Real Estate Agent · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2020 · 37 posts · 13 votes
Just ripped out the old carpets and have all these annoying staples that are ridiculously labor intensive to remove. Do you know of an easy way to remove them? I'm prepping the floor for vinyl installation.
I'm thinking maybe I can use a gravel stamper to just quickly flatten them out... any other ideas?
Rental Property Investor · TN · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
Don't flatten them out to put vinyl over them, they will not allow the vinyl to be flat.
Its not fun, but we pull them up with pliers and put a flat head screw driver under them to push them up a little if we can not grab them with the pliers. Its a great job for a teen who want to earn money. Pay by the room, not by the hour. Turn on the music and let them pull.
I’ve done this a few times and I would be careful using a screw driver as it could damage the floors (or yourself). The best method for me has been using a heavy duty end nipper pliers to grab and roll/lift the fasteners out of the wood. I bought a pair with long handles from harbor freight so I didn’t have to bend down as much. For stubborn nails/staples, use the flat pointy end of a 5-in-1 paint scraper. Run it flat between the floor and the staple to lift without gouging, then use the nipper pliers to finish pulling. Best of luck!
This is a good point! When I have removed staples I used the screwdriver not to leverage the staple, but more to just loosen it so the top of the staple pokes up a bit - to do so push the screwdriver under the staple keeping it parallel to the floor so you dont gouge -if needed swing the screwdriver back and forth a bit, but not up and down you just want to get the head up high enough to grap with pliers :) (should of said this in first post! )
Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2016 · 77 posts · 55 votes
5y
@John Fider I have had good luck with using a metal head multi tool and cutting them all off or using a large yellow crow bar and pulling up multiple at a time. All staples are different though so depends on your type of staples.
Specialist · Valparaiso, IN · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 8 votes
5y
@John Fider
Yep pliers. I’ve also had a lot of success boot scraping like a bull but with the impact going forward so the ball area of your boot creates the friction. Rips them right up and saves your back and knees. It won’t get them all as some are sunk deeper than others and you’ll still need pliers.
Realtor · Charleston, SC · Member since 2017 · 81 posts · 39 votes
5y
@John Fider I bought a set of Pry Bars and it has served me well for flooring. The medium sized one has an edge on one size almost identical to the width of the staples and it pops them right out- I can do a whole room in 20-30 minutes with that little tool! The bigger ones in the set are good for prying off baseboards and getting the carpet strips up.
Rental Property Investor · Issaquah, WA · Member since 2021 · 12 posts · 9 votes
5y
@John Fider I'm doing this right now in my rehab of a primary residence (duplex). I found a heavy floor scrapper to work for the first pass, it will pull up or destroy most of the staples. This will enable you to then crawl around with a pair of pliers to pull the remainder up. It's time consuming work, so I'd prepare a BP podcast ;). After you do your sweep with pliers, go over it again with the scrapper, I've found that there are usually some that I've missed or are broken and stick out only a small bit. Last but not least, if there are stables that are embedded deep and you cannot get them out with pliers, hit them with a hammer to drive them deeper. You should have a smooth floor after!