Lifting boards with a metal tongue?

[enuff]

I need to lift (but not keep) half a floor comprising of 7.5"x1.25" boards. the boards are not T&G but square edged with a 1" wide metal strip acting as a tongue between them.

I've not seem this before, makes the floor nice and solid but I need to remove half the floor with out damaging the edge of the last remaining row of boards. So far I've tried levering a boards evenly along its length but its proving almost impossible as the boards are anywhere up to 5 metres long.

As a last resort I'm thinking of pining a straight edge down and running a circular saw down the edge of the last board but that will knacker a new blade and probably the saw!

Anyone come across this before?

Tony

[David]

I presume that they are nailed down, If so try using a punch to push the nails all the way through in to the joists, should free up the board. If you can't punch them then you can use a plug cutter to cut round them. ideal because plug cutters don't have a centre drill.

David

[Colin]

Interesting coincidence. I discovered I had some of these yesterday.

In my case I found that the metal tongue could be pulled out from the end of the boards... Don't know if this helps.

Colin

[enuff]

Colin

Can;t get to the end of the strip as the boards are in "single" runs the length of the room, no butted ends!

Just out of interest when was your place built, were late Victorian (baronial style) 1893?

Tony

[fred]

In article , enuff writes

Anything stopping you cutting one of the unwanted boards down the middle and levering the halves out; no damage to the blade?. Easy (relatively) once you have an edge. Also, no need to start at the crucial edge that you need to keep sound, start a board or two in.

Or am I missing something . . . .

[enuff]

Not missing anything and its and idea that makes sense. I'd need to cust a double or triple blade width ont he first to be able to lever it out but I can see the logic.

If theres no other magic way i'll probably end up doing that.

Cheers

Tony

[Colin]

1864 Gothic Revival.

I have only found these boards in the old Maids Parlour which is above a cellar. The other boards I have lifted in the house have wooden tongues rather than metal.

Colin

[John Rumm]

Make two cuts down the middle of one board about one inch appart? You could then lift out the one inch fillet as per a normal floorboard.

[Andrew]

You only need two cuts, an inch apart. lift out the middle section then start levering.