Lifting floorboards

[Woodchips2]

What is the best way to lift a floorboard to get access for wiring etc?

I found this video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BC7mxyI0i-Q but guess there is a better way :roll:

Regards Keith

 

[Graham Orm]

Circular saw with the depth of cut set to the same as the thickness of the boards, or a hairs breadth less. You should have some loose boards somewhere that you can pull up to check this.
Instead of butchering the boards like the muppet in the video, cut the tongue first (between the boards), then find a joist (look for the nails) and cut across the board (being careful to miss the nails with the saw), where it passes over the joist. Be VERY careful not to cut lower than the board thickness so that you don't catch wires or pipes below.

 

[Woodchips2]

Circular saw with the depth of cut set to the same as the thickness of the boards, or a hairs breadth less. You should have some loose boards somewhere that you can pull up to check this.
Instead of butchering the boards like the muppet in the video, cut the tongue first (between the boards), then find a joist (look for the nails) and cut across the board (being careful to miss the nails with the saw), where it passes over the joist. Be VERY careful not to cut lower than the board thickness so that you don't catch wires or pipes below.

Thanks Grayorm. Do you cut both sides of the board or just the one side and lever up after you've done the cross cuts?
Regards Keith

 

[Graham Orm]

Cut both sides as there will be a tongue and groove on both sides. I can't stress enough that you should be careful not to cut too deep, especially on the joist cuts.

 

[Graham Orm]

Do you have a circular saw? If not there are other ways with hand tools that don't involve making the mess that the guy in the video made.

 

[chippy1970]

That video is great for showing how to make fire wood from a perfectly good floor lol

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[Woodchips2]

Do you have a circular saw? If not there are other ways with hand tools that don't involve making the mess that the guy in the video made.

I do thanks.

At my previous house we had chipboard floors and a used a router to cut a small access hatch. I guessed the floor was 18mm and set the router depth to 20mm. Big mistake, there was a heating pipe tight under the board and I drilled a neat hole through the pipe #-o . Luckily I knew where all the valves were for the heating system and turned them on and off regularly! Still ended up with a lot of repair work.

Regards Keith

 

[chippy1970]

Yeah it's always best to go slightly shallower than the board if you're not sure what's underneath.

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