How can I cut off these screws in the pocket door frame (pics included)
AirForceWoodWorker
| Posted in General Discussion on
How can I cut off the ends of these screws that are about 17″ inside the pocket for this door?
My drywall installer is a nice guy, but not the sharpest tool in the shed. And its my fault for not giving him the short screws I had on hand. Now these screws stick too far into the pocket and I need to cut them off. The close ones can easily be cut with a recip saw, but what about the deep ones? I can’t find a Sawzall blade that is longer than 12″ and while there used to be an extender for sale on the market, it looks like it’s been discontinued. Any other options I’m not thinking of? Thanks!
Replies
Why not just remove them and put the shorter ones in?
Drywall already finished and primed, so just trying to avoid having to do that part again. But it seems more and more likely that is the best solution despite the added work.
Get a rare earth magnet or at least a strong magnet. Find one the size of a drywall screw head. Drag it around the location…..it’ll find the head of the screws. Hand screw driver to probe and remove the screw. Install the right length fastener. Your patch will be like you hung a picture in the wrong spot.
Tough to do if there are metal studs (and thats what they look like in the photo!)
Nah, those are the kit frames, 1x2-1/2 with one face open, the other 3 sides wrapped in metal……..
Which then begs the question, how’d the drywaller run those through in the first place. Maybe tappers?
That’s why I suggested going at it with those small diameter rare earths, should quickly stick to the screw head since he can measure over to the “studs” and damn near eyeball the screw head.
If the rares are too powerful, fall back to the small frig magnets.
And, hell if I know it’ll work, I’ve never run long screws or finish nails into a pocket door opening ……
quick thought - multi tool with a metal blade and stretch (?), maybe tape it to a pole/broom handle to get some extra length - other thought is a hacksaw blade on a broom handle since it looks like you've only got a few screws
worth a try
good
You're not going to get those hardened screws cut off with any tool short of a grinder and obviously, a grinder won't work. I always tell people if a drywall repair is your worse problem it's like you won the lottery. That's a simple repair and patch.
I would def just eye ball it and find those screws. The screws that are easiest to reach should be covered up with trim right? You can do your trial and error there.
Those screws that are in the back, you will definitely need to just go along that metal stud and try and find where those screws are.
I know you are kicking yourself you didn't (or forgot) to mention to the drywall guy that these pocket doors need special screws.
Your cheapest option is to suck it up and just find them and have them come back afterwards whenever they get their punch list.
I think you'll spend 10x the time trying to engineer an unsuccessful attempt, than you would just digging into the plaster and replacing them. Fixing drywall is pretty easy compared to science projects. Good luck.