Removing old carpeting and particle board..

madtown_2006_gw

11 years ago

Hi everyone, I'm in the process of getting quotes for new hardwood floors. There is about 700 sq ft of old carpet to remove, as well as a layer of particle board. One installer would charge $80 to remove the carpet and $1.00/sq ft to remove and replace the particle board (replace with plywood). When he came to measure, he mentioned that it would probably take him the first day to remove the carpet and particle board and lay down the new plywood. Ok, sounds good.

So the second guy would charge his hourly rate for this work - 8 hours for removing the carpet, 16 hours for the particle board, and then 15 hours to install the plywood. According to my calculations, that is FIVE DAYS. ??? Seems like a long time, and it's so vastly different from the first guy.

So obviously I could save a lot of money by going with the first installer, but I worry that maybe he would rush through the job, be careless, etc. Or that he has just plain underestimated the work and he will end up being here 5 days just for the prep, just like the other guy would have! Anyone have any thoughts? Any idea how long the carper removel/sub-floor process should take? Again, this is about 700 square feet. 4 bedrooms and a hallway. The particle board is not glued down.

Thanks!

Comments (7)

gregmills_gw
11 years ago
Carpet removal is a fast process cut rip and take away. 8 hr quote for that is high for 1 person. The thing is whether or not the hourly guy is working with more than one person? If hes got 3 guys working the job its not bad. But if by himself its a a little long. Particle board can be a little messy ripping up. Tends to break apart and not come up in whole pieces. 15 hours is still kinda high but i guess for one person and with 4 rms and hall that could sound right. And layin new subfloor that can be a slow process depending on layout.

All in all i would get some clarification from both parties. Mostly on the number of guys working.
glennsfc
11 years ago
Wow! Where do you live? "kind of high"...I think not. The $80 charge to remove and dispose of the carpet is laughable. If you can get someone to do it for that, go for it.

Now the $1 per square foot to replace the particle board isn't bad, if it includes the cost of the plywood.

It would take one person doing the job a solid four days to pull it off.
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gregmills_gw
11 years ago
You want two whole days to remove particle board? A solid day for one person.
madtown_2006_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for the responses so far. Both people would charge separately for the plywood. They both charge the going rate for plywood at Menards. I'm about 99% sure they are both working on their own with no help, but perhaps that is something I should clarify.

So, it sounds like a more reasonable estimate (of time) would be somewhere between to two - more than 1 day but less than 5. And again, this is only for the carpet removal, particle board removal, and installation of the plywood. Not the wood floor installation.
gregmills_gw
11 years ago
8 hrs to remove carpet is insanely high for one person.
Everything else he quoted hourly seems high to me. But i guess some people have their reasons for quoting more time.

The 1.00/sq is about right in my opinion.
madtown_2006_gw
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you so much, Greg!
glennsfc
11 years ago
Four days for the whole job...carpet removal, particle board removal and installation of the new plywood.