Floor Board Lifting

[TheScullster]

Hi all

Can anyone please advise on the best way and tools to use for lifting floorboards for cable routing? Obviously I would want these in decent condition to replace.

TIA

Phil

[Stuart]

If they have been secretly nailed then there is bound to be some damage to the tongues when you lift them .If top nailed then it's a case of getting one lifted the best way you can . A circ saw set to the appropriate depth will cut through the tongue. Depending on how you are going to route the cable you might get away with lifting one either end and feeding the cable under the rest and using the lifted spaces to go across the way through the joists .

[Kev]

I thought that the way to do it minimising damage was to knock the nail right through with a punch then simpley lift the board out. That way there is only a small hole to fill.

Kevin

[Richard Downing]

Be very very wary of cables and pipes notched (botched) into the tops of joists. Set the circular saw to just the thickness of the boards until you know for sure.

When refitting use screws rather than nails if you can, the lack of tongues can make the floor noisier, and screws make it easier to fix.

R.

[Stuart Noble]

Ever tried it? A stressful thing to do with a circular saw, and it doesn't work well because a) it removes too much material, b) you can't get to within 4" or so of the wall, and c) the setup time to do the cut accurately is out of all proportion to the result. You might just as well split the tongue with a chisel and save yourself the hassle. They may not even be t&g boards....

Depending on how you are going to route the cable you might get

[Stuart]

Nah.When I did it I just ripped up the first board and went on from there . You just have to accept the damage otherwise you'll be there forever .

And as you say the might not even be T+G.

Someone suggested tapping the secret nails through then lifting the board out....To do that you need to work out which side of the boards has the tongues and which sides the grooves .

[Stephen Dawson]

Try it most weeks being a sparkie, we use an 18V Dewalt circ saw as the blade is nice an thin.

[The Medway Handyman]

This sort of thing works a treat. Floorboard saw

[ARWadsworth]

of the blade so you can press down when cutting

[calums]

Phil I'm going to assume that the boards are not T&G as previous posts have govered T&G very well. To see if it doesnt have T&G try slipping a thin piece of plastic between the planks. If this goes through without hitting a tongue then use this method. Another way of checking is to see if the nail holes can be seen on top od the planks, if they can then it is unlikely to be T&G.

Near the end of a plank (in the middle of floor rather than by skirting board) get a bolster and hammer it through (making sure you are not over a joist). Then prise the timber using the bolster (a short wrecking bar [crow bar] is also handy to assist with this) until the end of plank comes up. Then work along with bolster and wrecking bar or claw of hammer gradually lifting the plank as you go along... no need to keep hammering the bolster, just work along the plank until its all up.

When yo come to replace be sure to hammer nails from the underneath to get them flush before placing plank back down, then you can hammer the original nails back down.

Calum Sabey (Newark Traditional Kitchens 01556 690544)