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Overdone construction Eigenvector 10-05-2006
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Posted by Eigenvector on October 5, 2006, 7:28 pm


Have you ever encountered a previous owner's handiwork that you just wanted
to strangle them over? I'm in the process of removing the 1/2" plywood over
2x4 flooring in the basement - in order to give me headroom and I've
honestly never had this much trouble.

I'm going at this stuff with a 36" wrecking bar, sawsall, hammer, the only
thing I haven't used is a stick of dynamite. The previous owner used a 10
penny nail every 4 inches into 2x4's 1 foot apart under the plywood. He
must have spend a few thousand on materials - but it sure is the most stable
and durable floor I've ever walked on. Too bad I bonk my head on the
ceiling joists.

The biggest problem that I've encountered so far is that the plywood comes
apart when pulled up, rather than pulling the nails up with it. So I'm
basically having to remove the plywood 4" square at a time. I was hoping to
re-use the materials for a workbench - but unless the going gets better the
stuff will be shredded beyond usefulness.



Posted by BobK207 on October 5, 2006, 9:53 pm



Eigenvector wrote:
> Have you ever encountered a previous owner's handiwork that you just wanted
> to strangle them over? I'm in the process of removing the 1/2" plywood over
> 2x4 flooring in the basement - in order to give me headroom and I've
> honestly never had this much trouble.
>
> I'm going at this stuff with a 36" wrecking bar, sawsall, hammer, the only
> thing I haven't used is a stick of dynamite. The previous owner used a 10
> penny nail every 4 inches into 2x4's 1 foot apart under the plywood. He
> must have spend a few thousand on materials - but it sure is the most stable
> and durable floor I've ever walked on. Too bad I bonk my head on the
> ceiling joists.
>
> The biggest problem that I've encountered so far is that the plywood comes
> apart when pulled up, rather than pulling the nails up with it. So I'm
> basically having to remove the plywood 4" square at a time. I was hoping to
> re-use the materials for a workbench - but unless the going gets better the
> stuff will be shredded beyond usefulness.

I may not be understanding the situation but.......can you cats paw the
nails out? & thus make the removal easier & potentially reuse the ply?

I used to have to demo plywood (3/8", 7/16 OSB, 15/32" STR I, 1/2")
shearwalls after testing them.....we used to cats paw out the nails
using a HEAVY plastic headed hammer. The plywood had big gouges every
4 or 6" but it was usable for other apps.

cheers
Bob


Posted by Eigenvector on October 5, 2006, 10:13 pm



>
> Eigenvector wrote:
>> Have you ever encountered a previous owner's handiwork that you just
>> wanted
>> to strangle them over? I'm in the process of removing the 1/2" plywood
>> over
>> 2x4 flooring in the basement - in order to give me headroom and I've
>> honestly never had this much trouble.
>>
>> I'm going at this stuff with a 36" wrecking bar, sawsall, hammer, the
>> only
>> thing I haven't used is a stick of dynamite. The previous owner used a
>> 10
>> penny nail every 4 inches into 2x4's 1 foot apart under the plywood. He
>> must have spend a few thousand on materials - but it sure is the most
>> stable
>> and durable floor I've ever walked on. Too bad I bonk my head on the
>> ceiling joists.
>>
>> The biggest problem that I've encountered so far is that the plywood
>> comes
>> apart when pulled up, rather than pulling the nails up with it. So I'm
>> basically having to remove the plywood 4" square at a time. I was hoping
>> to
>> re-use the materials for a workbench - but unless the going gets better
>> the
>> stuff will be shredded beyond usefulness.
>
> I may not be understanding the situation but.......can you cats paw the
> nails out? & thus make the removal easier & potentially reuse the ply?
>
> I used to have to demo plywood (3/8", 7/16 OSB, 15/32" STR I, 1/2")
> shearwalls after testing them.....we used to cats paw out the nails
> using a HEAVY plastic headed hammer. The plywood had big gouges every
> 4 or 6" but it was usable for other apps.

Maybe I don't understand the term "cat paw". I've tried getting under it
with the claw of my hammer but no luck. The plywood is swollen a bit from
moisure build-up, and whoever installed the floor did a damn good job, nails
are all very tight, very straight, and very in there.
>
> cheers
> Bob
>



Posted by Harry K on October 5, 2006, 10:31 pm



Eigenvector wrote:
> >
> > Eigenvector wrote:
> >> Have you ever encountered a previous owner's handiwork that you just
> >> wanted
> >> to strangle them over? I'm in the process of removing the 1/2" plywood
> >> over
> >> 2x4 flooring in the basement - in order to give me headroom and I've
> >> honestly never had this much trouble.
> >>
> >> I'm going at this stuff with a 36" wrecking bar, sawsall, hammer, the
> >> only
> >> thing I haven't used is a stick of dynamite. The previous owner used a
> >> 10
> >> penny nail every 4 inches into 2x4's 1 foot apart under the plywood. He
> >> must have spend a few thousand on materials - but it sure is the most
> >> stable
> >> and durable floor I've ever walked on. Too bad I bonk my head on the
> >> ceiling joists.
> >>
> >> The biggest problem that I've encountered so far is that the plywood
> >> comes
> >> apart when pulled up, rather than pulling the nails up with it. So I'm
> >> basically having to remove the plywood 4" square at a time. I was hoping
> >> to
> >> re-use the materials for a workbench - but unless the going gets better
> >> the
> >> stuff will be shredded beyond usefulness.
> >
> > I may not be understanding the situation but.......can you cats paw the
> > nails out? & thus make the removal easier & potentially reuse the ply?
> >
> > I used to have to demo plywood (3/8", 7/16 OSB, 15/32" STR I, 1/2")
> > shearwalls after testing them.....we used to cats paw out the nails
> > using a HEAVY plastic headed hammer. The plywood had big gouges every
> > 4 or 6" but it was usable for other apps.
>
> Maybe I don't understand the term "cat paw". I've tried getting under it
> with the claw of my hammer but no luck. The plywood is swollen a bit from
> moisure build-up, and whoever installed the floor did a damn good job, nails
> are all very tight, very straight, and very in there.
> >
> > cheers
> > Bob
> >

"Wonder Bar" is one type. Has a flat pry on one end and claws at a
right angle on the other. A little work on a grinder to sharpen the
claws is a big help.

Harry K


Posted by on October 5, 2006, 11:06 pm



>
> Eigenvector wrote:
>> >
(snip)
>> Maybe I don't understand the term "cat paw". I've tried getting under it
>> with the claw of my hammer but no luck. The plywood is swollen a bit
>> from
>> moisure build-up, and whoever installed the floor did a damn good job,
>> nails
>> are all very tight, very straight, and very in there.
>> >
>> > cheers
>> > Bob
>> >
>
> "Wonder Bar" is one type. Has a flat pry on one end and claws at a
> right angle on the other. A little work on a grinder to sharpen the
> claws is a big help.
>
No, 'Wonder bars', great as the are, are something different. A Cats Paw is
a cross between a a chisel and a small prybar. It has a small almost
spherical cupped end on it, very sharp, with a narrow tapered groove,
designed for extracting nails and not much else. You place the 'paw' end so
the groove will catch the nail, and wack the backside of it with a hammer,
to drive t under the head of the nail you want to remove. For little nails,
you can just rock the bar back. For bit nails, you sometimes have to get
another 'bite' further down the nail, or turn the hammer sideways inder the
paw to provide a raised fulcrum. An indispensible tool for repair work and
demolition. Any good tool store should have them.

But as to OP's problem- Life is too short to worry about salvaging 100 bucks
worth of plywood. Use a circular saw to cut through the ply parallel to each
sleeper, and rock the long strips back and forth to loosen them up. Unless
he also glued it together with construction adhesive, you should be able to
pull the 2x4 and plywood strips up 4 feet at a time.

aem sends....




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