Submitted by koalateasweety t3_z65tvb in DIY
I'm trying to paint a concrete floor (I know it's controversial). When I ripped up the carpet and tack strips, there were nails underneath that were left behind. I can't drive them farther in, they won't budge. I can't take all of them out, some won't budge or are at a bad angle. I tried a grinder bit for my drill, but the big didn't even grind one down. What do I do? I just need the nails flush with the ground
Then if you break that one, you know you use it enough to spend money on a good one.
Oh thank you! I appreciate the help
Get a face shield while you're there too, You might only have to do this once, but the cut-off wheels breaking/random sparks can really fuck your day up.
We had some embedded bolts in our pool deck that were part of an old diving board installation. They laughed at a dremel using heavy duty cut-off wheels. I bought a cheap 4 1/2" angle grinder with cutting discs and it made short work of the bolts.
Using the right tool for the job saves much time and pain. (More recent example: trying to cut some HVAC ducting in-situ between floor joists. Started by trying good quality aviation snips and ended up with a sore wrist before even getting close to finishing one cut. Bought a reciprocating saw and the rest went soo much more smoothly.)
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Angle grinder.
I was hoping there would be a way where I didn't have to buy a new tool
Oh, them words hurt my soul and are forbidden in my world.
It's probably 20 bucks at harbor freight and comes with a grinding disc. Actually I just checked and they sell one for $15 lol
It’s worth the $15 to $20. It could save you hours.
There is but it's not worth the labor vs grinding it down. U can bend them back and forth and eventually they will break and hopefully below surface but u can likely smash that little bit down. Just get a grinder and some safety goggles and let er rip
Nope
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A $20 Harbor Freight angle grinder with $5 in cutting wheels will do the job 3x as fast and with 1/2 the effort.
I mean— minus the whole driving to a harbor freight part. OP already has a hammer.
My solution is free, and as a tip it’s generalizable, and something a lot of people don’t know— if you blow through trim with an 18 or 15 gauge brad, bending the nail back and forth until it snaps is a lot less destructive and easier than trying to back it out with a set and hammer.
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Jesus Christ. 😂
“The nail will break beneath the plane of the floor”
Leaving the original up for posterity
Try a heavy duty crowbar if there is still a head to grab
This is what I did. Probably wrong. But I used a short crowbar and popped them out. It takes patience, a bit of force, and you’ll figure out a technique once you get a few out. Broke concrete in places. Cleaned it up and used a small plastic tub of premixed concrete to fill it in with a puddy knife. Used an angle grinder with a diamond cup to smooth it out afterward. It was a process but smooth in the end and pretty cheap to do.
If you can grab the head with a pair of vice grips, you might be able to bend them back and forth until they break off.
Flat bar is the appropriate tool. I like the longer ones, they pop those nails right out.
I was able to do exactly this with a vibrating tool.
Just use a hammer and a cold chisel. usually one good smack knocks them out. Leaves a hole that any quick drying concrete patch will fix
You can buy a grinder and grind off but you will still have patching to do from the grinder. hammer and cold chisel always works for me for tack strip nails
use a nail puller, pry bar, back of the hammer, or a flat head screw driver
The right shape of hammer, a flatbar(like a crowbar but flat) or rounded pull pliers will all pull the nails with correct technique.
Sometimes you can knock them off with an old hammer and chisel.
I haven't tried with a chisel! Good thinking. I'll give that a shot!
redroom5 t1_ixzj3h1 wrote
Cheap 4-1/2 inch angle grinder from harbor freight will take care of those. I say get a cheap one because you might only ever use it this one time.