LESLIE: Leland in Washington needs some help removing a carpet. Tell us what the situation is.
LELAND: Well, my question is somebody that likes to work hard to remove carpet that’s glued down.
TOM: OK.
LELAND: It’s been down a long time. (chuckles) I need to have a good idea to help me with this project.
TOM: Well, Leland, what kind of flooring do you want to put down if you can get that carpet back up?
LELAND: Oh, it’ll probably be your laminated flooring.
TOM: OK. Well, if that’s the case, then all you really need to do is to scrape as much of that rubber off as you can. A laminate floor can take a little bit of unevenness underneath it; and so, as long as you scrape off as much as you can – even if some of the staining and little bits of the old, rubber backing remain – you can go right on top of that.
LELAND: If I am not getting it off, is there any solution of a liquid or anything can help release …?
TOM: There certainly are some options but I’ve got to tell you that if you do use any of those types of chemicals, you’re going to have an unpredictable result. Because when you add some of those solvents to that old rubber backing, sometimes it comes off and sometimes it gets worse.
LESLIE: Mm-hmm. And either way, it’s going to be a stinky mess.
TOM: I think you’re better off scraping it down, getting it nice and flat and then putting the laminate right on top of that. You’ll find the laminate floors come with their own underlayment that helps make up some of the difference in the unevenness of the floor and that’s clearly the best way to go.
Leland, thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.
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