77
votes
Accepted
If metal expands when heated, how does heating a bolt loosen it?
The answer is surprisingly simple: the bolt expands, but the nut expands more.
What is happening here is good old thermal expansion:
The bolt is heated and expands outwards, its radius increasing
...
- 1,091
56
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 ...
- 101k
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 ...
- 115k
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 ...
- 5,492
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 ...
- 25.5k
35
votes
If metal expands when heated, how does heating a bolt loosen it?
The secret is constrained expansion.
Here's some cruddy diagrams to help explain how it works.
Bolt stuck in a hole
When the bolt is heated, it expands. Since the shaft of the bolt is ...
- 130k
28
votes
If metal expands when heated, how does heating a bolt loosen it?
The actual reason this usually works is that rust is significantly larger than the steel it's rusted from, which is why the bolt is stuck in the first place. In some other instances the reason heat ...
- 167k
24
votes
Accepted
23
votes
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 ...
- 11.9k
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 ...
- 15.2k
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 ...
- 23.5k
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 ...
- 167k
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. ...
- 886
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.
- 115k
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 ...
- 167k
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.
- 1,082
14
votes
Accepted
How can I break up a small boulder without power tools?
You can go at it with a sledgehammer (or a smaller hand sledge) and a star drill, and then drive wedges into the holes (or if you are patient, fill the holes with water and let them freeze in the ...
- 167k
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. ...
- 15.3k
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 ...
- 47.1k
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 ...
- 8,105
12
votes
How do you remove the stick-on child safety locks from appliances?
I had these on painted wooden cabinet doors. I slid dental floss behind the plastic part which cut the plastic latch off, leaving the foam adhered to the door. Then I peeled the foam off by hand and ...
- 121
12
votes
If metal expands when heated, how does heating a bolt loosen it?
Metal arranged in a ring expands outward when heated. Imagine a ring of thin wire being heated--it expands primarily along its length, making both the inner and outer diameters larger. The same occurs ...
- 115k
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 ...
- 101k
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 ...
10
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 ...
- 25.5k
9
votes
How can I break up a small boulder without power tools?
There exist expanding compounds like this one: Ecobust, which are poured into predrilled holes and expand as they dry, splitting the stone (or concrete). It does require a power tool, unless there are ...
- 353
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
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible