That whole mess needs to be removed, particle board and all, with a new subfloor installed, and new flooring of your choice.

To hollysprings,

Since the particle board beneath the carpet is unaffected, as is the subfloor, which is actually the pine ceiling to the livingroom below, I'll not follow your advice.

I've described my plan, so I won't be having the car dismantled just because it has a flat tire.

Thanks,

Zerk

Can you get a carpet cleaner in there? If you can clean the carpet without getting it too wet, it may shrink back a little when it dries. It could also release the adhesive since it is so old and you may be able to lift the rest of the carpet to straighten or stretch it out. That's what I would try anyway before cutting. No expert here, just someone who tries to be frugal.

Particle board won't stand for getting wet. It is not a suitable substrate for your project. Removing the carpet from it will most likely leave holes where the glue won't detach and it pulls up sections of wood. Or, it will swell the PB, rendering it useless for your project.

It needs to be replaced.

I'll weigh in and try to answer the OPs original question, which is how to flatten the old carpet.

I'd cut a strip out including the wrinkles. Might need some angled cuts on the sides. Hopefully that will make the floor flat enough for the area rug you plan to use. May need to fill in the gap if its big.

Another thought - you said it is indoor-outdoor carpet. A linoleum knife (the kind with the hook on the end) might work.

Hope this makes sense . . .

This post was edited by lucy-bcs-texas on Mon, Oct 13, 14 at 12:21

To lucy-bcs-texas,

Thanks for your reply.

I'm thinking the same thing, and I'm actually still looking around to see if there might have been a remnant left behind of this carpet to fill the gap after I cut out the wrinkles... I could just get a tiny remnant from a carpet store for that, then my new area rug wouldn't get a dip in it when it covers the old bad spot. The small portion of carpet where the bad spot is has already come loose, and an area to the left of it is also coming loose, so it won't be a problem to pull the bad part off the particle board.

I actually have a hook-nose carpet knife, so that's covered.

This makes more sense than anything, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness. I've got quite a few answers here, as compared to none on another forum, and your ideas on this make more sense than anything else.

Thanks again,

Zerk

It's just surgery!

Slice the arc of the wrinkle on the outside of the wrinkle (black line)

Flatten the wrinkle from the center of the area out to the new slice as best you can, making slices to relieve tension and flatten the carpet as needed.

Slice out the excess so you have a flat carpet surface.

Glue the loose carpet down

Not perfect, but it will do until you can do a real fix.

Thanks, Zerk, glad I could help.

Building on what noinwi and lazy gardens have posted . . .

If you do end up cutting a piece completely out and can get decently straight edges it, I wonder if steaming might soften it up enough to maybe roll up the cut out piece so it would relax. Maybe overnight? Then use it to fill the gap.

Keep us posted!

Speaking of frugal . . . I used Contact paper on kitchen counters that were pretty terrible. ALL children learned right off the bat to CUT ON A CUTTING BOARD! I think they knew their life depended on it . . .

Thanks lazygardens and thanks again lucy-bcs-texas.

You guys have been a great asset, especially since you took the time to read what I wrote and gave me the info that applied to what I actually need to do, as opposed to a "gut the room and replace everything" type of answer.

I like lazygardens' thought, "It's just surgery!"... said the surgeon to the first year med student... I'm a bit squeamish about these things... where's my barf bag?!. :^)

But cutting along the black line and then pulling up the carpet to see how much I need to cut out makes perfect sense... I couldn't see the forest for the trees, or the carpet for the floor, as it were.

I'll let you know how it goes in a few days and maybe I'll even include a new picture of the wound once it's been operated on, before I put down the area rug.

Thanks again,

Zerk