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I temporarily nailed decorative 1x4 poplar boards on the ceiling of our foyer after ripping out part of the plaster between floor joists when doing a bathroom remodel above it. I put the boards up because there was a question in my mind about how to repair the drywall, which was thicker than contemporary 5/8 thickness; it was a three-layer board installed during the late 1940s when plaster was transitioning to drywall, and the sheets had a base coat of plaster applied, then a second coat of plaster, and a final cream coat. It was like plastering, only over sheetrock not over mesh or lath.

Anyway, back to the question. In a hurry, I used what nails I had on hand, 3" 16GA finish nails like the ones below; and now they need to be removed so I can reuse the boards (and repair the ceiling properly) but they are easily bent and therefore cannot be hammered out by tapping on their pointy end.

Is there a clever a DIY-hack to help accomplish that task?

16 GA finish nails

isherwood
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mr blint
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7 Answers7

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Pull them out from the back by prying with a locking pliers, channel-lock pliers, etc. Roll the rounded jaw along the length of the board for maximum leverage.

Nails that break off can often be left in the board. They're soft and most saws won't even notice them in the rare case that they fall under a cut. I'll often just tap them to the side and flush with a hammer so they're not a risk to flesh or finish.

isherwood
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11

With finish nails sometimes it is possible to use a nail punch and drive the nails though the wood from the nailing side.

Have the wood supported so only the nails are in the air and drive them though the wood.

crip659
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6

if pulling them through would not have been an option, there is a reliable way to pound them back through.

Do either of these:

  • Get a piece of metal tubing just big enough to go over the nail. Cut a section ~1/2" shorter than the nail is sticking out. The cut 2-3 more, each 1/2" in shorter than the previous.
  • or, get/cut a block of wood ~1/2" shorter than the nail is sticking out. Drill a hole through it that is just bigger than the width of the nail. The cut 2-3 more, each 1/2" in shorter than the previous.

You will now have several spacer sleeves.

Now you can place the longest sleeve over the nail, and tap the pointy end until it's flush. Then move to the next size space sleeve, and repeat.

Eventually you may get enough practice swinging that you can do @mdmay74's answer, and this will work if you need to preserve the nails, unlike @AdamBrown's solution

New Alexandria
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5

Experiment with different pliers and nail pulling tools (like the claw of a hammer for example) to try to pull them out the "wrong way", ie use the pointy end to pull the head all the way through the board. You'll have to experiment to find a tool and technique that doesn't break the nails.

The tool should not be too sharp where it grabs the nail, so you should have to grab it firmly, and it should translate its leverage in a way that pulls the nail straight up at 90 degrees to the board. You should frequently adjust your bite to be near the board and to use the tool at 90 degrees.

When I attempt this with random hammers or pliers I have handy, the nails end up breaking and then are impossible to extract. Don't do that!

jay613
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If you want to keep the size of the hole small, you can cut the nails almost flush to the back side of the board - leaving say 1/4 inch protruding. Then you can hammer the nail from the back side until the head sticks up enough to extract them from the front side with the claw on your hammer. Or drive them completely through from the back side with a small nail set or short nail of similar diameter.

Adam Brown
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It's not easy, but I have had some success with hammering out skinny nails by hammering their pointy end.

I steady the nail by holding it with a pair of pliers somewhere near halfway, then use quick taps, swinging the hammer quite quickly, but pulling back when it has only just hit the nail (a small impulse is better for getting past the sticking friction, while a long hard push is more likely to bend the nail). If the nail does bend slightly, I try to stop as soon as possible, straighten the nail and try again.

If it bends too many times, then I consider cutting the nail short (just long enough to get the pliers on to hold it steady) and hit it again, as a much shorter nail is less likely to bend. I think this is what @AdamBrown suggested.

Once the head is sticking out of the good side, then pincers, claw hammer or similar can be used to pull them the rest of the way.

mdmay74
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Use some nail pulling carpenter's pliers, also called Boot Pinch pliers in some trades.

These allow you to grab the shaft and pull the nail backwards. Or with some effort you can pull the head clear through the wood.

Another option is to grip the nail on the point side and push it back through the wood to make the nail head accessible.

This tool is cheap and versatile and should be in your toolkit for special occasions like this.

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Criggie
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