How to Repair Carpet Tack Strip Holes in Concrete

Clean concrete floors before patching the holes.

Carpet tack strips are wooden boards installed around the perimeter of a floor to hold carpet in place. If you decide to remove the carpet, you must also pry up the tack strips, which are held in place with nails. If the floor is made of concrete, you are left with unsightly holes along the perimeter of the room. You can repair these holes by filling them in with a patching compound.

Things You'll Need

• Pliers
• Wire brush
• Vacuum
• Latex cement mix
• Trowel
• Safety glasses
• Dust mask
• 4-inch grinder
• Masonry wheel

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Instructions

1. Walk around the entire perimeter of the floor and identify any nails that are still in the floor. Grasp them with a pair of pliers, pull them out and dispose of them in the trash.

2. Scrub each hole in the floor thoroughly using a wire brush to smooth out the top of each hole and to remove any loosened edges.

3. Vacuum the entire room to remove all concrete dust and debris. While vacuuming, hold the hose over each of the holes for approximately two to three seconds to suck out any dust inside the hole. This dust must be removed so that the patch adheres properly.

4. Open a tub of latex cement and mix the two components as directed by the manufacturer's instructions.

5. Scoop up 2 to 3 tbsp. of the mixture using a trowel, and press it down into one of the holes in the concrete floor. Smooth the surface with the back of the trowel, and then turn the trowel sideways to scrape the excess off the surface of the floor.

6. Repeat the process all the way around the perimeter of the concrete floor to repair the remaining holes.

7. Allow the floor to dry overnight, until the material in the holes is completely hardened. Then put on safety glasses and a dust mask and insert a masonry wheel into a 4-inch grinder. Plug in the grinder, and use it to smooth down any rough surfaces over the holes.

8. Vacuum or sweep the floor a final time to remove the grinding dust.

References

• Durall Concrete Floor Coatings: How to Repair Carpet Tack Strip Holes in Concrete Floors
• Aubuchon Hardware: How to Repair Concrete