Help! Carpet pad won't come off the floors

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harvestdream

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Nov 11, 2018
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Recently purchased a home to fix and flip (2nd one) and found a gem under the carpet - beautiful hardwood! The carpet lifted quite nicely in the hallway and 2 rooms, but then I got to the living room...i don't know wth happened to this carpet, but it is STUCK to the floor. I'm not talking about little spots or patches. Literally the entire pad seems to have melted to the wood.
I'm at a loss - I've tried cleaners, goop be gone, sanding with a little hand sander (which just ripped the exposed wood up and didn't remove the padding) and after an entire day of it, my back feels about to break.
I may just have to put flooring over it, but I'd hate to leave the floor in this shape.
Please someone tell me they've seen this before and can offer something to help! IMG_20181111_1753278.jpeg
 
Looks like a black mastic was used at some point to glue it down or to glue a previous floor down. Try some heat gun and a putty knife and some elbow grease. It is a shame to not refinish nice floors kike those. If you get most of it off rent a vibrating floor sander not a drum unless you know what you are doing or have run one before. Take the baseboards off and refinish them. Good luck and welcome to the forum. Flipping isn’t like TV.
 
Sometimes, carpet is glued down. But sorry, I don't have any revelation on an easy method to remove the adhesive.
 
Thank you! I can't say I've ever heard of mastic before, but you identifying that has hopefully saved me some time. I did a Google search, and it does indeed look like mastic is what's causing me so much grief.
The good news?? There is a sanding disk specifically designed for its removal! Going to rent it next weekend and get a free lesson using it from a local rental company. Can't wait!

Thank you,
Tamara
 
Glad to have helped. It is common for house flippers to contribute 1% of the profits to the forum for getting time saving tips from us pros.
:sarcasm::pickup::good luck:
 
Actually looks more like the old bubble rubber pad was used, it actually had a clay base. The floor would cleanup with a commercial sander. It needs to be refinished anyway.
 
Lol! How about after pics with a shout out? :D
I just closed on the house Friday, and was over there working on it today when the previous owner came by with the original blue prints. I was thinking the floor was maybe Pine or oak, and the blueprints confirmed it is indeed oak!
It's such a shame that it's in horrible condition in the one room, judging by the condition of the carpet and the conditions of the floor in other areas, I'd bet it was covered 1-2 years after installation. It looks almost new throughout the other areas.
 
I wish I could take the credit! We actually ended up hiring someone after some tentative attempts and it was barely budging. The floor turned out to be white oak and I was concerned about damaging it.
It still took the company a full day and several sheets to get it removed from that room as it was, so I'm glad we hired out!
 
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