# Removing wall carpet?



## Chickenwing

Does anyone have experience or advice with removing carpet from walls?

Is it a given that I'll end up damaging the sheetrock behind the carpet as I'm trying to remove it? This is a big job for the likes of me and I can't afford to replace tons of damaged drywall if that happens.

Thanks for any advice
Marc


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## Paradigmzz

dunno, try it out and see what happens. If your a painter, you probably know a bit about drywall repair. Wait a second, 

are

you

a

painter?


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## Chickenwing

Yes, I am a painter. The problem is, this is a much bigger job than I would normally take on and in my bid I included drywall reapair but not _replacement_ of the drywall. So I can't afford to just try it and see what happens.

If the carpet comes off without destroying the drywall then I'm fine, but if it destroys the drywall, then things aren't so good.

Marc


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## RCP

Carpet on the wall? Like the stick on squares? Lots of adhesive? Tack strips? Having a hard time picturing it!

Welcome to the forum, feel free to mosey over here and let us "meet" you!


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## hoz

Of course it depends on the adhesive used but I'd guess you are in for a massive repair job. Once the stuff is off, sand, prime with Kilz and break out the hawk and trowel. Skimcoat the whole shebang. Ain't no thing to a Chickenwing. 

(Sorry ;-) I couldn't resist...)

When I had a job like this I made sure the customer knew my bid included "minor" repair. Priming and skimming the entire wall was an extra. 

How many sq foot you talking about?


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## straight_lines

I would just paint the carpet, or move to another house.  

Seriously if its glued then you will be skimming the walls after as you know its gonna pull the paper with it. If its just stapled you will be lucky.


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## Schmidt & Co.

God..... I'm picturing 60's shag on the walls.


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## Chickenwing

Yeah it's some pretty stuff. It kind of reminds me of velcro because it has a scratchy feel to it. I'm not sure who's idea it was to have carpet walls but it's going to cost them to get rid of it.

There's a good chance I'll be backing out of the job. Just can't risk having to replace the sheetrock.

Thanks for all the input!
Marc


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## Schmidt & Co.

Can you test a spot and see if it damages the drywall? Would answer a lot of your questions......


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## hoz

"I'm not sure who's idea it was to have carpet walls"

I hung a ton of "Hush Rib" in the early 80's. We used clay base back then. It was for soundproofing (or at least quieting) a room or hallway. 



I would submit multiple bids to justify the work involved. Might end up your big moneymaker for fall.


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## BrushJockey

I have removed walls that have been upholstered. Usually use a million staples at a ribbed seam. Not that bad, but a good needlenose pliers is a must. Skim the damaged areas.


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## DCcenter

Best thing you can do is grab some needle nose pliers at the top corner and pull about a square foot of it loose. From there you will know right away if the carpet is stapeled or glued, and how strong either bonding method is, and also what the surface behind the carpet looks like. Most glues tend to degrade and it becomes pretty easy to separate the carpet from the drywall. If it stapeled, just pull slowly with your hands and work in small sections and you can remove the carpet pretty easily. The hardest part is going to be prep for painting. Definitely will be pulling staples from the seams and probably sanding or scraping dried glue. Will probably have to skim areas, but it shouldnt be too bad.


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## hoz

On skimcoating a damaged wall. If you are not comfortable with a hawk and trowel here's a technique I've used. 

Mask everything off, it gets messy. Thin a 5 of DW mud with a gallon of white latex paint. It should be like a very thick soup. Use a 2" roller to apply the mud mix to 4' x 4' sections of the wall and use a trowel to strike smooth. 

With this method you can skimcoat a wall pretty quickly. After drying sometimes a second coat is necessary in the roughest spots. 

Clean your hand tools often as the paint in the mix will dry and stick on the trowel and knives.


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## ProWallGuy

Chickenwing said:


> in my bid I included drywall reapair but not _replacement_ of the drywall. So I can't afford to just try it and see what happens. So I can't afford to just try it and see what happens.


How the hell does one give an estimate for this if you have no idea what will happen when you pull it off?


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## daArch

Are the homeowner's fire insurance premiums paid to date ?


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## nEighter

removing carpet is easy.. it is the padding that one must consider if it should come down..


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## Paradigmzz

are you replacing the carpeting with hardwood or laminate?


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## Fictitious Character

I would think that you will have a fair amount of skimming and patching with this project, price it for this or if you are unsure you could go T&M.


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## Procoat

Pull the Crap off. Hopefully its just staples. if its adheasive start removing. once that is done thin some 45 min blue lable mud down to the consistansy of Primer and roll it out twice. dont sand till the second coat is dry depending on how damaged the walls are. I would charge by the hour. If you charge by the job you could lose ur ass.


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