Removing old deck boards

This spring I'm going to replace the deck boards, railings, and staircases on my back deck. The previous owner of the house didn't use pressure treated lumber on these boards and they're weathered, splitting, and a couple of them are starting to rot.

I've crawled under the porch and the framework looks brand new. The undersides of the deck boards look brand new too.

What fresh hell am I subjecting myself to by trying to remove all the deck screws?

Reply to
dennisgauge
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I *AM* a farmer. All my buildings have outlets. If I'm erecting a building, I have extension cords. When I'm building or repairing something, I want to *do* the job, not be delayed because of a dead battery. I agree about the charger wasting electricity. What really gets me, is that if I buy one of these cordless tools, and use it for two hours about 3 times a year, after 3 or 4 years that battery is trash, whether I use it or not. Then I go to buy a replacement and find out the battery costs about the same price I paid for the initial tool, or $50 and up..... Is it worth paying that money for a tool I used for a total of maybe 20 hours in the last 3 or 4 years? For me, NO IT'S NOT.

For me, I can only think of three instances in the last 10 years where a cordless tool would have been handy.

  1. To do a mailbox repair and put in about 6 screws. (no problem, I used a hand tool, for those couple screws).
  2. To drill a couple 3/4" holes in an old cresote treated fence post (actually a piece of a power pole), to hang a gate, way out in the field. I already know that no cordless drill would have handled this job, because my corded drill had a real struggle after I borrowed a generator from a neighbor.
  3. When I was given a reusable deck at a home demolition, where there was no power. Hand tools would not remove the 4" deck screws. A friend came to help and brought an expensive Makita cordless drill, that took out 4 screws (on a fully charged battery), before it could not do the job anymore, and those 4 screws ruined 2 new bits too. We got a large trailer and moved the entire deck in one piece, after using a tractor loader to lift it.

Otherwise, I always have an outlet handy.

So, while the cordless tool owners are tossing their cordless tools in the trash, or spending the full price of the tool once again in 3 ot 4 years, to get a replacement battery, my corded tools are on the shelf in my toolshop, wasting no electricity, requiring no battery maintenance, and will be ready to use 20 years from now, for occasional use.

Cordless tools do have their place. For someone in business who use them every day, and work construction where there is no power. In that case their use speed up the job, thus saving money for the company, and the cost of replacement batteries are added to the job materials. Then they pay off. But for a homeowner, or even a farmer who only uses the tool a few times a year, they are not worth the price. Those batteries will only last 3 or 4 years whether they are used or not. If these companies didn't rob people for replacement batteries, and a person could afford to buy several spare batteries, then, and only then would they be worth owning for occasional use.

Note: I feel the same way about ink jet printers. The ink costs as much as the printer, and dries up and clogs if not used often, and all of that. I have a laser printer. It's 12 or 13 years old, still using the original toner cartridge...... Yea, it's only black and white. If I absolutely need color, I'll pay the occasional bucks to take the job to Kinkos or another printing company. (I did that once in the last 10 years).

Reply to
jw

You might twist the heads off a few should be about it. If so, use vice grips to remove the subs or you can try bending them down flat after you remove the boards. They may break off flush when you bend them if you get lucky.

Harry K

Reply to
Harry K

Forgot to add: If you haven't done so, check into the recycled plastic deck boards - end the rot and painting permanently.

Harr K

Reply to
Harry K

If proper deck screws were used, it should be relatively painless.

Reply to
clare

If you are not going to re-use the boards I would: Run a circular saw across the boards close to each joist. You can then pull up these short pieces of deck boards wtihout a prybar.

If you want to try and re-use the boards: make sure if your screws are phillips you get an ACR bit. Those extra little ribs on the bit make a world of difference.

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Reply to
Limp Arbor

That wasn't the job I bought my impact driver for, but it by-God paid for itself when a deck de-construction came along. Some of those screws were 10 years to the weather drywall screws and it backed them out. When the battery died, I grabbed my screwgun and tried a couple screws, breaking heads and stripping the Philips slot. I don't think I ruined a single screw with the impact driver.

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

I have news for you...pressure treated lumber does the same things if left unpained/sealed/protected in some manner.

Reply to
dadiOH

Those screws always come out harder than they go in...... People say that using screws makes disassembly of wooden things easier...... WRONG,,,, I'd rather pull nails! (except pole barn spikes)

Tip: If you strip the head on a deck screw, drill the head off with a

1/4" drill bit. Then pry the board off the rest of the screw, and break or grind off the remaining piece of screw. If you're gonna trash the deck boards, you can also use an angle grinder and grind into the wood, taking off the screw heads, but be prepared for lots of smoke, and have a pail of water handy in case a piece of rotted wood ignites.
Reply to
jw

Avoid the drama, bypass the trauma. Use an impact driver. (Even old Philips screws will back out neatly.) Makita makes some of best ones...the somewhat pricier blue one comes with a better larger capacity battery, well worth it.

Joe

Reply to
Joe

Yep, but that plastic stuff is probably good for 100s of years. I've had mine in place for over 10 and it sure looks to me like another 90 is easily possible. Combine with stainless screws and the deck can last a REALLY LONG time.

Reply to
Dan Espen

I love the Trex I used to build our deck about 6 years ago. I do pressure wash it gently every couple of years as we have a lot of trees, birds and squirrels that leaave droppings.

Reply to
hrhofmann

Yep. The stuff I have is a light grey. I get primarily Tulip Poplar tree sap which wants to turn everything black.

The deck doesn't look bad with the black on it but I usually get ambitious and power wash every year anyway.

Reply to
Dan Espen

I would personally just use a decent pry bar to pull up the boards and deal with removing the screws with a pair of pincers type pliers to yank/twist/pull/cut any stubborn screws that don't want to come out with the boards...

It will take a lot longer to try and back out each screw one by one...

~~ Evan

Reply to
Evan

That is one tool I dont own. Do they make plug in types? I'm not fond of cordless tools. (those damn batteries and the cost to replace them).

Just curious, how will an impact remove a screw better than a drill. psrticularly a phillips which seem to strip out the head or the tip no matter if I use a drill, or a hand screwdriver.

Reply to
jw

The "impact" helps to break the bond between the screw and wood. Think about anything that's stuck to something else. Sometimes you can't just pull them apart, but a slight rap on one or the other piece frees them up easily.

The same principle applies to an impact driver.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Agree completely. Can't understand the logic of cordless for homeowners. Google for "impact driver corded". Plenty of hits.

Go out and try a drill. If you encounter issues, get the impact driver. A project that results in a new tool is my favorite kind of project.

Reply to
Dan Espen

-snip-

OTOH- I'm a great lover of the cordless. Especially since the Li-on batteries charge in 20 minutes, hold a charge for a long time, don't mind living in the charger between uses, and seem to last a few years.

If you've ever had to use a 10 foot 'helper' on a pipe wrench and managed to do naught but bend the pipe or bugger the pipe--- Then the guy comes alone with a 3lb hammer and a 2' wrench. . . . tap, tap, tap. . . and spins that bugger off, you'll understand the principle.

+1 on the new tool thing. 'No honey-- if there are no new tools involved, I'll find something else to do.'

Jim

Reply to
Jim Elbrecht

What bugs me the most about them is the batteries sit in the charger doing nothing while drawing power 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

If you've got a farm or do projects every week I can see their value. For the average homeowner they don't make sense (to me).

Reply to
Dan Espen

replying to Jim Elbrecht, Deanna wrote: Saw your post and gave it a try. Life changing. We've got to the point of cutting the boards/screws apart from the joists with the oscillating tool and the saws-all. Now we only have 1/2 as many to cut. Thank you!

Reply to
Deanna

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