55
votes
How to remove nails with heads cut off?
Once we bought an old pallet factory, so I really got to "see how the sausage is made".
Pallets are made in extremely, extremely high production because the typical corporate customer orders ...
43
votes
Accepted
How to remove nails with heads cut off?
I use a device called a nail jack. It will work with or without a nail head. It has a beak that you center on the nail then a slide that you smack down on and it bites the nail. After it has a grip 1 ...
- 103k
43
votes
How should I dispose of material waste during home construction?
In my part of the world hiring a refuse service is standard and almost unavoidable. We had 30 cubic yard dumpsters (steel containers) on all our jobsites which were often emptied or replaced multiple ...
- 149k
37
votes
Accepted
Removing faucet from kitchen
No, you don't need to remove the sink to remove the faucet.
Follow this sequence of steps:
Turn off both the Hot & Cold shutoff valves leading to the sink
Unscrew the flexible braided hoses from ...
- 7,248
36
votes
Accepted
How should I remove a swimming pool from my back yard?
Where I live (NJ, USA) it's illegal to bury a pool. If the pool was filled with soil and hidden it's possible you would have recourse to get the person who did it to pay for remediation. Unlikely ...
- 45.4k
24
votes
Accepted
23
votes
Accepted
Disassembling IKEA furniture—how can I deal with broken dowels?
There are several techniques.
Locking pliers gripped to the dowel (perpendicular) and hammer on the locking pliers to pull the dowel out of the material.
pre-drill the dowel slightly smaller than the ...
- 14.4k
22
votes
How should I dispose of material waste during home construction?
Here are a few options, depending on how DIY-savvy or actively involved you are in your project:
Rent a disposal bin
They are easily found on-line, under names or keywords such as "construction ...
- 16.1k
20
votes
How can I remove a porcelain sink from a granite counter?
A kitchen sink is usually relatively large and when made of porcelain it's probably pretty heavy. The putty knife is a good idea but you're fighting against not just the silicone but also the weight ...
- 33.4k
19
votes
How to remove hard adhesive from bathroom wall tile?
A bit late now, but adhesives/tile mastics from the 1960's often imply "check for asbestos before making dust out of them." It's not the "classic black mastic" but still...
Remove ...
- 226k
17
votes
How should I dispose of material waste during home construction?
Your regular trash company. Order construction dumpster.
First, if there was asbestos in the debris, you hire an asbestos remediation company to separate the asbestos out of the debris and haul it ...
16
votes
Accepted
What kind of bolt is this?
This is a pop rivet, not a bolt. It can only be removed destructively.
Drill out the center with a drill bit meant for metal (as opposed to a brad point bit, for instance) until the flange come off. ...
- 906
16
votes
How to remove nails with heads cut off?
I'd take a different approach. I'd simply drive them in with a nail set so they effectively disappear. In cases where you need to make cuts, shift things to avoid the nail locations.
- 149k
16
votes
Accepted
Moving a bottomless metal shed
Prepare the base for the shed and tiles in the new location.
Unscrew the shed.
Set it aside.
Move the tiles to the new location.
Move the shed onto the tiles.
Screw the shed down.
If moving the whole ...
- 226k
16
votes
Accepted
How can I remove this Kwikset entry door dead bolt lock?
There are two small indentations in the screwheads that a large screwdriver will fit into for screw removal.
- 1,164
14
votes
Disassembling IKEA furniture—how can I deal with broken dowels?
All of the other answers provided great solutions to your problem so I just want to address this thought:
If the dowels were metal they'd prob be a lot harder to break
Right, they wouldn't break. ...
- 16.9k
13
votes
How can I remove a porcelain sink from a granite counter?
Jack up the sink slowly. Take all of the plumbing out, get a car jack or any other type of small jack, put a piece of a 2x6/8 in between and push that thing up.
Once you get a little bit of upward ...
- 50.4k
13
votes
How should I remove a swimming pool from my back yard?
Sounds like a nice size Koi pod; I am jealous , mine is only 5 X 10. Depending on intended use , filling it is a option. Use any cheap fill then put about 6 in. of topsoil on top. At Koi / pond club ...
- 8,351
12
votes
Accepted
Is this a job for a crowbar?
I would say no don’t use a crowbar unless you are good at repairing/ replacing
brick work. I would grind the head off that or burn it off with a oxy-acetylene torch.
I have put anchors up and use a ...
- 103k
11
votes
After rat poison/antifreeze...How do i rid my yard of squirrels?
You cannot selectively rid your garden of squirrels. It's not possible.
As noted by others, poisoning them also poisons everything else including large birds of prey that feed on them. If you see ...
- 45.4k
11
votes
Disassembling IKEA furniture—how can I deal with broken dowels?
First of all, for any IKEA fans out there, this should not be taken as a strike against IKEA. Many different brands of flat pack/assemble it yourself furniture have the same issues.
Glue
No, glue ...
9
votes
How to remove nails with heads cut off?
I know this may not apply to every situation, but as an electrician I use a pair of side cutters and leverage it out of a hole. Lineman's pliers work too if there is enough space and you can get ...
9
votes
How to remove nails with heads cut off?
You might be able to use a pneumatic denailer.
It punches the nails through the wood to drive them out, and seems to work from either end of the nail, so would not require the nail to have a head.
...
- 243
9
votes
Disassembling IKEA furniture—how can I deal with broken dowels?
"Metal Dowels" are quite easy to come by...
...if you shop the right places.
Look for spring dowel pins and ignore the results that don't look mostly like this.
They come in many sizes. You'...
- 226k
8
votes
Should I remove old wood glue before reinstalling a board on a table, and how?
If you want to use wood glue again, I'd remove the old glue. You'll get a stronger bond if you apply glue to clean wood. A belt sander would do a nice job.
If you're ok using urethane glue or ...
- 149k
8
votes
Accepted
How can I remove this concrete wall anchor?
These don't come out easily, sometimes they can be pushed back into the wall and dissappear, this is often the case if the person installing it was thinking ahead and drilled the hole deeper than ...
- 24.6k
8
votes
How do I remove a dishwasher that is screwed to a granite countertop?
Unscrew the screws, using a screwdriver. There's no reason to think doing that will damage the granite. Almost certainly, the screws have been driven into plastic or lead inserts that are placed into ...
- 4,014
7
votes
I removed a duplex receptacle and now my other receptacles don't work
Duplex outlets are usually installed in a daisy chained string.
If you want to remove one without affecting the others, you should observe carefully what wires are attached to where before ...
7
votes
How can remove a flat head screw that's in a hard to reach space?
On this style of light fixture, you'll usually find that one of the three clips is spring loaded and can be pulled horizontally away from the center. This allows you d to remove the glass. There is ...
- 400
7
votes
How should I dispose of material waste during home construction?
This depends on the size of the haul. For small/DIY things, your city garbage pickup might offer a free service, just check if they handle construction debris. For medium/DIY, consider something ...
- 1,005
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible