Hullo I need to lift floorboards to run some pipe. In the past I have just ended up wrecking them, what tools should I use to cut then at the joists ? Is there a special saw or something ? and how do I make the neatest cut possible ? Thanx in advance
This should help:
Start with a circular saw with as thin a blade as possible, and set the depth to the thickness of the boards. Make a cut along each side of the board, a few inches longer than the bit you want to remove, in order to remove the tongues. Starting from an existing joint (it is *very* difficult to remove a section which doesn't include one existing end) start to raise the board by levering it up with 2 screwdrivers or gemmies - one each side, pivoted on a small block of wood. Once the first bit is up, slide a strip of wood under it - resting on the 2 boards either side - to stop it going down again. Move the levers further along, and raise a bit more - following it with the cross piece. Keep going until the bit you want to cut is slightly raised, and held up with a cross strip of wood slightly *beyond* the cut point - so that the bit of board you want to cut isn't stressed. Taking care to avoid any nails, carefully cut across the board with a sharp tenon saw, and remove the section of board. [It is sometimes useful to cut the board at a slight angle - rather than parallel with the joist - both to avoid nails and to ensure that part of each cut bit is supported by more than half a joist, if you see what I mean].
Once the board is up, carefully remove all the nails. It is a good idea to use screws rather than nails when you put it back, to facilitate future access to your pipes.
HTH, Roger
There's a few ways I've tried over the years, trading off time against money. In my impoverished just-out-of-Uni days, I got a neat enough result by drilling a line of relatively small (3/32th or 1/8th inch, say) holes over the middle of the joist, using the inner part of a terminal block ("choccie block") fitted up the bit as a depth stop. Having drilled the vertical holes, you can remove some more wood by drilling at an angle to break though most of the webs between the holes. For the final parting, a Stanley knife - or just its blade hammered down - is enough to remove the remaining bits of wood. Once the board is up, you can neaten up the edges a little with a coarse sanding block or fine chisel; or just hide it all under the underlay and carpet ;-)
Those with a Rotozip or router might well use such a tool with a narrow cutter, but I've never used one. (Seen them in catalogues, but pace IMM, doesn't mean I'll spout off about using them.)
These days, I have a circular saw, so the bulk of the cut can be done neatly with that, setting the depth of cut to an appropriate 18-20mm. If you are a tradesman in a hurry and will be putting carpet or similar back over the board, you tend to run the saw with gay abandon into the boards either side of the one you want to lift, to get the full depth of cut on the board you want to lift; for a neater job you stop the cut so it doesn't extend into the boards either side, and worry away at the two edges where the cut is incomplete with a fine chisel, hacking knife, drill, or floorboard saw.
"Ah yes", you say, "what about a floorboard saw - surely its name says it's just right for the job?" Well, it's a very good tool for cutting through the groove on T&G floorboards (so's the circular saw, but you have to be careful not to let that wander!). But their cunning "teeth on the rounded back so you can cut right through a board in the middle of a joist" feature is not one I've ever had much joy with: across the relatively narrow width of a floorboard, you can't work up much of a sawing action. YMMV.
Hope that helps - Stefek
Start with a circular saw with as thin a blade as possible, and set the depth to the thickness of the boards. Make a cut along each side of the board, a few inches longer than the bit you want to remove, in order to remove the tongues. Starting from an existing joint (it is *very* difficult to remove a section which doesn't include one existing end) start to raise the board by levering it up with 2 screwdrivers or gemmies - one each side, pivoted on a small block of wood. Once the first bit is up, slide a strip of wood under it - resting on the 2 boards either side - to stop it going down again. Move the levers further along, and raise a bit more - following it with the cross piece. Keep going until the bit you want to cut is slightly raised, and held up with a cross strip of wood slightly *beyond* the cut point - so that the bit of board you want to cut isn't stressed. Taking care to avoid any nails, carefully cut across the board with a sharp tenon saw, and remove the section of board. [It is sometimes useful to cut the board at a slight angle - rather than parallel with the joist - both to avoid nails and to ensure that part of each cut bit is supported by more than half a joist, if you see what I mean].
I don't seem to be able to post a reply to this message. Most testing! Let's try removing the v brackets.
Just a thought; put a baton on the piece you are removing to act as a turn-buckle and this will hold it level so that you can cut it and move the baton out of the way of the saw. Also try and cut as near the joist as possible in order to run supporting battons along them wheh repacing the piece.
Finally:
The cutout will be about 3/8" or more too narrow for the slot created due to the thickness of the saw blade. The piece should be OK to go back but you might want to consider using the cutout as a pattern for a wider new replacement. It's just about the thickness of a pencil.
In message , Roger Mills writes
I use that technique, but I now tend to use a jigsaw with a blade snapped off at the right length too run along the tongues.
So.
I didn't get the notification that I had more quoted than quotable until I messed with the last post. I'm still getting used to this server. I must say the refusal gizmo is an improvement to the postings here some time ago.
Now to deal with those damned top posters............
There really is no proper tool for this. I recently bought a floorboard saw from B&Q, which was completely useless. Nice and sharp but the blade was so thin it wobbled all over the place. It was also too long so that you couldn't easily keep the rounded section located in the cut. What's needed is the equivalent of a rigid 6" tenon saw with a rounded, toothed section. These days I always cut next to the joist and screw 2x1 supports to it, but there remains the problem of getting the cut started. I'd say the circular saw idea is a bit reckless, especially for beginners. I've used them for 30 years but plunge cutting without a guide is probably the most dangerous thing you can do with them, especially on your hands and knees. Given that you can't easily guage the beginning or the end of the cut, I think they're more trouble than they're worth on floorboards. Big 3mm kerf as well. And now Dave is going to mention the shortened jigsaw blade method :-) I have to say I tried that and the thing just bounced about. I didn't investigate too far but I think delicate plunge cutting with a normal blade might be the answer for me. Again though, you really need a rounded end with a fairly coarse set on the teeth which I haven't come across.
At this point, I just find a joist, and saw along the middle of the joist with the circular saw. I don't even worry too much about missing the nails, although you usually can. You'll cut into the boards either side a little, but that doesn't matter (unless you were planning to sand the boards and use them as the floor surface).
One of those B&Q PP Pro Trimers (Rotozip thingy) does this very well, and no need to cut into the boards either side.
On Wed, 8 Oct 2003 11:42:13 +0100, "stuart noble"
After reading similar posts for many moons on 'ere I've tried all sorts of methods from the circular saw thru the jigsaw with snapped blade to drilling holes. Mileage has varied on all of 'em :)
Last week I had cause to replace a dozen or so boards in the bathroom, most of which had been butchered by others in the past and some of which were caused by us moving the bathroom round 3 times before we found a layout we liked.
For boards that were damaged beyond reuse in what would be a newly sanded bathroom (eventually :) I used a circular saw set to board depth to cut as much board as I could without hitting the adjacent boards then used a rotozip to finish the cut - rotozips can be depth-stopped. Circular saw to cut down the middle of the board parallel to the t&g then it could be removed without damaging the t&g on adjacent boards.
For boards that could be reused I cut the tongue off using the jigsaw (after circular saw/rotozipping) which minimized adjacent board damage.
If a board was being replaced its a simple matter with a circular saw to remove the underside part of the groove so the new board slots into place without damaging any other boards.
If the boards to be replaced went under the skirting I had to chop to the nearest joist (fortunately) and screw on a 2x1 batten to support the new board.
Lot of work but the floor looks fab now :)
cheers
witchy/binarydinosaurs
Dunno if another has mentioned it, but sometimes I've used a jigsaw with the teeth pointing downward (i.e. all the teeth parallel to the floor) to gingerly cut across the board. The intention being to try and not cut into adjacent boards if I can avoid it.
Can be tricky, and it can kick back so not for the faint-hearted.
The other point to make is to use BRASS screws when screwing down the board - even inside a house I find that steel screws eventually rust.
HTH
Mungo
the join and eventually you will cut through the tongue. This method doesn't make a large gap like some saws do. Neil
Cheers all.. I will try some combinations.
With the circular saw method you need to watch out for gravity lead pipes their requirement to constantly rise means that in certain places they are higher than the floorboard depth ie- the floorboard is cut away by a cm or so on the back of it. Most likely within 2m of a hot water cylinder!I always use screws to put them back- I can feel and hear it going into a pipe then!
Jon
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