I'm dealing with a trailer house with about 15 feet of bad floor along
one side. I recently replaced the floor in the water heater closet in
that trailer, and used a wood chisel along the wall. Just that 30"
closet took hours. I'm trying to find a better way. A circular saw
cant get close enough. I tried an angle grinder with grinder wheel,
which worked but filled the whole house with smoke and was real slow.
I do have access to one of those Multi Function oscillating tools from a
friend. I've never used one of them, so I dont know if that would work

A reciprocating saw with a 6" blade would easily let you cut right up to
the base of the wall. You would just have to hold it at an angle to control
the cutting depth so you don't cut into the floor joists. It can be a
little tricky to start the cut, especially in the corners, but it's doable.

I've made cuts like that several times without any problems. If you take
your time, you can even cut away a top layer of plywood from two layers
without damaging the bottom layer. Better to cut a little shy and clean it
up with a knife or chisel than damage the structure underneath.

The goal is to just remove 4" from the wall the entire length of the bad
area, and put down the plywood. I want to get right up to the wall to
remove all the bad flooring and so I have as much of the 2x8 joist
exposed to fasten the new plywood. I may still add blocks of 2x4
between each joist so there is more to nail to.

I would probably take it back 8-12" from the wall to have room to add
blocking between the joists (at the wall, and at the joint in the
flooring).

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com