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

"SC" wrote in message
...
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

"NC" wrote in message
...
All,
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 ??

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,

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

Christian.

NC wrote:

All,
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 ??

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.

NC wrote in message ...
All,
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 ??
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.

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" wrote in message
...

NC wrote in message ...
All,
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 ??
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" wrote in message ...

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 ??

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

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.


"David" wrote in message
om...
"NC" wrote in message
...

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 ??

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 wrote:

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 -

Just us a HSS drill about the same size as the plug - drill down it till
you hit the screw! Then unscrew as normal.

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 ??

Pull the old plugs out and fill the holes if you want - drill new ones
for the new skirting using the holes in the new skirting as a template.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
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|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 10:40:28 +0100, "NC" wrote:

All,
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 ??

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
) back in 1996. See
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...0nmp.nokia.com

I 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 http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/
Remove NOSPAM from address to reply

Phil,
Thanks for that link - quite an ingenius approach ! Hopefully i wont have
the problem of a gap at the bottom of the plaster - but I will be sure to
bookmark the link incase !

"Phil Addison" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 19 Aug 2003 10:40:28 +0100, "NC" wrote:

All,
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 ??

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
) back in 1996. See
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...0nmp.nokia.com

I 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 http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/
Remove NOSPAM from address to reply