Nail puller.

[daddo]

I'm now in the kitchen of the little rent house and found out the previous owner laid 7/8 particle board under the linoleum and of course over time it has  wet in spots , stinky and swollen.  
 

 The guy nailed it every 4" making it impossible to pull up with the nails in place (corrugated nails!!) because the board crumbles apart when trying to crowbar it up. I spent an hour on just a small section.

 The best course is to pull the nails first.

 What is the best and fastest tool for this? 

  Hammering the wide claw of a hammer under the nail ain't working for me here.

[Bob10]

I would go at it with the same type tool they use to remove roofing depending on the length of the nails 

[museumguy]

You say corrugated nails, do you mean at the seams ? If that's the case, either prying it up or cutting around them with an oscillating tool. How is the field of the sheets nailed down ? I like to use a cats paw to pull nails when necessary. I bought a Dewalt version when I misplaced my original one. I later found the original one and got rid of the Dewalt version, I didn't like the way it worked.

[daddo]

I would go at it with the same type tool they use to remove roofing depending on the length of the nails 

  I might still just get pieces trying to lift the board and I bet that would bend that tool. Just one nail takes all the strength of the hammer to remove.

 The 36" solid crowbar has a hard time.

[daddo]

You say corrugated nails, do you mean at the seams ? If that's the case, either prying it up or cutting around them with an oscillating tool. How is the field of the sheets nailed down ? I like to use a cats paw to pull nails when necessary. I bought a Dewalt version when I misplaced my original one. I later found the original one and got rid of the Dewalt version, I didn't like the way it worked.

 Full corrugated nails at the seams and 18" apart in rows (Old oak wood floor underneath) . The guy bought a lot of nails.

 You gave me an idea with cutting them- I can try the grinder and remove the heads.  Might be a lot of smoke and heat.


I found this; http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crescent-19-i.../203984930 but I hate spending the money for one job.

[doobes]

 Full corrugated nails at the seams and 18" apart in rows (Old oak wood floor underneath) . The guy bought a lot of nails.

 You gave me an idea with cutting them- I can try the grinder and remove the heads.  Might be a lot of smoke and heat.  


I found this;  http://www.homedepot.com/p/Crescent-19-i.../203984930   but I hate spending the money for one job.

Dunno how well those work, but how much is your time worth?

Go buy the thing and try it.  If it isn't significantly faster than a catspaw, return it.

[tomsteve]

what are you doing after the getting the particle board up? do the nails need to completely come out?

[JGrout]

those pullers work very well as long as the heads are fairly substantial. On a finish nail heads they are hit and miss 

I would just get a long spring bar like this one  

You can beat on them to raise the nails then flip and pull 

Joe

[daddo]

what are you doing after the getting the particle board up? do the nails need to completely come out?

  I can hammer the nails down if the heads come off. I pull the ones where the heads stay on.
 The old linoleum from the 50's is still stuck to the wood- will be covering it.

those pullers work very well as long as the heads are fairly substantial. On a finish nail heads they are hit and miss 

I would just get a long spring bar like this one  

You can beat on them to raise the nails then flip and pull 

Joe

  I think something like that would work- would like it to be more sturdy if possible.  I'm going down tomorrow and take a look.  Thanks.



  The grinder didn't work. Too many sparks and smoke filled the house when I wasn't looking.

[blackhat]

Get a flat bar similar to the one Joe linked. The Estwing bar that size is the best I found. Grind an edge on the short end to make it easier to drive under the heads of the nails. You might get around half that way, the rest will break off the heads. The one you linked works but it's slower and you will have to stop at least a half dozen times when your lower hand slides up the grip just before you hammer the handle down. It will hurt when you do that.