Many homeowners like the look of hardwood flooring, particularly in the downstairs living space. As a recent customer in Amherst NH expressed, it can be nerve-wracking to rip up the carpet in a room of your home to put down a hardwood floor, particularly when you aren’t sure what condition the floor will be in when the carpet is lifted.
Stripping the Floors to Make Way for Hardwood
If possible, it is helpful to know how the carpet was installed before beginning the removal process. How is the carpet and padding secured? Some products that may be used to remove the glue residue can react differently to a stone floor versus wood flooring. What you find underneath can vary greatly based on the age of your home and when the floor was most recently replaced.
Before installing hardwood floors not only must the existing carpet be removed, but the floors underneath must be taken down to the original sub floor surface. Essentially this removal process happens in reverse, going from the carpet and pad removal to the tack strips around the edges and any nails holding them in place.
The removal of carpeting is a simple process, but the pad underneath can be a bit more complicated, depending on whether it was installed using glue or staples. After the carpet has been stripped back to the sub floor it is important to do a visual inspection. The floor underneath should be solid and inflexible. Walking on every sub floor panel will identify any problems that may need to be addressed before installing the new hardwood.
In the case of the Amherst homeowner, her sub floor was in excellent condition and the hardwood flooring installation was seamless. She couldn’t be happier with her room’s new look and the entire process.