We nicknamed the sunroom rug “Stinky.” It was a literal name — the corners were damp from moisture seeping in through poorly sealed, aging sliders and some rotting wood. The previous owners disclosed a moisture problem (and a corresponding odor), which helped lower the listing price. So although the rug felt like a curse at first, it actually felt like a blessing: fixing an issue that might have scared off other buyers made the house affordable for us, and we love this place.
Here’s how we removed that rug, the glued-down rug pad beneath it, and a cluster of nails and staples hiding below. First, we pried up a corner with a small crowbar to free the rug from the tack strips around the room’s perimeter.
After releasing the rug from the tack strips, we rolled each side inward toward the room’s midpoint like a scroll. Once both rolls met in the center, we used a box cutter to slice the rug in half so each section was easier to carry out. You can cut a rug before rolling it, but we found cutting it once rolled gave a bit of slack that made the slice simpler. Then we hauled each piece away, doing our best not to think about all the gross contact the rug had with our skin.
Next up was the rug pad — unfortunately it was glued in multiple places. We’d hoped it was a floating pad so the concrete wouldn’t be covered in adhesive stains, but when we lifted it, we discovered plenty of glue. We pulled up as much padding as possible by hand, and for the stubborn spots we used a $25 floor scraper from Home Depot (the same tool that helped when we removed upstairs carpet). The scraper has a sharp, smooth blade that, with a little force, slices the glue off the concrete much like a razor removes paint from glass.
Removing the glue bumps made a big difference even though some adhesive stains remained. While I worked the scraper (yes, with dangly earrings on because I’m cool like that), John tackled the tack strips around the room. They were brittle, splintered easily, and refused to come up as whole pieces even when he pried every few inches. That brittle wood and the nails embedded in it made the job take longer than pulling the carpet — it probably took about an hour and a half to remove the pad, excess glue, and tack strips after roughly ten minutes to pull up the carpet itself.
With tack strips, nails, and loose glue lifted, it was time for the shop vac. We first picked up the larger shards of wood by hand to dispose of them separately, then swept smaller splinters, nails, bits of glue, and carpet tufts into piles and vacuumed them away.
The room instantly felt fresher. The exposed raw concrete — even with lingering glue stains — was a huge improvement over the swampy, soggy carpet.
Thanks to the scraper, the floor is now smooth and flush. The stubborn glue stains that soaked into the concrete are still visible, but at least they no longer sit as raised bumps among nails and staples.
Our plan is a thorough cleaning, followed by an odor-blocking stain-and-primer coat, and then porch-and-floor paint to disguise the stains and seal in any remaining smells so they won’t escape on a hot day. That should make the room about 98% more pleasant to spend time in.
We also have bigger plans beyond this initial cleanup. After the carpet-removal step, we’d like to:
- Scrub the concrete and seal in any remaining odors
- Stain or paint the concrete as Phase 1
- Permanently remove the half-broken baseboard heater
- Eventually retile the floor with outdoor-safe stone as part of Phase 2
- Convert the sunroom into an open, covered porch with new columns, removing problematic sliders and rotten posts
- Possibly add a brick outdoor fireplace after opening up the space
- Install beadboard on the ceiling and paint it a soft blue
*This is an initial brain dump. If we learn painting the floor will complicate future tiling, we’ll adjust the plan and share updates as we go.
We’re relieved to have the old carpet out, even though moving it to the garage was a stomach-turning task. It was absolutely worth it to get that smell and damp material out of the house.
Psst — Clara’s sharing more conversations over on Young House Life. Number 5 made us laugh until we cried.