Drilling out screws in Window -- D.A. prior owner!
 

Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.

Suggestions? I thought about getting a drimmel to see if I can saw
the screwhead off then drill from that point, but I was wondering if
anyone had other suggestions. I'm SO cussing the prior owner since he
did TONs of dumbass things like this (like leaving about 15 spent oil
filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed).

The screws from what I can tell are about #8x1 inch philips screws.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. Now that it's getting cooler I
am anxious to get some breeze into this part of the house :) Take
care, and happy holidays.

Ringo

On 11/28/2004 3:36 PM US(ET), Ringo Langly took fingers to keys, and
typed the following:

Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.

Suggestions? I thought about getting a drimmel to see if I can saw
the screwhead off then drill from that point, but I was wondering if
anyone had other suggestions. I'm SO cussing the prior owner since he
did TONs of dumbass things like this (like leaving about 15 spent oil
filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed).

The screws from what I can tell are about #8x1 inch philips screws.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. Now that it's getting cooler I
am anxious to get some breeze into this part of the house :) Take
care, and happy holidays.

Ringo


A pair of regular or visegrip pliers to turn and pull the screws at the
same time?

Ringo Langly wrote:

Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.



Go to a good hardware store and ask for a left-handed drill bit.
Probably about a 3/32. Drill it out *slowly* with a variable speed
reversable drill, and the bit should catch and back out the screw.

Bob

If you live in the US and the EPA hears about the burried oil, they will
make you and if your are lucky, the previous owner, pay to clean it up.


"Ringo Langly" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.

Suggestions? I thought about getting a drimmel to see if I can saw
the screwhead off then drill from that point, but I was wondering if
anyone had other suggestions. I'm SO cussing the prior owner since he
did TONs of dumbass things like this (like leaving about 15 spent oil
filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed).

The screws from what I can tell are about #8x1 inch philips screws.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. Now that it's getting cooler I
am anxious to get some breeze into this part of the house :) Take
care, and happy holidays.

Ringo

Wow! How long ago did you buy the house? If it's recent (a realtor can advise you), you have recourse over that
"...15 spent oil filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed."

This sounds like non-disclosure by the person who sold to you, and can be big trouble for that seller; and
hopefully, not you. This is not to mention environmental damage being done.

- Dugie

"Art" wrote in message
nk.net...
If you live in the US and the EPA hears about the burried oil, they will
make you and if your are lucky, the previous owner, pay to clean it up.


"Ringo Langly" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.

Suggestions? I thought about getting a drimmel to see if I can saw
the screwhead off then drill from that point, but I was wondering if
anyone had other suggestions. I'm SO cussing the prior owner since he
did TONs of dumbass things like this (like leaving about 15 spent oil
filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed).

The screws from what I can tell are about #8x1 inch philips screws.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. Now that it's getting cooler I
am anxious to get some breeze into this part of the house :) Take
care, and happy holidays.

Ringo

Sears sell a screw extractor kit. you just put these drill bit like tools in
your cordless and unscrew . I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't try it
myself. The SOB works
"Ringo Langly" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.

Suggestions? I thought about getting a drimmel to see if I can saw
the screwhead off then drill from that point, but I was wondering if
anyone had other suggestions. I'm SO cussing the prior owner since he
did TONs of dumbass things like this (like leaving about 15 spent oil
filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed).

The screws from what I can tell are about #8x1 inch philips screws.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. Now that it's getting cooler I
am anxious to get some breeze into this part of the house :) Take
care, and happy holidays.

Ringo

if you had dremeled it, it would be done by now.

randy

"Ringo Langly" wrote in message
om...
Hi all,

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them
out all it does is make a small dimple and the drill goes maybe a
milimeter and stops. I've tried to get a screwdriver or something
under the head, but nogo since there's no leverage. I've also tried
to make my own notches to get into the screws with a power screwdriver
or screwdriver bit on my drill, but the screws just turn since they're
just in a piece of aluminum and not in anything like wood.

Suggestions? I thought about getting a drimmel to see if I can saw
the screwhead off then drill from that point, but I was wondering if
anyone had other suggestions. I'm SO cussing the prior owner since he
did TONs of dumbass things like this (like leaving about 15 spent oil
filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed).

The screws from what I can tell are about #8x1 inch philips screws.

Thanks for any suggestions or ideas. Now that it's getting cooler I
am anxious to get some breeze into this part of the house :) Take
care, and happy holidays.

Ringo

"Dugie" wrote in message ...
Wow! How long ago did you buy the house? If it's recent (a realtor can advise you), you have recourse over that
"...15 spent oil filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed."

This sounds like non-disclosure by the person who sold to you, and can be big trouble for that seller; and
hopefully, not you. This is not to mention environmental damage being done.

- Dugie


Hi everyone,

Thanks for the great replies. After working with the window for
almost 2 hours i finally did get all 7 screws out -- though it nicked
the hell out of the window. I used a flathead screwdriver and hammer
to bend-up the head of each screw then used some plyers to turn the
screw while using the screwdriver to seperate the inside of the window
frame and the window itself. Generally when trying to turn the screw
by hand either it didn't turn or just kept turning withotu coming out.
At anyrate the window is open and the room feels GREAT!

As for the oil I mentioned, yes I should've said something about this
after buying the house. I purcahsed this house two years ago when it
was winter -- so i didn't notice the oil until I started doing
yardwork about 4 months later. I found out by the neighbor that the
guy would drain his boat and 4-wheeler oil directly on the ground and
just pitch the oil filters in the corner of the yard. Luckily it's
between the shed and fence, so I won't be using this area for anything
other then storage, but I'm planning on digging-up the soil about 6-12
inches deep, digging-up deeper soil not contaminated, and burying the
oily soil with good soil on top. I still won't probably ever be able
to grow anything here, but at least it'll have a cleaner area for
storage. The oil cans I took to a local place the recycles them.

Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas on the stuck screws though.
I'm just now starting some major home repairs, so I'm sure they'll be
put to good use soon :)

Ringo

On 28 Nov 2004 21:55:42 -0800 "Ringo Langly"
used 39 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.home.repair

Luckily it's
between the shed and fence, so I won't be using this area for anything
other then storage, but I'm planning on digging-up the soil about 6-12
inches deep, digging-up deeper soil not contaminated, and burying the
oily soil with good soil on top.


I think you're missing the point Ringo. The petrochemicals
contaminate ground water, you'll be helping the process along by
digging it deeper. The oil also is a danger to kids and animals.
It's best to dig it up and dispose of properly.




--
-Graham

Remove the 'snails' from my email

And what would be proper?

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"G. Morgan" wrote in message

I think you're missing the point Ringo. The petrochemicals
contaminate ground water, you'll be helping the process along by
digging it deeper. The oil also is a danger to kids and animals.
It's best to dig it up and dispose of properly.




--
-Graham

Remove the 'snails' from my email

Ringo Langly wrote:

As for the oil I mentioned, yes I should've said something about this
after buying the house. I purcahsed this house two years ago when it
was winter -- so i didn't notice the oil until I started doing
yardwork about 4 months later. I found out by the neighbor that the
guy would drain his boat and 4-wheeler oil directly on the ground and
just pitch the oil filters in the corner of the yard. Luckily it's
between the shed and fence, so I won't be using this area for anything
other then storage, but I'm planning on digging-up the soil about 6-12
inches deep, digging-up deeper soil not contaminated, and burying the
oily soil with good soil on top. I still won't probably ever be able
to grow anything here, but at least it'll have a cleaner area for
storage. The oil cans I took to a local place the recycles them.


If you dig up the contaminated soil, you need to burn it rather than
bury it. You're actually better off having it hauled away and let
someone else burn it.

You really ought to go after the previous owner for not disclosing an
illegal toxic waste dump when you bought the property. It's gonna be
expensive to clean up if he actually dumped oil there rather than just a
few old filters.

Bob

The person who owned my home before I did had a daughter who liked to
sneak out, so he put 7 screws into her window to prevent it from
opening. Now this room is my office and I'd like to open the room.
The problem is the screws are rusted over and when I try to drill them

Call they guy's daughter, and ask her how to open the window...

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:04:03 GMT "Stormin Mormon"
used 26 lines of text to write in newsgroup: alt.home.repair

And what would be proper?


I don't know. But I'm sure burying it deeper is not the solution.

Try these guys:

Environmental Protection Agency
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
(202) 272-0167


--
-Graham

Remove the 'snails' from my email

Ringo Langly posted for all of us....

"Dugie" wrote in message ...
Wow! How long ago did you buy the house? If it's recent (a realtor can advise you), you have recourse over that
"...15 spent oil filters with TONS of oil on the ground in backyard behind shed."

This sounds like non-disclosure by the person who sold to you, and can be big trouble for that seller; and
hopefully, not you. This is not to mention environmental damage being done.

- Dugie


Hi everyone,

Thanks for the great replies. After working with the window for
almost 2 hours i finally did get all 7 screws out -- though it nicked
the hell out of the window. I used a flathead screwdriver and hammer
to bend-up the head of each screw then used some plyers to turn the
screw while using the screwdriver to seperate the inside of the window
frame and the window itself. Generally when trying to turn the screw
by hand either it didn't turn or just kept turning withotu coming out.
At anyrate the window is open and the room feels GREAT!

As for the oil I mentioned, yes I should've said something about this
after buying the house. I purcahsed this house two years ago when it
was winter -- so i didn't notice the oil until I started doing
yardwork about 4 months later. I found out by the neighbor that the
guy would drain his boat and 4-wheeler oil directly on the ground and
just pitch the oil filters in the corner of the yard. Luckily it's
between the shed and fence, so I won't be using this area for anything
other then storage, but I'm planning on digging-up the soil about 6-12
inches deep, digging-up deeper soil not contaminated, and burying the
oily soil with good soil on top. I still won't probably ever be able
to grow anything here, but at least it'll have a cleaner area for
storage. The oil cans I took to a local place the recycles them.

Thanks for all the suggestions and ideas on the stuck screws though.
I'm just now starting some major home repairs, so I'm sure they'll be
put to good use soon :)

Ringo

Like zxc & G Morgan says. You now have a home and property worth ZERO $
nada, nothing.
You MUST disclose this to future buyers. You better get your lawyer on the
phone because the realtor, previous owner didn't disclose it and it will be
mucho $$$ to properly remediate. Hope it's only oil, not heavy metals, etc.
--
Tekkie

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...
And what would be proper?

--

There are special landfills for contaminated soil.

As for the oil I mentioned, yes I should've said something about this
after buying the house. I purcahsed this house two years ago when it
was winter -- so i didn't notice the oil until I started doing
yardwork about 4 months later. I found out by the neighbor that the
guy would drain his boat and 4-wheeler oil directly on the ground and
just pitch the oil filters in the corner of the yard. Luckily it's
between the shed and fence, so I won't be using this area for anything
other then storage, but I'm planning on digging-up the soil about 6-12
inches deep, digging-up deeper soil not contaminated, and burying the
oily soil with good soil on top. I still won't probably ever be able
to grow anything here, but at least it'll have a cleaner area for
storage. The oil cans I took to a local place the recycles them.

Ringo,
Your idea sounds like the common sense approach, however you must
tread very carefully here. I don't know what state you live in, but
here in washington, and federally under CERCLA (the federal toxic
cleanup law), if you dig up and rebury or move the contaminated soil
in any way, you are actually "disposing" of the hazardous substance
(oil) and then becomming personally liable for the damage. While the
contaminated site sounds small, cleanups can easily run into the six
figure range for larger sites.
If you remove the soil ( wouldn't recommend it personally), have it
disposed of at a proper facility and KEEP THE DOCUMENTATION showing
you disposed of it properly.
The prior owner is liable both for the latent defect, which you should
be able to sue as a misrepresentation under the sale contract, or
liable under an enviornmental statute as a liable party who disposed
of a hazardous substance.
You should be under the applicable statute of limitations in either
case.
Write him a letter and make him pay for the cleanup or better yet,
contact a lawyer to do it for you saying that you are going to have an
environmental consultant clean it up. Most state statutes allow you to
recover your attorney's fees for bringing a "private right of action"
so it shouldn't cost you anything.
Good luck,
David

And what would be proper?


I don't know. But I'm sure burying it deeper is not the solution.


generally, you incinerate it, in small batches. That way,
you pollute the air, instead of the groundwater.

On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 16:04:03 GMT, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:

And what would be proper?

Locally, you call the solid waste department who provides a hazardous
materials barrel, at a significant cost. Alternatively, twice a year
they have a hazardous household waste disposal drop-off and you bring
it in a non-permeable container such as a 5 gallon pail with a lid.

Jeff

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"G. Morgan" wrote in message

I think you're missing the point Ringo. The petrochemicals
contaminate ground water, you'll be helping the process along by
digging it deeper. The oil also is a danger to kids and animals.
It's best to dig it up and dispose of properly.