Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)

Am I likely to be able to re-use them after removing them?

How do I stick them back on? (Do I have to nail them or something or
can I use 'No Nails' or something?)

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

paulfoel wrote:
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)

Am I likely to be able to re-use them after removing them?

How do I stick them back on? (Do I have to nail them or something or
can I use 'No Nails' or something?)

Typically nailed on, although the nails have probably partly rusted and
are going to grip really well.

If you remove them carefully, they should go back. I have a special
nail-head remover drill bit - it looks like a hollow cone at the end.
You find the sunken nails with a metal detector and push this bit down
on the nail head, which it removes. The skirting board comes off,
leaving the shafts of the nails sticking out of the wall. They can then
be pulled out.

To replace, nail back using the old holes but larger nails, the
countersink hole left by the head remover can be filled with plastic
wood, or putty.


--
Sue

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

"Palindr?me" wrote in message
...
paulfoel wrote:
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)



If you remove them carefully, they should go back. I have a special
nail-head remover drill bit - it looks like a hollow cone at the end. You
find the sunken nails with a metal detector and push this bit down on the
nail head, which it removes. The skirting board comes off, leaving the
shafts of the nails sticking out of the wall. They can then be pulled out.

--
Sue


Can you say where such a nail-head remover drill bit can be bought, please?

Anode.

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

paulfoel wrote:
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)


All depends wether its old skirting? also wether its been taken off before?
they might be nailed on.

Am I likely to be able to re-use them after removing them?


You can reuse the skirting but its cheap enough nowadays to replace ie its
55p a foot for 6" taurus by me.
See what price it is by you?

How do I stick them back on? (Do I have to nail them or something or
can I use 'No Nails' or something?)

find the smallest magnet you can(the type found in small headphones
speakers), and gentley glide it over the skirting till the magnet sticks or
buy a cheap metal detector.
When nails are found hammer them right through the skirting with a center
punch.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

The3rd Earl Of Derby wrote:
....
find the smallest magnet you can(the type found in small headphones
speakers), and gentley glide it over the skirting till the magnet
sticks or buy a cheap metal detector.
When nails are found hammer them right through the skirting with a
center punch.

Oooh that's a good tip... :-)

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

If you remove them carefully, they should go back. I have a special
nail-head remover drill bit - it looks like a hollow cone at the end.
You find the sunken nails with a metal detector and push this bit down
on the nail head, which it removes. The skirting board comes off,
leaving the shafts of the nails sticking out of the wall. They can then
be pulled out.


That sounds cool. Where'd u get the drill bit from?

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

paulfoel wrote:
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)


Fairly new. House is only 6 years old.

Saying that if they match the build quality of the rest of the house
they should come off in my hand with a slight tug....

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

"paulfoel" wrote:
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)

Am I likely to be able to re-use them after removing them?

How do I stick them back on? (Do I have to nail them or something or
can I use 'No Nails' or something?)

Being nosey, why do you want to take them off then re-use them?

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

Anode wrote:
"Palindr?me" wrote in message
...

paulfoel wrote:

OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)



If you remove them carefully, they should go back. I have a special
nail-head remover drill bit - it looks like a hollow cone at the end. You
find the sunken nails with a metal detector and push this bit down on the
nail head, which it removes. The skirting board comes off, leaving the
shafts of the nails sticking out of the wall. They can then be pulled out.

--
Sue



Can you say where such a nail-head remover drill bit can be bought, please?



I bought mine from Trago - which has brances in Devon and Cornwall.

http://www.trago.co.uk/

The beauty is that, unlike punching the nails through, the same holes
can be re-used as they aren't enlarged significantly.

LOL, although I don't think you are supposed to use it for this, you can
use it to make pins to pin things together.

Simply belt a nail into one piece of wood, leaving it standing proud.
Then grind the top of the nail off, to leave a pointed "spike". Then
put another bit of wood over the spike and tap it into place.. Holds
stuff together whilst the glue on biscuits or dowels dries.


--
Sue

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who needs
nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot easier than
nails...

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

Phil Anthropist wrote:

"paulfoel" wrote:
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)

Am I likely to be able to re-use them after removing them?

How do I stick them back on? (Do I have to nail them or something or
can I use 'No Nails' or something?)

Being nosey, why do you want to take them off then re-use them?

Fitting wood flooring...

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

xscope wrote:
For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who
needs nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot
easier than nails...

As long as the wall is straight......



--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

The Medway Handyman wrote:
xscope wrote:
For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who
needs nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot
easier than nails...

As long as the wall is straight......




Especially if the wall isn't straight. Trying to bend and fix skirting
over contours never looks right. If you let it sit straight and back
fill with plaster, it creates an illusion of straightness in walls that
are ****ed.

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

On 10 Jul 2006 11:16:02 -0700, "xscope"
wrote:

For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who needs
nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot easier than
nails...

If the OPs house is 6 years old, the old boards are possibly /
probably stuck on with that allready, straight onto the drywall, which
renders alot of the usefull tips to deal with nails useless and
renders the old boards useless too.

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

"marvelus" wrote in message
...
On 10 Jul 2006 11:16:02 -0700, "xscope"
wrote:

For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who
needs
nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot easier
than
nails...

If the OPs house is 6 years old, the old boards are possibly /
probably stuck on with that allready, straight onto the drywall,
which
renders alot of the usefull tips to deal with nails useless and
renders the old boards useless too.

And probably the plasterboard by the time he's got the skirting off !

AWEM

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

Andrew Mawson wrote:
"marvelus" wrote in message
...
On 10 Jul 2006 11:16:02 -0700, "xscope"
wrote:

For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who
needs
nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot easier
than
nails...

If the OPs house is 6 years old, the old boards are possibly /
probably stuck on with that allready, straight onto the drywall,
which
renders alot of the usefull tips to deal with nails useless and
renders the old boards useless too.

And probably the plasterboard by the time he's got the skirting off !

AWEM

hmmm. Yeh. Pulled one off.

Stuck on with 2" nails straigh into the plasterboard. Going ot be a job
not to wreck the plaster as well....

Skirtings were made of that crappy chipboard/carbboardy stuff not solid
wood.

Should I drill the nails out first rather than yanking it. I'm afraid
of wrecking the plaster too much.

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

paulfoel wrote:
Andrew Mawson wrote:
"marvelus" wrote in message
...
On 10 Jul 2006 11:16:02 -0700, "xscope"
wrote:

For putting them back on, I'd use gripfill, "no more nails", "who
needs nails", "I can't believe it's not nails" etc. - it's a lot
easier than nails...

If the OPs house is 6 years old, the old boards are possibly /
probably stuck on with that allready, straight onto the drywall,
which renders alot of the usefull tips to deal with nails useless
and renders the old boards useless too.

And probably the plasterboard by the time he's got the skirting off !

AWEM

hmmm. Yeh. Pulled one off.

Stuck on with 2" nails straigh into the plasterboard. Going ot be a
job not to wreck the plaster as well....

Skirtings were made of that crappy chipboard/carbboardy stuff not
solid wood.

Should I drill the nails out first rather than yanking it. I'm afraid
of wrecking the plaster too much.

Behind it or above? if above just score it where the SB meets the wall.
Removal of the nails lessens the chance of damaging plaster though.

--
Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

I have removed and replaced a fair number of skirting boards, particularly
in old houses; the bottoms of these were then planed to allow for flooring
above the original and nailed back on. I have found that the best way to
remove the old nails is from the rear, if they are pulled from the front
then the wood will tend to splinter; lever the skirting board from the wall
and then pull the nails right through with a sideways pull from a claw
hammer. New nails or even the old can then be nailed through the existing
holes and even better they can match up with the holes in the lath or
framing.


"paulfoel" wrote in message
ups.com...
OK. Probably a really stupid question but,

How easy is it to remove skirting boards? (Are they nailed on?)

Am I likely to be able to re-use them after removing them?

How do I stick them back on? (Do I have to nail them or something or
can I use 'No Nails' or something?)

Removing/replacing skirting boards
 

Managed to get the skirting boards off without too much problem in the
end. They pretty much pulled off. Then I was able to pull the masonry
nails out with a claw hammer afterwards.

Sticking the new boards back on wasn't so easy. Admitedly, not helped
by a couple of B&Q banana-shape skirting boards. In the end I glued
using no-nails and used a few small nails at the ends and middle as
well.