Some wally has put the deck screws in well deep and has stripped out the heads on most of them. Given that I have to lift all the boards I am wondering if there is a driver bit that can be used to removed stripped or partially stripped phillips head screws. I recall seeing one somewhere in the States but don't know what it'd be called, or where I can get one here. Any ideas?
Removing screws from deck but heads are stripped
- Thread starter WabbitPoo
- Start date
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Google 'screw extractor' there are plenty on the market.
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/18643/Drill-Bits/Specialist-Drill-Bits/Screw-Extractor-Set
http://www.screwfix.com/prods/18643/Drill-Bits/Specialist-Drill-Bits/Screw-Extractor-Set
Thanks nstreet. Do you know if those basically destroy the screw or grab it, allowing me to unscrew it as normal? I don't want to have to use pliers to unscrew whats left of the shank once the board is out.
thermo - the boards are to be re-used. Its just that they have been fitted (not by me!) with gaps of at least 15mm in places. Crap, to say the least. The client knows that screws that deep may well bring out shards of the board when they come. I have got some of them out in the normal way and they are normal deck screws.
thermo - the boards are to be re-used. Its just that they have been fitted (not by me!) with gaps of at least 15mm in places. Crap, to say the least. The client knows that screws that deep may well bring out shards of the board when they come. I have got some of them out in the normal way and they are normal deck screws.
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little tip here if you have the head or a few mm of shank showing
take your cordless on low speed and reverse
tighten the chuck tightly over the head or thread and undo slowly
eek! those screw extractors look like the hardened steel ones that are inclined to snap off, embedded in the screw. they are then much harder to get out than the screw was. It is very important to drill very straight and central - this is quite hard using a hand-held.
see if you can get left-handed drills (this is not a joke). the torque and vibration wil often start the screw coming out, if not, once you have drilled the head off you can lift the board away. If the old stump won't come out with pliers, you can hammer it in or grind it off.
see if you can get left-handed drills (this is not a joke). the torque and vibration wil often start the screw coming out, if not, once you have drilled the head off you can lift the board away. If the old stump won't come out with pliers, you can hammer it in or grind it off.
All good tips. Thanks a lot. Really hooing for an "easy" solution, as there's a couple of hundred screws to do. Some bozo made a right mess of the job, which is why I was called in. Still, it pays the bills, doesn't it?
For £2.49 I might give them a go.
wabbit, no easy way to be honest mate. why people screw them down is beyond me.....easy to get up if we need to.....ever tried it????? AT least with anular nails you push them down with a nail punch. Might work with the screws if they are cheap crap ones. Or try to hit them at the angle with the punch to slice the head off. Either way its a pain
we did one before christmas, because the previous occupier had stained it the wrong colour. The deck was not small, 70m2. Luckily we could just rip them up. We tied unscrewing them just to make life easier. I think it costs as long in labour carefully taking them up as it would do to rip them up and put new down! Thats what i always quote on now, unless they are blindingly easy to get up.
we did one before christmas, because the previous occupier had stained it the wrong colour. The deck was not small, 70m2. Luckily we could just rip them up. We tied unscrewing them just to make life easier. I think it costs as long in labour carefully taking them up as it would do to rip them up and put new down! Thats what i always quote on now, unless they are blindingly easy to get up.
I always screw them down, because they ARE easy of you do it right. Luckily the client understands the nature of the problem so accepted my estimate rather than a formal quote. I am thinking maybe it was he who built it, though he says it wasn't!
JohnD is correct.
Those screw extractors are useless (certainly for engine building) and are inclined to snap off inside the screw meaning you will NEVER drill it out.
Also, for a common or garden decking screw you will never drill a hole in it and then tighten one of these into it (even if there was one small enough!)
Darned right - those extractors seem rubbish - just stripped the thread from them as well without remotely embedding themselves into the deck screws.
Resorted to levering up the boards with two crowbars - managed to get most of the screws out then, and those that still wouldn't budge got belted with a hammer until they either snapped or disappeared into the joists! What a pro!
Half way there now, and looking so much better with 5mm gaps instead of the 15 (or, in some cases, 20) mm! eek.
Resorted to levering up the boards with two crowbars - managed to get most of the screws out then, and those that still wouldn't budge got belted with a hammer until they either snapped or disappeared into the joists! What a pro!
Half way there now, and looking so much better with 5mm gaps instead of the 15 (or, in some cases, 20) mm! eek.
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