HOW TO REMOVE STUBBORN GLUE DOWN CARPET

Demonstration of Effective Methods and Tools for Removing Heavily Glued Down Carpet and Rental Information.
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Here are links to a few products used in this video
crain stand up cutter
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amzn.to/2ErszBY
carpet puller
tools4flooring.pxf.io/Kj360n
amzn.to/2Tjbcf3
00:23🔪 Demonstration of removing difficult carpet backing and tools used for the process.
03:14🔨 Struggling with removing heavily glued down carpet, demonstrating use of a unitary vacuum, cutting strips, and using a carpet puller.
07:21⚙️ Demonstration of using a floor scraper tool for removing glued-down carpet, including blade details and rental cost.
11:08⚙️ Demonstration of using a carpet removal machine with different blade types and adjustments for effective carpet removal.
16:05🔨 Demonstration of using a machine to remove stubbornly glued down carpet, including rental information and blade maintenance.

[@kerrylyons278]

I can see you've went through a lot to help others and I want you to know you're very much appreciated .

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Thank you

[@DB-cx6cb]

Well I’m exhausted just watching!😂I’m calling a floor installer, there’s just something’s you need to save money, this isn’t it!

[@kirrilopati4890]

Believe it or not I watch your videos for relaxation. Miss the Southern Accent from dealing with the boys at Mohawk and Southwind Carpets in Dalton. I used to buy carpet from them by the container load to ship down here. Appreciate the tips from here in New Zealand.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Cumorah Lopati ha ha ha well thank you for watching

[@WILSON0o6]

man just looking at this carpet makes me wanna cry. good info for the next glue down carpet.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Christian Wilson Man this was probably the toughest I ever took up

[@dognatious6153]

Here's the trick we use for glued down carpet (which you will see alot in industrial offices). Killing yourself on useless machines like the Rip r Stripper (Home Depot) is insane. Save your energy to kill the dumb contractors that cheated and glued down the carpet. Here is what we do. We cut strips like he did (into the carpet). The trick is to break the chemical bond in the glue---and it WILL break down. We soak the carpet by pouring hot water mixed with ammonia and Dawn in it. Get it real wet. The carpet acts as a sponge that keeps the fluid on the glue. Repeat this and leave it overnight. Repeat the next day. On day 2 or 3 you can simply slide the carpet off with manual floor scrapers. It comes right off and not in those ridiculous strands that take forever. Now that you have the carpet off you repeat the wetting process again, but use diluted vinegar and Dawn (or any strong detergent like Simple Green if you want to spend the extra money). Do this vinegar and hot water thing instead of the ammonia that you used before. Soak it GOOD. The next day it should behave like loose muck and the floor scrapers will just slide it off. Put it in wheel barrels. We do concrete floors, so our next step is to dry it and then start the diamond grinding processes. I swear by this method. It takes longer, but your crew will actually work less time and not be DEAD. Rip r Stripper is only for VCT. Trust me, we have done dozens of these. Just tell your client it will take a couple more days than brute force! Killing yourself is INSANE! If the ammonia (mentioned in the first step) is too strong of a smell, just use the vinegar and hot water (or any glue dissolving detergent/soap). Once I used Boraxo (US Borax) and hot water and it REALLY worked great too. Keep the glue wet and it will become soft like a wet bread once the glue's chemical bonding structure breaks---and when it breaks, it breaks completely like "bang". It just gives up all at once.

[@tiffanyholste1110]

What if you have a wood subfloor?

[@WonderfulPresent]

We're gonna be doing this in our house. I was wondering if hot water and vinegar would help. Thank you!! Do you rip into the carpet before the first application of the solution (dry), or do you soak the carpet and THEN cut the lines into it?

[@ianrichards6294]

❤

[@karenjmozee]

Wow I found this video trying to help a friend figure out how to get glued down carpet up and while I don’t have this issue I enjoyed watching this video.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Well thank you ma’am, I sure do hope that your friend Carpet was easier to come up then this

[@koledablueflame]

I have a music studio, I'm building a recording boot. The carpet was glued down just like how it is in this video thanks for showing us the proper tools to use 👍

[@twotone87200288]

I used to work with a professional flooring crew. We had to remove about 5000 sq ft of this stuff. I contemplated suicide 5 times that week....

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

jeremy davis Well I’m glad to see that you’re still with us

[@twotone87200288]

@@FloorsbySouthernboys lmao, well thank you. If it had been a wood subfloor I probably wouldnt be making his comment right now haha.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

jeremy davis hahaha😂😂🤣

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

dale marizzaldi No sir but it sounds awesome

[@poncetj]

😅🤣

[@IFNH8UALL]

I have a similar machine that I own, it was 8k but it's worth it. It has a power drive so it pushes itself and you get a blade that has wings on it so you don't need to precut the carpet, it does it for you as it drives. Works on paperback vinyl too.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Matt Veldkamp Those are really nice machines

[@keenatenorio6475]

We rented this exact machine but it was so labor intensive! We ended up getting a carpet gripper, tied it to the back of a truck and ripped it out that way. Now we are trying to figure out how to get the old glue up. We’re having the hardest time!

[@lastdayonearth8381]

Oh My God Good Luck. Anybody Who Came Up With The Idea Of Glueing Down Carpet Was Definitely Lazy And Tarted. Jesus H.

[@MSRWorkshop]

I just did that. I used a concrete prep tool with carbide teeth to remove the glue. It took 2 days to remove 2000sf of glue. It did a good job but it was hard. I had to add about 50lbs to the top of the grinder to get more of a bite.

[@jerryweed4123]

Thanks for posting I had some carpet glued down with Robert’s 3095. Sentinel products didn’t do much to loosen it. I rented this machine from Home Depot online. When I picked it up I found it was a another brand machine ( they didn’t even have the FCS16) - however the I instructions were for the machine you used here. The blade was upside down for carpet over concrete ( bevel was down instead of up ) and the blade had a number of chunks missing ). There was no tool to remove the blade. I used the machine any way. It worked but seemed about as difficult as your project - very slow moving. It took about 2.5 hours per room - 200 SF each. It still left a very sticky floor beneath. I am still working on removing that. I got 1.5 rooms done in a day. A company wanted 1000 to do the job.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Wow, that’s messed up they gave you a blade like that

[@keenatenorio6475]

What did you do to remove the old adhesive?

[@DocJayWeed]

@@keenatenorio6475 I tried the Sentinel products 747 and 626 before the carpet machine - it may have loosened a little. Just sprayed it on with a pump sprayer. Once I got the carpet up , I used the same stuff and manual scrapers. It was a job I never want to do again. Very messy. I still haven’t cleaned off the tools I used for the job. I still Put down a vapor barrier so it would stick to any tackiness left in the concrete and not to the floating vinyl floor

[@davewaters8917]

Thanks for the great video!

[@ish233]

I feel your pain. My basement got flooded a bit and needed to remove an already glued down carpet. I was thinking about renting a scraping machine, but I think like you said at the other video. There is no easy way around getting up a glued carpet. I think it'll all just be manual scrapers that I have. That's serious labor intensive for me to afford anyone at the moment. And finding better less strong more natural dhesive removers than super strong ones that need serious aerating.

[@nathancharles5]

Makes you wonder why people glue carpet down, they need to plan better.

[@ish233]

@@nathancharles5 I get it, especially on concrete for an aesthetic without rising areas, which also helps with an almost added extra layer with the glue. There probably should be something just like that though, a two layered heavier padding attached to the tug to weigh it down, bit also needing to have some fastened stretched areas. I'm just brain storming, regardless it's so annoying to clean up.

[@patrickday6556]

Does that scraper take up the glue as well or is there something else you used to remove the glue?

[@trevapotter9239]

I see now that I was a little shaky at the beginning videoing.... bear with me I will improve

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Treva Potter It’s OK sugar will get it going

[@benboatwright8448]

Wow, I remember taking up Unitary! What a beast. Machine is definitely the way to go. One trick is to cut those strips across the weft or grain of the carpet. Keeps it from unraveling as you pull on it.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Ben Boatwright Thank you again much needed info

[@1649Ghaffari]

Why even glue the carpet down there is a better to install the carpet, rather than making such a mess down the road.

[@javieldiaz6914]

Life saver thanks for a quick tip and life lesson

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Javiel Diaz 👍

[@mspinchey]

Could you possibly pour rubbing alcohol on it if it is glued to the slab. Rubbing alcohol dissolves glue.

[@tonderkaf9809]

Good job man 👍👍👍

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

tonder kaf Thank you

[@azwildman5324]

So let's say I got ahead of myself and ripped all the carpet up but the fibers are still glued down with the machine take up just the fibers and glue?

[@donalddecker2907]

Maybe you said this in the video, is there a special blade for this machine if it's on concrete?

[@abdualhaqjj4204]

Thank you

[@mnjmh]

What did you charge per square yard to remove that glue down carpet with the machine? And if The carpet would have pulled up with your hand what would you have charged

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

J Heise I can’t remember, I think it was four dollars a yard, but I can’t be sure of that, and I just added the rental of this tour to the bill, so I did not pay for it myself, typically I charge two dollars for glue down carpet to come off

[@skinnyman1434]

That FC is a Baaaad Mamajama. Thanks.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

David Gaffney 👍

[@terenceharley7081]

The stand up cutter can only be used completely down. If you extend the pole and tighten it down the pole will not stay extended. As bad as that carpet is at least the glue is dry and not still sticky.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

I always use my cutter all the way down, I feel like I have more power with it like that, yeah that could’ve been a lot worse glue

[@carpetguy-sk7tp]

I remember using one of those too tear out old rubber back carpet like Viking the black rubber back was the one that suck

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

carpet guy 1970 Yup the stuff definitely sucked

[@edwh164]

Do you have an idea of how many square feet a day you could take out with that machine? Also did you sharpen the blades your self during the day or not? Thanks

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

edwh164 About 2000 ft.² is what it took up that day, and I bought two or three blades I can’t remember, did not sharpen them just replaced them

[@rctilecarpentry2429]

Cool..!

[@fredtowns78]

You got a bad one!!! Need two guys on this!!

[@fredtowns78]

Watching the angle you body was in tells me this take up wore you out!! When you get in your 50s it makes it hard to move the next day!!! Trust me I know!!!

[@robertjanez7467]

Great video - thanks for posting. very informative!. I want to remove the carpet in my condo bedroom. I believe it was glued to the concrete subfloor. I guess I'll need to rent that same machine to smooth out the concrete (remove any glue) before I lay the acoustic underlayment ( new condo soundproofing requirement), or possible use a scrapper like I did with the mortar underneath my bathroom tile...what a messy and loud job that was ....iiiiii. That type of adhesive should not have been allowed in years past.

[@michaelmihalis4482]

You'll know if it's glue down if there's no padding and if you grab the carpet hairs and lift up the carpet doesn't move

[@loismosley6462]

Thank you for the video. I am attempting this in a small basement. My sister and I are are removing beber carpet.

[@BillClay88]

When I first got into flooring in 90s. We had a gold's gym in Boston by fenway to do. 3-4" strips to pull up, this crap with all that weight on floor for god knows how many yrs .. no stripper machine. Even the muscle heads who worked there had trouble and tapped out. Worst job I've ever been a part of. Wow.

[@melodydow8729]

Im dealing with the very same issue as your video an what a pain in the a$$ its been trying to get the old nasty carpet an all the friggin adhesive glue from off of a hardwood floor . thanks for the video cuz. Yes take a machine to try remove it !

[@whatthehellimbored]

Just spent a week pulling up the first floor of a hospital, Whoever laid it used nail glue or something of the sort for some of the rooms it was a nightmare.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

whatthehellimbored Yikes, sure makes it hard when people don’t use the proper products

[@chrisryu4742]

I've dealt with some where I couldn't even get the pole cutter to work, and I had to cut everything up into 4-6in strips even with the machine lol.

[@craiglevitan8770]

does this machine eliminate the step of also having to remove the old glue.? looked pretty clean afterwards.....could someone please comment & let me know......Thanks.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Craig Levitan No sir it does not remove the glue

[@dfailsthemost]

@@FloorsbySouthernboys can you use a heavy duty floor buffer to get rid of the glue? With maybe a black pad?

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

dfailsthemost You can use that with an easy scrape blade on it. www.tools4flooring.com/taylor-tools-ez-scrape.html

[@chrissheafer]

Where I'm from you get one buck a yard for tear up including unitary. If I rented a machine I would just be doing it completely free plus my helpers, so in the hole. I can break even if we do it by hand. Prices in these parts suck bad.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Chris Sheafer Oh snap, yeah that’s extremely cheap for tearing up glue down carpet

[@larrybrennan9700]

Thanks! We just bought a house with glued down carpet in a converted garage. Now know what I'm up against.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Larry Brennan Don’t be discouraged, it’s not all this bad

[@shawnmoore5621]

Nice video bud! I have a machine made by national called a panther that would make your work much easier and faster, or I'd use my big machine "terminator 3000" with that machine I could tear that whole room up in 10 minutes no problem. Keep up the great videos!!

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

shawn moore thank you

[@toddabrams3260]

Great video my friend!! How many days did you have to rent the machine to do that rip up?

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Todd Abrams I am actually not done yet that’s a side job so I’m just working on it in my spare time so it will probably take me three days of rental to Finis or to get it all tore up three days total, but I’ve done the downstairs for the same person and I explained the cost of the machine to her so it is no cost out of my pocket she is covering the cost of the machine

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Todd Abrams She actually told me just charge me whatever because you’re worth it so that was nice, not that I will take a vantage of her but just nice to know I don’t have to worry about cutting myself short

[@toddabrams3260]

@@FloorsbySouthernboys that is awesome!! Can't wait to see the Installation completed!!

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Todd Abrams Me too it is carpet tiles like I did on the downstairs of the building and I don’t have any videos on carpet tiles so that will be fun to do a video on that, I wanted to when I done the downstairs but I just didn’t have the time I was really crunched for time I actually worked till 430 in the morning just to get it finished up that time, hopefully I won’t be so crunched for time on the Upstairs

[@toddabrams3260]

@@FloorsbySouthernboys I look forward to seeing it!!

[@lennypignatello7493]

Man those carpet cutters and the carpet clamps are back savers and knee savers

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Yup

[@fabriciogonzales7993]

@@FloorsbySouthernboysWhere can I find the carpet cutter and what is the name of the product? It really saves your knees and back !

[@dognatious6153]

Rip R Stripper works great on VCT. That what it is designed for, really. See the KZbin videos on this machine.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

👍

[@eddizonmartinez3733]

Had to remove 240 yards of straight stubborn glue down just like this one and honestly the machine is the only way it would come out

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

eddizon martinez I agree this job was a nightmare, but it could’ve had Freddy Krueger in it if I had not had the machine

[@marcusl8243]

I'm 23 and my body is already killing me from flooring... could I ever get a link to the stand up cutter thing and a link for the stand up scrapper... Im sick of using a carpet knife and my bare hands... freaking kills your body and that piece of crap carpet comes up like a mess like you explained haha

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

www.tools4flooring.com/crain-265-stand-up-cutter.html

[@thermal1580]

What a horror show. You're pleased with that contraption? $90 a day? You're a better man than me I would have brought it back to HD and thrown it through their window.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

thermal 15 Ha ha ha, I just figure that cost him with the demo bill So I don’t actually cost me anything

[@herculydia]

After watching this I think I'd pay my insurance and torch the floor using kerosene

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

😂😂

[@jromero584]

👍

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

j romero 😀👍

[@andybrace4983]

That bigger blade sure did the trick

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Andy brace Yes

[@jmfloorstories717]

That looks like a rental. You outta buy your own Crain has them on sale for like around 1900 bucks.

[@tommiespencer7829]

I wonder if the guys who did that job before you saw this video and threw a party for not getting a callback to do it again.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

😂😂

[@jbailey252]

where can we rent such a machine

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Home Depot

[@alinehme9425]

I’m not 17 years old anymore f ripping that sht out with my bare hands. Nope no thank you. The machine is the best way to go. People make sure to charge extra whenever you see carpet glued down! Even if it’s easy to rip up. Make it worth it.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Agree

[@habanohal]

Get yourself a Wolfe durostripper

[@fredtowns78]

You should make enough to pay yourself a good day's pay for a hard day's work plus enough to pay for the days expenses!!

[@Amd32222]

I just spent the day doing it with a crowbar 😭

[@trevapotter9239]

That was some Stubborn stuff 😩

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Treva Potter Yes it was a nightmare

[@thebadbackbackpacker]

I'm doing a carpet now like this. Who in their right mind lays a carpet like this? They have no consideration for the person who has to get it off again. A room 2 meters by 4 meters is going to take hours!!! In the UK I used to lay carpet and take up the old one. Could take up and lay a room this size within half an hour! People who lay carpet like this are just plain idiots!!!

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

thebadbackbackpacker agreed

[@josealdape5066]

I remember we poured water on it once and scraped it off lol, since we didn't have a machine

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Smart move

[@fredtowns78]

I don't know what you get per yrd but probably not enough!!?? I got $3.00 per yd back 10 years ago!!

[@alexcleroux3054]

Just ripped one out with fresh glue lol man it sucked.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Goalie #30 Yes it does, this was old tour of the glue is light powdery whenever come up it was all gritty But it was still a nightmare to get up, the video I did at SimonsPhysical therapy where I was dealing with the blue commercial carpet, that was fresh it had only been down I think two months and it was awful

[@ultrafaga1947]

EVERY installer should be forced to watch this video! This is what happens when you use TOO MUCH glue!

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Yup

[@enkrypt3d]

stoppppp shakkkkkking theee caaaaaaammmmmmerrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaa

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

i know right

[@richiedelgado2406]

that’s literally like cutting grass

[@ravindranair5179]

A Beaver 300 be nice here from Floorex Products

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Ravindra Nair Thank you for your feedback

[@jessicaduffield1899]

The beeping intro is very annoying. I just had to say that.

[@michaelbrown2285]

This is torcher . It done ain't werkin

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Michael Brown 😂

[@Mars2152]

That count down sucks..

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

MarsShaker War * 😮 sorry

[@stelas9307]

What a nightmare job.

[@lindafoofoo]

Thank you for a good demo on how to use the machine. I don't think you needed to show us 15 minutes of running the machine, It got very boring after 3 to 5 minutes. Quality is always better than quantity.

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

OK thank you for your feedback

[@nevinleiby]

I enjoyed the troubleshooting. And it was a nice break for my back 😂

[@tkomow2]

Make's no sense to push to cut.

[@Jak259]

Most annoying intro ever

[@FloorsbySouthernboys]

Awesome thank you