Prior to new flooring, I need to pull a lot of skirting board off quickly - are there any tips that can help me do it quickly with the minmum of repair work to existing walls?
The existing skirting is MDF and I have pulled a little off and it is nailed with dirty great wide flat nails.
That little bit was rather noisy, and I have left more marks than I would like...
I have just removed quite a bit of skirting also held on with metal brad nails. Get a decent "wrecking bar", with a crank near one end. Use a bolster chisel from the top to open up a gap then use the cranked end of the wrecking bar but put a piece of softwood between it and the wall. In my case, some of the brads pulled through the board and remained in the wall. If this happens, the other end of the wrecking bar will have a claw for removing nails.
Good luck.
A
That will be what I call a crow bar... Got one of them.
Ta - that's kind of how I have started, but I am making more damage on the wall than I would like.
I think losing the carpet first might be a good idea...
The existing skirting is MDF I have a load of new skirting waiting to go on. I don't care about the old stuff.
P.
Use a Bosch PMF-180 (or Fein Multimaster substitute) to chop away at any bulk timber. This will minimise collateral damage to plaster etc., then you can hack away locally at individual fixings. I did this recently to get rid of some horrible pine panelling :-)
Any tips on locating the fixings?
The excuse for a Bosch looks a good one though, and I was planning on passing near
Well worth buying, especialy if you have an excuse... Brilliant tool, excellent sander as well.
Those flat nails are a right bugger to remove, if you do manage to excert enough force to remove one the bloody things pull out a large lump of wall with it.
Hammer them in, or more likely flat to the wall instead.
The Medway Handyman coughed up some electrons that declared:
Hi Dave,
I've been toying with this or the Fein. Can I ask, in all honesty, if there's anything about the Bosch that you miss WRT the Fein?
I'm thinking about the range of blades. I'll be using it (for sure) to:
Cut PB and thin wood (demolition) Cut copper and iron pipes (disconnecting plumbing in hard to get at places) Cut iron nails Bit of sanding in fiddly places, Cut top coat of plaster for any fiddly bits during chasing or box sinking.
And maybe, during reconstruction, to trim tiles (just for odd fiddly cuts, not high priority, this one).
Cheers
Tim
They are doing a 10.8v 'blue' one now. At £120ish, it looks to be good value if you use them regularly. I find the power lead of the PMF180 to be a bit of a pain, especially as it is one of the few power tools I have that is not battery powered.
Alan.
Due to lack of stock of the Bosch, I just had to buy the Fein :-)
I have noticed....
A little update. a furthe little challenge is that is appears that the skirting was fastened ahead of the asphalt floor. Im some places the bottom of the skirting is below the asphalt.
So, How have I been doing it?
Main tools are a lump hammer, a moulding bar similar to
a utility bar - like a wrecking bar but flat metal, a Fein Multimaster, knife and a pair of mole grips.
The nails were mainly identifiable by close observation. Knife allong top to cut caulk. Fein to plunge cut to sides and below, the moudling bar used as a chisel from above then "neatly" cut the surrounding material from the nail. Spin the moulding bar and a bit of grunt pulled most if the nails out. If the nail wouldn't come out, the head would typiclly come off!
Once the nails were seen to, moulding bar down the top and away comes the skirting, with a bit of lift to get it over the asphalt.
Thanks everyone, Paul.
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