what is under my carpet ?

jenjencali · 12-19-2010, 10:04 AM

My husband and i are in the process of purchasing a house. When we did the walk through we found a small section of the carpet in the closet missing. This was great for us since we were curious if there was hardwood under that white carpet. With a dog and a cat it would bed impossible to keep clean and I love the look and feel of hardwood. Lo and behold, beautiful dark hardwood floors! Upon closer examination there does not seem to be the traditional carpet padding under the carpets. There is some sort of foam board that is 1/4 inch or so in height possibly less. Here are my questions since I can't find the product in my searches.

1. is this peel and stick or nailed in?
2. If peel and stick how the heck would I remove it without damaging the beautiful hardwood underneath ?
3. The contractor we are purchasing from is more than a little shady so did he even use the right product or is it manufactured for a different application ?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

rusty baker · 12-19-2010, 10:39 AM

We will need pictures to have any idea. Otherwise, the only idea I can come up with is maybe it is rubber or Kanga back carpet.

jenjencali · 12-19-2010, 10:53 AM

I couldn't get a clear picture without ripping up a section of the carpeting and since the house is still a week away from being officially ours I was hesitant.
I checked out the kanga carpet and that isn't what this is. The carpet and foam board are independent of one another.

This is the best I can describe it:

Wood floor on the bottom

A board of some sort, it appears to have a yellow paper cover on the top with blue or green writing (illegible from what little I could see) . The best way I can think to explain it is that it looks like rigid, thin panels that have been adhered to the floor in some way. I was able to see one small area where they had cut a piece of it to fill in a small gap and it seems very stiff and hard, not like traditional carpet padding that you roll. I think it was bought in panels like you would dry wall and cut to fit. I just have no idea what I am dealing with here and without knowing what to call it my research has been fruitless.

Thanks Rusty for your quick response.