In article
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wrote:
On 3 Apr, 23:06, "Dave Plowman (News)" wrote:
In article
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RobertL wrote:

Thank you for this helpful reply. I have not seen such a tool but
it sounds ideal with the leverage taken on the exposed joist next to
the board. hence no damage to the surface of any board.

Even if you hammered up a board from underneath you'll likely get
damage to some through splitting, etc. Old boards are usually nailed
with cut nails which ain't designed to be removed.

Dave
I have found that either the floor brad (cut nail) head pulls through
the timber board (as is the case with the majority in old thin softer
timbers) and is left in the joist or (as is the case in newer timbers
in good condition left in the floorboard) and only where the angle to
the grain is poor or the wood was particuluarly friable do I find it
splits. I guess this happens in about 10% of the jobs we do - perhaps
less and is never a big problem in the sense that it is only the
occasional board that is thus defective. The skill is in gently
tapping with a hammer on the other end of the board once one had part
of it up acting as a fulcrum. If one does this the board "shakes"
itself free of the nails without damage. So, recapping, Lift one end
and work your way down about 1.5 m (enough to act as a lever) and put
a fulcrum such as a steel bar or even a floorboard off cut under the
part lifted board as close to the fixed down end as possible. Then
gently hit the lifted end downwards with a hammer. This will "spring"
the board from the nails nicely without any damage at all.

If a cut nail pulls through the board it is then damaged as you can't use
that same nail hole again.
My advice stands - don't remove old floorboards unless you really have to
as they will never replace as neatly as when new.
Since I'm not a bare floorboards fan - unless a hardwood floor designed
to be on show - I always use screws on replacement of old or new (if badly
damaged). Then you *can* remove them later without damage.

--
Is the hardness of the butter proportional to the softness of the bread?*

Dave Plowman London SW
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