I have some deck boards that need to be replaced. While a few are still in decent condition, others are pretty rotted. They're screwed in, but some of the screws are in terrible shape. I tried using a screw extractor bit, which worked for some screws, but others were really stuck and I had to resort to using pliers. I'm wondering if using a deck wrecker or a cat's paw tool would help me remove them without damaging the good boards. One key point is that I can't access underneath the deck, so I need to work from the top only.
2 Answers
I’ve dealt with this situation more times than I can count! Here’s a method that really works: grab an angle grinder, and carefully grind off the heads of those rotten screws. This way, it’ll be much easier to pry the boards up with a crowbar or a wonder bar. Once you lift the board, you can either grind the remaining screw portions down or just hit them sideways with a hammer, and they should break off smoothly.
One trick I've used is to take a small hole saw without the drill bit and just core out around the screws. After that, you can often spin them out with pliers or pry them out easily. Just a heads-up, I wish I’d known this before ripping up my own deck floor!
Totally hear you on that! It would've saved me so much hassle if I had found this gem earlier.