Re: removing skirting 'neatly' !

[NC]

I wonder, could I use a small chisel, bash it in about a cm and then twist ??

Maybe you could careful drill out the old plugs. If you use a very small > bit and drill a couple of times it may be enough splinter the plugs? > A bit fiddly tho > > > I am about to lay laminate and will remove all the skirting to replace > with > > decent stuff. The current skirting is held in place with screws, covered > up > > by round plugs cut from scrap, and hammered into place to hide the > > holes/screw heads. I could use a wrecking bar to lever the old skirting > off, > > but I would much rather take out the old plugs and unscrew neatly - > > preserving the old holes for the new skirting. Is there a simple way of > > doing this ?? Is there a tool that will do the job ?? > > > > > >

[Christian McArdle]

If you're chucking away the skirting, chisel out the out plugs and unscrew.

Christian.

[S Viemeister]

If the plugs are deep enough, and have just been tapped into place rather than glued - you could try screwing in an eye-screw, and using that to pull out the plugs.

[stuart noble]

Drill one hole in the middle of the plug and use a hammer and small screwdriver to prise the remainder out. In a previous incarnation I used to dismantle church pews in bulk, and that was the best method I found.

[NC]

hmm - good thinking. The skirting has also been painted - hopefully the plugs wont be glued *as well* !! I'll have a go at this, if things work out I will be happy, if not I'll have to get the wrecking bar out and I'll not have lost anything.

Cheers for all the advice.

"stuart noble"

[David]

Not sure why you're so keen to re-use the old holes. I would have thought that way you'd be making more trouble for yourself - how are you going to drill pilot holes in the new skirting at exactly the right places to match up with the plugs? Can be done, but a real fiddle to get right. If I were you I'd be inclined to drill pilot holes in the new skirting, offer the skirting up to the wall, using it as a template to mark the position of new drill holes in the wall (couple of inches away from the original holes).

David

[NC]

yeh - good point! How can you tell I'm a DIY virgin !? Suppose I dont really know what I'll do until I see whats behind the skirting. Even if I dont use the same holes, it'll still be a lot nicer to be able to take the old skirting off smoothly by unscrewing, rather than ripping it off ! Less chance of taking the plaster off etc etc.

[Phil Addison]

When you replace the skirting boards you will have the complementary problem of how to re-fix them neatly!

The best way I have come across was posted by Jonathan Marsters ( [e-mail]) back in 1996. See

have recently re-fixed some skirting based on this idea. To get the skirting in a straight run, as well as vertical, I put in a row of support screws as per Jonathan's idea, then ran a piece of string across the heads from left to right. I then adjusted the heads in and out to get them all lined up.

In my case there was no plaster to support the top edge of the board (don't ask!) so I used a pair of support screws at each location to support and align both the top and bottom edges, and the fixed the board with a third screw between these two.

-- Phil Addison The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

NOSPAM from address to reply

[NC]