How to remove roofing nails from below?

"MiamiCuse" wrote in news:2L2dnZqsI6yv7vrbnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@dsli.com:

Oxyacetylene torch has a fine tip for tight places. No, guess not huh... :-)

Al Bundy wrote in news:Xns9947ECC61A5E4AlBundy@216.196.97.136:

Thermic lance? .....nope, another poor choice I suppose.

He knows that. He meant left and right, or front and back, opposite directions from each other, not opposite direction as you just wrote, with no s.

His is another way to bend them as in his previous clause.

Can you grab the heads of the screws with the cutter, but not cut them?

Then grab them with the cutter and twist the whole cutter when you have a good grip. You may be able to unscrew them.

You did try a screwdriver? :-)

Bob

Oh I see now. Well that does not work either. The hammer barely fits so most times I hit something else in the narrow channel before the nail or screw. I tried to wedge a flat head screwdriver against one screw then wack the screwdriver with it but it just "weasel" its way around the screw.

I think I will try the dremel grinding disc next since I have a dremel (but no disc) if that does not work then I don't know what else I can do. Minor details always kill my project schedule.

The screw heads are protected from above under a layer of asphalt cement over some metal flashing and tar paper. I am trying to cut them off from below without disturbing what is above.

MC

OK after trying all kinds of solutions (thanks to everyone who helped out) I had success with the plier to remove some of the nails but the screws are hard. I am going to try a heavy duty dremel cut off disc next since I already have a dremel I just need to get some disc and see. If that does not work I can try a bigger and meaner plier but there may not be room to fit one of those in the tight space.

So if all else fails, my plan is to just use the plier to "bend" the screws as much as I can, so instead of sticking out an inch and half they stick out 3/4 inch after I bend/twist or whatever.

Now the question is, is it ok to nail the fascia board with say a 3/4" spacing above it from the roof drip? Note that the actual flashing still covers the fascia by several inches, it is just the top edge (1"-2" wide) of the fascia not touching the flashing from below. I can may be spray some expansive foam in the cavity along the whole length to seal it?

Will that work?

MC

Is this a situation where you can slip a hacksaw blade up behind the board and cut them?

Bob

Note that Dremel sells at least 3 different types of cutoff discs. The thinnest ones are about an inch in diameter and cut fast because they cut a very narrow slot, but as others have noted they are very fragile.

But there is a thicker, larger-diameter style that has visible fiber reinforcement on its faces that should be a lot more robust (but slower because the slot is at least 2X as wide). There's also a quick-change version of the thicker disc that mounts on a special mandrel. If I was doing a lot of cutting with a Dremel, I'd get the quick-change discs.

In the past, I've cut through hardened concrete nails with a Dremel disc. (But if there's room, I'd use a cutting disc in an angle grinder instead - far more power available).

Dave

Since you tried a screwdriver to cut the screws.

Now try a cold chisel. It will cut these screws.

-- Oren

..through the use of electrical or duct tape, achieve the configuration in the photo..

Why not just drill or notch the fascia board to clear the screws?

Don Young