Is there hardwood under my carpet? You can find out without wrecking anything: peel back a closet corner or lift a register grille and look under the pad. Narrow boards that lock edge to edge point to a finished wood floor; sheets of plywood, particleboard or rough, gapped planks mean you are looking at the subfloor. Finding wood is half the answer. Below are the condition checks that decide whether it is worth keeping, then our removal rates beside the price of new solid hardwood flooring so you can see what starting over would cost.
Quick answer: three places to look before you pull anything up
- A closet corner. Carpet hooks onto a tack strip at the wall, so pliers lift a corner easily. Fold the pad back too.
- A floor register opening. Take out the grille and shine a light at the cut edge: it shows solid board or layered sheet, and you can measure the top floor's thickness.
- A doorway transition. Where carpet meets another floor, the first board of the old floor sometimes shows.
Check more than one room: a house renovated in stages can have wood in the bedrooms and plywood in a back addition.
What you might find under the pad
| What you see | What it probably is | What to do next |
|---|---|---|
| Narrow tongue-and-groove boards, tight seams, an old finish under dust | A finished hardwood floor | Run the condition check below |
| Wider, rough boards with saw marks, gaps and no finish | Plank subfloor | Plan a new floor on top once it is checked for movement |
| Plywood, OSB or particleboard sheets | Subfloor or underlayment | Nothing to refinish; choose a new floor |
| Sheet vinyl, linoleum or tiles stuck to the floor | An older resilient floor, possibly over wood | Leave it in place; glued flooring removal is priced after viewing |
A condition check for the floor you uncovered
Look in daylight, and judge the boards rather than the grime: old finish under decades of pad dust usually looks worse than the wood beneath it.
Edges, tack strip and staple rows
The tack strip is nailed into the boards around the room, and the pad was usually stapled across the floor. Expect a row of nail holes near every wall and pairs of tiny staple holes everywhere else. These holes are mostly cosmetic, but they are part of what a refinisher has to deal with, so ask whether filling them is in their price.
Pad residue, glue and dark patches
Old foam pad can stick to the finish in a crusty layer, which is a cleaning job. A thick, even layer of adhesive means the carpet was glued down, and that adds work. Dark grey or black patches deserve the closest look: note where they are (by a window, a radiator, a plant stand, where a pet slept) and photograph them. How deep a stain goes, and so whether it sands out, is something only a test or a refinisher can tell you.
Gaps and cupping
The National Wood Flooring Association (NWFA) explains that if floors gain moisture "they can cup": board edges rise above the centres. Run a hand across boards near exterior walls; a ridge at every seam is cupping, and the moisture source comes first. The NWFA says gaps "are considered to be normal if they appear and disappear during normal seasonal changes", and that if gaps are large or do not close during more-humid months, it is time to call a professional.
How much wood is left above the tongue
The NWFA lists the thickness of the wear layer, with flatness, condition and the contractor's skill and equipment, among the factors that set how many times a floor can be sanded. At the register opening, the cut edge shows the tongue and how much wood sits above it; for comparison, the four solid boards featured further down are ¾ inch thick. If nail heads or groove edges show on the face of the boards, get a refinisher's opinion before planning anything. Our guide on how often hardwood can be refinished covers resanding in more depth.
Patches, old register holes and board width
Older floors carry the history of the house: filled-in register holes, a strip where a wall once stood, a corner patched with a different species. Measure the face width of a few boards. New boards woven in have to match it, and the solid oak and maple featured here, Appalachian Natural Red Oak included, are all 4¼ inches wide. A mismatch hides in a closet but shows in a living room.
Save it or start over: decision rules for the floor you found
Treat the middle column as a leaning, not a verdict; someone still has to see the floor.
| What the check showed | Leaning | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Dull finish, light scratches, staple holes, boards flat and tight | Keep it | The NWFA says minor scratches and a dull finish may only need a buff and a fresh coat |
| Deep scratches, dents, worn-through finish, a few small dark spots | Keep it, with a full sand | The NWFA recommends a complete sand and refinish for deep scratches and dents |
| Gaps that close up in humid months | Keep it | The NWFA describes seasonal gaps that come and go as normal |
| Cupped boards across a whole area | Find the moisture first | The NWFA links cupping to the floor gaining moisture |
| Nail heads or groove edges showing, large black patches, big mismatched patches | Replace | Little wood left to sand, or repairs that will not blend |
| Plank subfloor, plywood or particleboard only | New floor | There is no finished floor to save |
We sell and install flooring but do not offer refinishing, so our refinishing versus replacement cost guide is the place for sanding costs. A third route: if the old floor is flat and firmly fastened but too tired to sand, read our notes on installing a new floor over old hardwood before paying to tear it out.
Solid and engineered hardwood we stock if the old floor cannot stay
If the check points to replacement, each of these floors can be installed nail-down. They are the in-stock boards used in the numbers that follow, with price per square foot worked out as box price divided by box coverage.
| Product | Species and grade | Width | Box price and coverage | Price per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appalachian Natural Red Oak | Red oak, Excel Grade, solid | 4¼ inches | $101.87 per 18.9 sq ft box | $5.39 |
| Lauzon Essential Red Oak Limes | Red oak, Essential, solid | 4¼ inches | $91.63 per 17.0 sq ft box | $5.39 |
| Lauzon Essential Hard Maple Sapphir | Hard maple, Essential, solid | 4¼ inches | $99.80 per 17.0 sq ft box | $5.87 |
| Lauzon Select & Better Hard Maple Vela | Hard maple, Select & Better, solid | 4¼ inches | $118.83 per 17.0 sq ft box | $6.99 |
| European Oak Engineered Slate | Oak, Character Grade, engineered with a 2mm top layer | 6.5 inches | $95.71 per 20.24 sq ft box | $4.73 |
Prices checked October 6, 2026. Box prices and coverage come from our current catalogue.
Vela costs more than Sapphir because Select & Better is the cleaner grade, with fewer knots and less colour variation. For a wider board, the European Oak Engineered Slate is also nailed down, but at 6.5 inches it will not pass for the original strip floor. For materials in older houses generally, our century-home flooring guide compares the options.
Keeping versus replacing a 224 sq ft room
Take a 14 x 16 ft living room (224 sq ft) in a house with an M postal code, priced the way we build a quote:
- Removal is charged on the floor area, no waste added: carpet and pad at $0.70 per sq ft, nailed hardwood at $1.50 per sq ft.
- Waste-adjusted area = 224 x 1.05 = 235.2 sq ft (a 5% allowance for cuts). Boxes = that area divided by one box's coverage, rounded up.
- Installation = 235.2 sq ft x $2.00 per sq ft, our solid hardwood rate for a house. Delivery is $150 flat for M postal codes, then 13% HST.
| 224 sq ft, house | Keep the old floor | Replace: Appalachian Natural Red Oak | Replace: Lauzon Red Oak Limes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carpet and pad removal | $156.80 | $156.80 | $156.80 |
| Nailed hardwood removal | Not needed | $336.00 | $336.00 |
| New flooring | Not needed | 13 boxes: $1,324.31 | 14 boxes: $1,282.82 |
| Installation | Not needed | $470.40 | $470.40 |
| Delivery | Not needed | $150.00 | $150.00 |
| Refinishing | Quoted by a refinisher | Not needed | Not needed |
| Subtotal | $156.80 | $2,437.51 | $2,396.02 |
| HST (13%) | $20.38 | $316.88 | $311.48 |
| Total | $177.18 | $2,754.39 | $2,707.50 |
The useful number is the gap. Before tax, replacing with Appalachian red oak costs $2,280.71 more than lifting the carpet alone, and Lauzon Limes $2,239.22 more. A refinishing price for the room, plus repairs, that lands well below that favours keeping the floor; one that comes close favours new boards, especially if the check found thin wood or big patches.
Both red oaks cost $5.39 per sq ft, yet Limes comes out lower: its smaller box lets the order stop at 238.0 sq ft, while the Appalachian order runs to 245.7 sq ft because boxes are sold whole.
Not included: trim such as quarter round or baseboard (a separate quote line) and subfloor repair or levelling (quoted after seeing the floor). In a condo, carpet removal is $1.00 per sq ft; nailed hardwood removal and solid hardwood installation are priced after viewing. If there is no floor worth saving, our carpet removal and new floor budgets run the full numbers.
Questions about hardwood found under carpet
How do I know if it is hardwood or just subfloor?
Look for a coating and even milling. Finished boards carry a finish, even a yellowed one, and share one width with tight joints. Subfloor boards are rough sawn, laid with gaps and sometimes run on a diagonal.
Is a floor that sat under carpet for decades worth saving?
It can be. Worry about places where something soaked through, such as doorways and spots under windows. If those are small and the boards lie flat, it is a good candidate to keep.
Do staple and tack strip holes ruin the floor?
Not by themselves. Pull staples straight out with pliers rather than prying them, so you do not add dents, and leave the tack strip until you can lift it carefully along each wall.
What does it cost to take out both the carpet and the hardwood?
In a house or basement, our rates add up to $2.20 per sq ft: $0.70 for the carpet and pad plus $1.50 for nailed hardwood. On a 224 sq ft room that is $492.80 before HST. Condo hardwood removal is priced after viewing.
Can new boards match the width of my old floor?
Only if the widths are the same. The four solid boards on this page run 4¼ inches across the face, so measure several of your old boards first. If yours differ, a whole-room replacement usually looks better than a mismatched patch.
Get a removal or replacement quote in Toronto and the GTA
Send us room sizes and photos of what you found under the carpet, and we will price removal and a new floor. You can request a quote online or browse the solid hardwood collection first.
Top Floorings Depot
3781 Victoria Park Avenue, Unit 1, Toronto, ON M1W 3K5
www.topfloorings.com
Call: 416-499-0117
Text: 416-770-8819