Well getting ready to redo the dining room & living room. Got to keep the wife happy so the tractor habit can continue to grow [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
We are planning to repaint & install hardwood floors.
What's the best way to remove the baseboards so that I can re-use them after the new floor is down?
Seems I either damage the baseboard or the wall getting that first "bite" under. I've been using a wonder bar (flat crowbar)
Haz, try a putty knife to get things started. Maybe a couple of them in fact. If you can get the molding pulled away enough to get your flat bar in you're all set. You may want more than one flat bar as well. Once you get it off, pull the nails through from the back side. You'll do more damage if you try to push/pull them from the front side. Good luck [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
The most useful tool for this I have ever found (and for all sorts of general prying like this) is made specifically for pulling baseboard, and other moldings.
Not sure what the name of it is (picture attached). It is stamped on the back "Ender D26". I've only ever found them in real hardware stores (not the chains). Unfortunately, these stores are rare themselves any more.
An amazing amount of leverage can be applied, and the ends are shaped to complement each other nicely, so that using one, or the other, or both alternately can get into just about anything.
It's hard to see in the picture, but each end has a "V" for pulling nails, too.
Hank, that tool is shaped much like my flat bar except in the middle section mine is flat instead of bar shaped. Maybe a bit thinner on the ends as well. It's a great tool for light demo work and such. The ends are wide enough that I can rock it side to side for leverage in addition to the usual prying action. Gives a bit more control for delicate jobs like what Hazmat is encountering [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
Hazmat,
If you are planning to reuse the existing baseboards, you might try what I did when I redid my floors. I used a jam saw to undercut the existing baseboards thus saving the hassle of removing them and having to reinstall. Once you get the correct hieght adjustment set on the saw, it's a piece of cake to go around the edges. Just a thought.
I have flat bars of several shapes, too, and sometimes find that I need to use them as well as, or instead of, the other. But that little bend in the baseboard puller is its leverage secret. It tends not to mar because you can get right behind the nail with it.
Good excuse for haunting the old hardware stores, too, looking for different tools.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote