diff --git a/build/tasks/mkrpm-task.coffee b/build/tasks/mkrpm-task.coffee
index 0ee425c2f..a25cfda75 100644
--- a/build/tasks/mkrpm-task.coffee
+++ b/build/tasks/mkrpm-task.coffee
@@ -25,7 +25,10 @@ module.exports = (grunt) ->
 
     {name, version, description} = grunt.file.readJSON('package.json')
     buildDir = grunt.config.get('atom.buildDir')
+
     rpmDir = path.join(buildDir, 'rpm')
+    rm rpmDir
+
     installDir = grunt.config.get('atom.installDir')
     shareDir = path.join(installDir, 'share', 'atom')
     iconName = path.join(shareDir, 'resources', 'app', 'resources', 'atom.png')