I just got a large swath of heavy-duty gym mats for my new home gym in the new house… they’re great, really. Now, in the basement is a giant amount of well placed carpet. Its great in the TV area and stuff, but not where I’m lifting. I can (easily) tear it out. Obviously, worst idea is laying rubber mat over carpet, too squishy. My question to the guys here (who know about manly things like this) is should I remove just the carpet, or the carpet and the padding as well? (by padding, I mean that ugly yellow/speckled looking stuff under the medium-pile carpet I have)
This may seem like a no-brainer, but I know little about carpentry.
I can answer any questions about the job, btw and ty in advance
If it were me, I’d tear till there was no more tearing to be done. But thats probably because i never advanced much beyond ‘mighty maid’ in the carpentry field and tearing shit up and hauling it away was my ‘raison d’etre’ if you will.
[quote]Eli B wrote:
If it were me, I’d tear till there was no more tearing to be done. But thats probably because i never advanced much beyond ‘mighty maid’ in the carpentry field and tearing shit up and hauling it away was my ‘raison d’etre’ if you will.[/quote]
Sheeeeit. sniffsspits Don’t mind us, just talking shop over here.
Thats what I’m prepared to do, honestly. The padding is going to be a bitch to scrape off, because the geniuses put it over lineoleum (got curious, checked) but I’d rather be on top of hard poured concrete + mats rather than concrete + pad + carpet + mat lol
That yellow speckled looking stuff is carpet underlay, which is what gives carpet the spongy characteristic. Ever walk on carpet without any? It’s nearly as hard as the floor under it. Bottom line, it all has to go.
Pulling up carpet is not carpeNtry. That’s pretty funny though.
The pad underneath is far more squishy than the carpet. That’s its function, to be squishy.
It shouldn’t be that hard to scrape it off. Go pick up a long-handled scraper, and maybe a few replacement blades, at the big box store.
BUT FIRST, you mentioned linoleum. I’m going to assume you do not know that it is actually linoleum, so it might be vinyl sheet or VCT (tile). Depending on how old it is, it may contain asbestos. So when you scrape, if you scrape off bits of flooring containing asbestos, that may not be good for your health.
(Most people would tell you to call in a pro in that case. But if it were me, I’d determine if it does contain asbestos, and I would still still do the work myself, but I have read the flooring institute’s (whatever its name is) procedures about how to remove it. It’s not that big a deal.)
But anyway, first determine whether the flooring contains asbestos. If it is true linoleum, it is perfectly safe to scrape away at it. Likewise if it is anything installed after about 1980 or so, it would be fine.
Friend’s dad lended me the scraper, and yeah its thin and brittle stuff, when taking off the nail edge things for the carpet I shattered some with the crowbar… The carpetg was installed within the last 5 years, so I doubt its asbestos related flooring. I had asbestos tile in my old house, I’m pseudo-familiar with it. It comes off in flakes, it doesn’t crumble. I have no idea if thats an identifier. Also, under the vinyl/linoleum is concrete, YESS)
Friend’s dad suggested mineral spirits to loosen up any bits of stuck underlay, giving that a shot once I nail down the carpet I’m KEEPING in so that when I cut I don’t fray my entire basement.
Thanks again for the help guys! (I start making headway, and my dad literally sledgehammered the biggest step of the spiral staircase that goes to the basement so that he could bring a fridge down… wtf, now getting to the basement is an aerobics activity because to not fall into a GIANT DITCH you need to buttscoot and hop off the top step down 2, lol)