Thread: Tool for removing KDHW flooring with minimum damage as they can be reused

Originally Posted by David Mitchell

Hi,
Has anyone any ideas for the best tool to lift KDHW flooring for reuse
Thanks for any ideas
Regards
David

Bearers and joists or on a platform?
I used to have a big forked crowbar that lifted the boards up nails and all, Ideally you need two of them. Biggest problem is a lot of the tongues get broken off, not a problem if they’re going back down onto a sheet substrate but will creak like buggery if on joists.

Presumably the flooring is tongue and groove? I made a stirrup to take a piece of 25 x 50 x 3 RHS on either side to fit over a wind up scissor jack that worked pretty well. The idea is to remove a couple of initial boards to give the jack room to work, put the jack on the top of the joist, then slip the RHS into the stirrups after resting their nether end on the next bearer, the RHS needs to be at least 1800 long. A couple of these works quite well, but it's a lot quicker with two workers than one. Although doing it this way works pretty well you're not going to make money out of it.

Have a look at pallet dismantling tools.

You'll find it will be a lot of effort for little return.

I've watched a few old floors being salvaged. Apparently it goes a bit easier if you can hose the floor down and keep it wet while lifting the boards.

When I removed the tongue and groove boards on my front veranda I sacrificed a couple to get access, lifted the other boards slightly, one by one using a wedge, then used a reciprocating saw to cut the nails. No damage to the tongues, Used the boards to make my outdoor table.

Thanks for all your repliesq

What the project is at our club rooms it is the old club house at the Ararat Bowls Club
Well the kitchen and meeting room the termites have been attacking the floor boards and arks and skirting
So we are going to take this floor up and replace with Yellow Tung and use the good boards to patch a the
Floor in the work room As a few boards have been attacked there this was the dinning room in the old club rooms Reason I asked this question because I thought there may be some modern methods of lifting old floors I have been involved in the building years ago Have alittle bit of experience in this work

What Lappa said