How to remove skirting neatly - on a different installation

[Gnube]

Same thing, laying laminate;

Got prybar, but never had to use one before.

Tried a test bit of skirting, and used the pry bar to first "cut" the wallpaper and paint deposits away, so I could get to the wood.

After a bit of a scrap it became clear why it was tough to remove, they used what I remember from childhood to be floorboard nails; those rectangular sectioned things with an tab making it a sort of "L" shape.

Trouble is they have become rusted in now and don't pull out, and it takes a fair bit of grunt to bust one by pulling. Pry bar does not help much at this point! (they are surprisingly tiny things aren't they?! Barely a handful)

Is there another method of working which can see this job done without all the drama the first test bit required? I have a fair yardage of this to remove, and I'd like to be ther before christmas to be honest! ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {too thick for linux}

[BillR]

[snip]

Those nails are dreadful. In my experience if this type of nail has rusted into plaster then a lot of damage has to be done to the plaster to get them out. How about breaking/cutting the skirting between the nails. Then remove the wood leaving the nails to be hacksawed flat. Also the flat type of crowbar I have seems better at this sort of job.

[Michael McNeil]

I think your old skirting is about to become firewood. Those "cut" nails were the bees knees weren't they? Get yourself a bigger bar and a block of wood to protect the wall and go for it.

You might try inserting a hot soldering iron in the nail hole. The steam produced might force one or two nails out but it will take forever and only work on some of them.

One thing you might try is punching all those you can right through the skirting and try a small hole cutter to go around the nails of those that just bend. I think they will all bend.

[Gnube]

Aren't they though!

That's pretty much how it went!

Oh yes, I could foresee that, but wondered if there was a dodge I was missing! You got to try not to make it harder for yourself, and I've done that too many times, to not ask first now! ;O)

Yeah, I had dremel lined up for that - seems to be one thing it is really good at! Not sure how long it'll last though!

Well I just ordered a little more grunt - 24" wrecking bar - I figure the more moment I can get, the easier it might be to get it off in a semi controlled manner with luck! This is going to be a right old game I can tell!

Take Care, Gnube {so, do YOU know anyone who won the Readers Digest Draw?}

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[Gnube]

Oh for sure! ;O)

Were seems t be the big word now - not keen right now myself! ;O)

24 " wrecker on it's way right now - hope that's enough!

Hmm they're felling trees down the other end of our road this week! ;O)

In the event it happened, it would probably shoot out and shoot me! ;O)

Ah, now that sounds like an idea to experiment with!

Me too, and I can't easily find them either (metal detector?), as they are sealed under 30 years of paint layers - the last owner does not live far enough from me to be entirely safe now I know what he did to this building in his version of DIY - However, I must not discuss it with him, otherwise I may not be able to hold back, and he's our postman, we need a postie despite how tempting it seems! ;O)

Add his antics on top of those of the Texas Rangers who did this skirting routine and other similar horrors to the house while building it, and you can imagine what I'm up against here, every time and every day!

Take Care, Gnube {so, do YOU know anyone who won the Readers Digest Draw?}

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[Christian McArdle]

Use the crowbar to rip off the old skirting. Use an angle grinder with metal disc to take off the nails.

Christian.

[jerrybuilt]

Like the address, like it.....

Cut nails are supposed to give a firm hold, but any nail in plaster will give problems once it's rusted in.

If you can get one part of the skirting free enough to get a lever behind it, you will find that (with care and force) that the nails pull through the skirting as you pry it away from the wall. It is likely with old skirting that it has been skew-nailed to the floorboards, too, so it may help to lever up as well as out.

Good Lord, how slow. Just get a hammer and knock the nails to and fro a couple of times until they snap off.

[Browny]

Had this problem myself and looked on here. Didn't plan to use the skirting again so wasn't bothered about breaking it off.

Tried crowbar/wrecking bar :- Too much damage to walls. Found a nail puller in B&Q (£16.98), has a wide thin edge on it which was ideal for tapping down behind the skirting and levering it off, just slip a bit of hardboard behind it for a damage free wall.

Removing the nails, thought I was gonna be in trouble here. Angle grinder was a bit tedious and close to damaging the walls. Using a hammer to tap them from side to side was making a bit of damage as well. Tried loosening them and pulling them out put that was a pain.

In the end I got an adjustable wrench and just tightened it over the nail. Moved that back and forth (clockwise - anti-clockwise) and the nail snapped off in the wall leaving a small hole to whack a bit of filler in. The wrench was by far the quickest method.

Had about 90' of skirting to remove, around 3 rooms. Removing the boards took about 3 hours once I'd got going, if you can spot your nail and work near that it was much easier to rip the board off. Using the wrench to remove the nails that were in the wall took less then 40 mins.

Ripping it all off was quite therapeutic in the end. Good Luck, Mark.

[Gnube]

I'm counting that blessing, and thanks for it, this is on a concrete floor, so hopefully they won't have skew nailed it! I'm stuffed if they did though! ;O)

I did that, and got quite a lot of damage for my efforts, I'm trying to go gently with the building, don't want to make more work if I can possibly avoid it! If getting it done with no concern for cost was on the agenda, I'd go exactly the route you outlined though! ;O)

She want's these things, but seems to object to actually spending anything on getting them! If it ends up costing anything, then it's my fault apparently! If only it were new shoes or handbags ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {so, do YOU know anyone who won the Readers Digest Draw?}

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[Gnube]

Glad you mentioned both, since that what I got depending on which room of the 3 I'm working on. Thanks!

Take Care, Gnube {so, do YOU know anyone who won the Readers Digest Draw?}

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[Gnube]

Thanks, I'll take all the good news I can get on this one! ;O)

Take Care, Gnube {so, do YOU know anyone who won the Readers Digest Draw?}

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[Gnube]

I found a solution to all this; there's not very much made of wood that is attached to the house that is invulnerable to the attentions of the Screwfix 24" wrecking bar, and it can be used very gently, given it's size, to magnificent effect.

Finally using the dremel used to cautiously nip each nail that's left in a v notch cut (once from left and once from right to meet in centre at an angle), and then a final tidy up straight cut, and it's all looking rosey and tidy on each board!

Pretty quick, and definitely therapeutic as mentioned!

I don't need the block of wood as the load is spread very well as it is, but shall use one anyway as we can all have accidents!

Very pleased with this fix, thanks for all the pointers, they added up to a good solution indeed!

Take Care, Gnube {so, do YOU know anyone who won the Readers Digest Draw?}

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[Stewart]