Carpet Removal Before New Flooring: Cost, DIY Steps and When to Call a Pro

Quick answer: Professional carpet removal in Perth typically costs $10–$15 per m² for carpet, underlay and smooth edge on a concrete slab, and up to $35 per m² for glued-down carpet. You can remove standard stretched carpet yourself in a few hours with a utility knife, pliers, a pry bar and gloves. Then the slab needs to be cleaned, the nail holes patched and the floor checked before new timber or hybrid goes down.

Carpet is the easiest floor to remove and the one most people try themselves. Fair enough. A carpeted bedroom can be cleared in an afternoon, and it's an easy way to knock a little off a new-floor quote.

But carpet removal before a new floor is about more than pulling up carpet. What's left behind (smooth edge, nails, staples, glue and dust) decides how good the new floor will be. This guide from Nulook Timber Flooring covers the cost, how to do it yourself, what to do with the old carpet in Perth, and what you'll find underneath.

Carpet Removal Cost at a Glance

What's being removed	Typical price
Stretched carpet, underlay and smooth edge on a slab	$10–$15 per m²
Stretched carpet on a timber floor (with staples)	$10–$20 per m²
Glued-down (direct-stick) carpet, including glue removal	$20–$35 per m²
Carpeted stairs	Usually priced per step
Disposal	Often included; check the quote

Ranges are based on published 2026 Perth price guides, including What's the Damage's Perth flooring cost table, and on our own Perth jobs. National "from $3 per m²" figures you'll see online usually exclude underlay, smooth edge and disposal.

Room-by-room guide

Area	Approx. size	Typical removal cost
Bedroom	12 m²	about $120–$180
Master bedroom with robe	20 m²	about $200–$300
Living room	25 m²	about $250–$375
Three bedrooms and hallway	50 m²	about $500–$750
Whole upper floor of a two-storey home	80 m²	about $800–$1,200

Many companies set a minimum charge for small jobs, so one bedroom on its own can cost more per m² than a whole house.

What Affects the Price?

How the carpet is fixed. Stretched carpet over underlay lifts quickly. Glued-down carpet (common in offices and some older units) leaves adhesive that has to be scraped or ground off.
What's underneath. On concrete, the smooth edge is nailed with masonry nails that leave holes. On timber, there are hundreds of staples to pull.
Underlay type. Modern foam and rubber underlays come up easily. Old felt or hessian-backed underlay crumbles, is dusty and can be hard to remove.
Stairs. Each step is fiddly, so they're priced individually.
Disposal. Carpet and underlay are bulky. Check whether bagging and tip fees are included.
Furniture. Moving beds and wardrobes adds time if you haven't cleared the rooms.

Can You Remove Carpet Yourself?

Yes. Of all strip-out jobs, carpet removal is the one we'd encourage handy homeowners to do themselves, as long as the floor underneath is being prepped properly afterwards. Here's how.

Tools you'll need

Heavy-duty gloves (smooth edge has sharp tacks pointing up)
A sharp utility knife with spare blades
Pliers or carpet grippers
A flat pry bar or wrecking bar and a hammer
A flat-head screwdriver
Knee pads
A P2 dust mask (old carpet and underlay are very dusty)
Heavy-duty tape, rubbish bags and a helper for carrying

Step 1: Clear the room and check for hazards

Move all furniture out. If your home was built before 1990, be careful with old underlay. Some older underlays were made from reused hessian bags that can contain asbestos, according to the NSW Government's asbestos guide to floors and floor coverings. If the underlay is a crumbly hessian or felt type in an older home, don't tear it up dry. Get it tested first. Our guide to asbestos in old floors explains what to look for.

Step 2: Free a corner

Start in a corner. Grip the carpet with pliers and pull it up off the smooth edge strip. Once you have a corner free, work along the wall.

Step 3: Cut the carpet into strips

Fold the carpet back and cut it into strips about 1 m wide with the utility knife. Roll each strip tightly and tape it. Full rooms of carpet are far too heavy and awkward to carry in one piece.

Step 4: Lift the underlay

Underlay is usually stapled (on timber) or lightly glued (on concrete). Pull it up in sections, roll it and bag it. If it's stuck to a slab, a floor scraper helps.

Step 5: Remove the smooth edge

Slide the pry bar under the smooth edge strip next to each nail and lever it up. On concrete, the masonry nails sometimes snap off, leaving stubs to be ground flush. Wear gloves: those tacks are sharp.

Step 6: Pull every staple and nail

On timber floors, go over the whole floor with pliers or a flat screwdriver and pull every staple. Missed staples will poke through new underlay or click under a floating floor.

Step 7: Clean and check the floor

Vacuum thoroughly. On a slab, look for glue patches, paint splatter, nail holes and cracks. On timber, check for loose boards and water damage near doors.

A few safety tips

Smooth-edge tacks point upwards and are sharp. Stack removed strips face-down and bag them straight away.
Old carpet holds years of dust, allergens and sometimes mould. Wear a P2 mask and open the windows.
Rolled carpet is heavy. Keep rolls small and lift with a helper.
If you're snapping off masonry nails, wear safety glasses.
Keep kids and pets out of the room until every tack and staple is gone.

How long does it take?

A bedroom takes one person an hour or two. A three-bedroom home with a hallway is a long day. Glued carpet takes much longer, because the adhesive has to come off too.

Glued-Down Carpet: A Different Job

Direct-stick carpet has no underlay and no smooth edge. It's glued straight to the slab, and it's common in offices, shops, rental units and some 1970s and 1980s homes. Pulling it up is slow: the backing tears, and patches of carpet stay stuck to the glue.

Once the carpet is off, the adhesive has to go. A floor scraper takes off the worst of it, but a slab that's getting a new floor needs grinding back to clean concrete. That's why glued carpet costs two to three times as much to remove. If you're unsure which type you have, lift a corner in a robe: no underlay and a hard, gluey backing means direct-stick. Our guide to concrete grinding before new flooring explains how the glue comes off.

Carpet on Stairs

Stair carpet is the fiddliest part of any carpet removal. Every tread and riser is fixed with staples or tacks, often with smooth edge in the corner of each step and metal or timber nosings at the front. Expect a staircase to take one person a couple of hours, and to need a careful pass for staples.

What's underneath matters. Timber stairs can often be sanded, painted or clad with new timber treads. Concrete stairs can be clad in timber or tiled. If you're replacing carpet with timber throughout, matching stair treads and nosings give the cleanest finish. See our timber staircases service.

Where to Dispose of Old Carpet in Perth

Old carpet is bulky, and there are only a few options:

Bulk verge collection. Some Perth councils accept carpet in their junk verge collections if it's cut, rolled and tied. Others don't. Check your council's rules and collection dates before putting it out.
Transfer stations and tips. Most accept carpet for a fee based on volume or weight.
Skip bin. Easy if you're also removing other flooring.
Through your installer. Most professional quotes include bagging and disposal, which saves trips to the tip.

Carpet recycling options in WA are still limited. If the carpet is in good condition, offering it free online can find it a second home.

What's Under the Carpet in a Perth Home?

This is where it gets interesting.

Concrete slab. Most Perth homes are double brick on a slab, so this is the usual finding. Expect smooth-edge nail holes around the walls, paint drips from past repaints, and sometimes old glue patches.
Jarrah floorboards. Many Perth homes built before the 1970s have original Jarrah boards hidden under carpet. They're often in far better condition than you'd expect, and a sand and polish can bring them back. See our floor sanding and polishing guide.
Particleboard. Common upstairs in two-storey homes. It isn't designed to be a finished floor.
Old vinyl tiles or lino. Sometimes carpet was laid straight over older vinyl. In pre-1990 homes, treat it as possible asbestos until tested.

What Happens After the Carpet Comes Up?

If you're laying a new floor, removing the carpet is step one. Before timber or hybrid goes down, the slab needs:

Nail stubs and glue ground off, so the surface is clean and flat.
Nail holes and cracks filled.
A flatness check. Most manufacturers want no more than about 3 mm of variation under a 2 m straight edge. Carpet hides a lot; slabs that were never meant to be seen are often uneven.
A moisture test, especially before glue-down timber.

Our guide to concrete floor levelling explains the prep, and the Perth timber flooring cost guide shows how it fits into the total budget.

Is It Cheaper to Remove Carpet Before Getting New Flooring?

Usually, yes, by around $10–$15 per m², which adds up to $500–$750 on 50 m². That's real money for a few hours' work. Two cautions:

Check with your installer first. Some prefer to do the strip-out themselves so they control the condition of the slab, and some include it at a lower rate when they're laying the new floor.
Leave the floor clean. If you leave smooth-edge stubs, staples and glue patches, the installer will charge to clean them up anyway.

Carpet to Timber with Nulook Timber Flooring

Carpet-to-timber is one of the most common jobs we do in Perth. We can lift the carpet, underlay and smooth edge, take it all away, then grind, test and level the slab before laying your new engineered timber floor or hybrid floor. See our floor strip-out service, then book a free measure or call 0405 821 884.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does carpet removal cost in Perth?

Professional carpet removal in Perth typically costs $10 to $15 per square metre for stretched carpet, underlay and smooth edge on a slab. Glued-down carpet costs more, up to about $35 per square metre including glue removal.

Can you remove carpet yourself?

Yes. Stretched carpet can be removed with a utility knife, pliers, pry bar, hammer and gloves. Cut it into strips, roll it, lift the underlay, then remove the smooth edge and every staple or nail.

What is the cheapest way to get rid of old carpet?

Removing it yourself and putting it out in your council's bulk verge collection, if your council accepts carpet, is usually cheapest. Otherwise, a trailer load to a transfer station costs a modest tip fee.

What is the best way to get rid of old carpet in Perth?

Cut the carpet into rolls about 1 metre wide, tape them, and use your council's verge collection if carpet is accepted, a transfer station, a skip bin, or your flooring installer's disposal service.

How long does it take to remove carpet?

A single bedroom takes about one to two hours. A three-bedroom home with a hallway takes most of a day. Glued-down carpet takes much longer because the adhesive has to be removed as well.

Do carpet layers or flooring installers remove old carpet?

Most do, usually for a per-square-metre fee that includes underlay and smooth edge removal. Many include disposal. Check your quote, because some installers expect the floor to be cleared before they arrive.

Is it cheaper to remove carpet before getting new floors installed?

Usually, yes. Removing carpet yourself can save about $10 to $15 per square metre. Leave the floor clean, though, because installers will charge to remove leftover smooth edge, nails, staples and glue.

What is under my carpet?

In most Perth homes it's a concrete slab. Homes built before the 1970s often have original Jarrah floorboards under the carpet. Upper floors are usually particleboard, and some older homes have vinyl tiles beneath.

Is old carpet underlay dangerous?

Modern foam and rubber underlays aren't hazardous, just dusty. Some old hessian or felt underlays in pre-1990 homes were made from reused bags that may contain asbestos, so test crumbly old underlay before tearing it up.

What needs to happen after carpet is removed before new flooring?

Grind off nail stubs and glue, fill nail holes and cracks, check the slab is flat within about 3 millimetres under a 2 metre straight edge, and moisture-test it before laying timber or hybrid.