the carpet pull up when you can to remove pieces to make finding the nail heads easier.
Cut it with a utility knife into manageable sections. Have a tack puller to pull the hundreds of tacks out. If you can pull it loose and yank it down, that's good. Mine wasn't that easy. It was glued, stapled and nailed. The rubber backing had adhered to the wood, and had to be scraped off. Once the carpet is off, you'll have a better idea of the next things you will have. There will be dirt that worked it's way under, the tacks, nails, any adhesive or other residue. It's messy, frustrating but, ultimately a project that anyone can do with a little patience!
Here you go https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-remove-carpet-from-stairs/9ba683603be9fa5395fab901bb59c986
Once they are lifted off the grippers around the edges they should just lift off.
Hi Tammie,
Lever it up with a large screw driver? Good luck!
Lots of ideas here:
https://www.hometalk.com/search/posts?filter=remove%20carpet%20from%20stairs
Pull it off and then pull out all the staples with a pliers