A couple points worth making about removing carpet
1) a lot of bad thing can be fixed by ripping out old carpets - that old abandoned house smell gets better when the old soiled shag is gone.
2) carpet removal is easier than removing tiles or vinyl floors - so start with the easy stuff.
3) secrets for carpet removal include a good sharp carpet knife, if the carpet is nailed down well you can cut it in 3ft strips and the pull away. We found about half the carpet is really nailed down and the other half barely attached to the tack strips. You never know until you start taking it out.
4) getting the carpet tacks out. The older the carpets the more carpet tacks, nails and screws have been used to hold the old carpet in place. Once the carpet is out and headed for the dumpster then the work of nail and tack strip removal begins. Don't waste your time with an old pair of pliers because it will take forever. After the first day we bought a couple of Dasco Pro12 Pulling Claw Bar.
Here's a look at the house before anything has been done.
First things first! Get all the carpet out the house to Reduce Funky Smells and Terrible Ugliness.
Here is a photo of second parlor, pre-carpet removal.
Here's Pam using the shopvac to clean under the old carpet, but above the old linoleum in one of the bedrooms.
At the end of day the old carpet is just a heap...
