Stupid question… but what is the best method of stripping a room to studs? Is it just don gloves, glass and grab a hammer and punch holes and rip out? It’s nailed in if that makes a difference (1/2 inch). Small bedroom so it’s not a big job. Will close the door (seal it) and send the mess out the window (ground floor). Any works of advice before I go to town on it? Thanks in advance.
Charlie
Get expert guidance on finding a fixer-upper that's worth the effort.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Dig into cutting-edge approaches and decades of proven solutions with total access to our experts and tradespeople.
Start Free Trial NowGet instant access to the latest developments in green building, research, and reports from the field.
Start Free Trial Now
Replies
Use a sawzall and cut the rock into small (2 ft sq) pieces ... very esy to handle.
Break off an old blade so that it only extends 3/4" at the end of the stroke, then just draw lines on the wall with the blade. That way you're cutting through the rock, but not deep enough to snag wires or pipes.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Seal any air returns in or near the room (moreso with plaster demo).
Protect the floor, the nails scratch a floor pretty easily.
If only doing one side of a wall, grab on an yank seems to be the most cost effective.
If you want bigger pcs., a good aim with a claw hammer or one tap and a catspaw to pull the nails, but takes time.
Beer.
when you're done.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Edited 7/29/2007 9:47 pm ET by calvin
So I'm done, thanks again for the info. I wound up sealing the ducts, opening the window, pulled all trim and started punching holes and "gently" yanking. The nails pulled pretty easy and the pieces came off fairly large. Cutting the corners helped (with a knife). Sweeping often was helpful to keep nails off the floor and damaging the floor when being stepped on. The ceiling was a little messy but overall the entire thing was out the window in a few hours (start to finish with a friend stopping by to lend a hand). My very helpful wife ran the crap from the tarp to the roll off which was a big help.
Thanks again.
Charlie
http://www.home-addition.com
Edited 8/8/2007 7:16 am ET by csmart01
Edited 8/8/2007 7:17 am ET by csmart01
You can be my drywall removal crew anytime Charlie.A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
I just finished the demo work for an addition and ripped ~600 sq ft of old drywall in about three hours - by myself. I used my hammer to punch a row of holes between studs then grabbed it and pulled it out.
Of course I felt pretty lucky that they didn't pay any attention to nailing patterns in the mid 50's. Except for some old patches, the nails were all at least 12" apart. One sheet came out in one piece.
Some of it had me a little confused for a while. Several sheets had evenly spaced holes about 4" apart. Each hole had a wad of hard "stuff" oozing out of the back. I finally realized that it was the old time plaster board and that the holes were there to key the plaster.
This may sound obvious, but I like to make sure the pieces are as big as possible. It makes cleanup easier if you don't have a bunch of little pieces to drag to the dumpster.
I do the punch, grab, and pull thing, sometimes with a flat bar in my hand. The sawsall cutting deal only adds time and a lot more dust to the mix.
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Tape your doorway - the dust is awful and it'll get through almost anything.
Greg
If you are only doing the walls you want to use a knife to cut the ceilign joint before you start.
.
A-holes. Hey every group has to have one. And I have been elected to be the one. I should make that my tagline.
Very good point Bill. Been there, done that. Well, actually, been there, forgot to do that."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Corners as well, makes breaking the rock off the walls easier."Poor is not the person who has too little, but the person who craves more."...Seneca
1. If you plan to re-use any mouldings, remove them carefully and mark their location on the backside.
1. Make sure the power is off in the room. Otherwise, you could damage the electrical wiring...or worse.
2. Keep pipes in my mind if the room is adjacent to another room with plumbing fixtures.
3. Don't use a big sledge to bash the walls like those idiots on DIY shows love to do. That's an easy way to knock studs out of plumb. Just use a regular hammer in the manner already suggested.
New knowledge is priceless.
Used knowledge is even more valuable.
"Don't use a big sledge to bash the walls like those idiots on DIY shows love to do."
I watched a few episodes of Flip This House last weekend, and without fail they went at everything with a sledge. They all demolished the kitchen cabinets that way, which really confused me. Five minutes with a cordless and they are all out in the backyard with no mess and no plumbing or drywall to fix.
The way I do it, especially if drywall is nailed and not screwed, is to use regular hammer to bash a handhold beteen studs and close to one stud and yank--wiggle and yank pulls it loose from the nails and sometimes even pulls some of the nails. That way I can almost pull full 4' wide shets of drywall off (up here everyone seems to put the drywall on vertically). Once it's loose, you can insert a flat bar to pry and loosen it from the nails. After one panel is off, you can grab the edge of the next one, maybe loosen more with a flat bar and yank it several times to get it loose from the stud and just work your way around. Two people on same panel, one high and one low (again, if the orientation of the DW is vertical) really helps in pulling it off in big pieces.
If the drywall was put on so the the long way is horizontal, its almost easier because if you bash a handhold near the horizontal seem, you can reef on it and gradually pull a whole piece loose from the studs by working along the seem to each stud to yank it loose.
I'm like the poster who said big pieces is better. I hate it when someone bashes it into little chunks that you have to collect and throw into trash cans or bags--much prefer walking at least 16" wide by 8' sections out to the dumpster.
I have also heard of people pounding pipes over each nail, like a cookie cutter, and then the drywall just comes off, but that seems like a lot of horsing around to me. If screws, you can sometimes unscrew several screws and that helps get a handhold or a place to insert your flatbar.
I like the pipe idea, not for the whole job, but just to get a few stubborn nails/screws out of the way that may help keep a large chunk together.If you didn't have time to do it right the first time, how come you've got time to do it over again?
I like the pipe thing too.
Maybe even better with a little grinder or belt sander time on the pipe end.
HMMMM.
ThanksRemodeling Contractor just on the other side of the Glass City
I just whack stubborn nails with my demo hammer. Breaks a neat hole in the DW and can't drive the nails home anyway, 'cuz of the smashed DW so it's still easy to get a flat bar behind the head.SamT
Seems like you could also fix an old drill bit or even some metal rod to the back end and chuck it in a drill. Basically make a plug cutter - that's what your doing after all. Maybe even just get some cheap plug cutters.But how do you find the nail/screw locations?
or a cheap hole saw with the center arbor bit removed
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I was thinking a plug cutter *might* make slightly less dust than a hole saw, what with no teeth to speak off, but a hole saw is probably cheaper, I'd guess.BTW, does anyone make a 7 1/8" hole saw? I need to enlarge 2 can light holes from 6" to 7 1/8", and I'm trying to figure out a good way without messing up the drywall.
I think one of those fly cutters made by greenlee will get that big, I'll have to dig mine out and check.
If it were me I would mark the circle and cut with a rotozip... much easier.
If you're going to enlarge a hole, there won't be anything to guide the pilot bit. Make a template out of 1/4" ply and use a laminate trimme with straight bit and guide bushing. Or freehand with a rotozip."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Freehand with a rotozip is what I've been thinking. It is only two. I just find that if I need to take a little bit off, it can be kind of difficult. At least for me. I'm sure people who do it enough become skilled at it.
I use a small magnet. Ceramic? Very powerful for it's small size.
Jim
Never underestimate the value of a sharp pencil or good light.
but what is the best method of stripping a room to studs?
Sit on the beach in St. Somewhere sipping boat drinks while the work is hired out.
Get some clear plastinc sheeting (visqueen or the like), and set up an "air lock" outside that one door. Mark out its location, then double that. Put a bucket, a roll (or 3) of 3" masking tape, box-of-rags, bottled water and a smaller shop vac.
Why all that? The dust. It goes everywhere, and sticks to everything. You'll want that chamber to just knock off some of the dust in between bouts of demolition--that's what the small vac & water are for. The tape is to make a wad to "tack rag" your shoes and hands and such, the better to not track crud throughout the house.
If at all possible, get the final container for the debris as close as possible to the window. It's worth cobbling up a chute of scrap material to that container. That's because there is as little as sapping as picking up demolished wall board twice (or rinsing it out of the lawn).
Be prepared to be surprised when the framing is exposed (I've always been).
I'll guess that you've already checked on whether your local authority requires a permit--if you do, make sure it is displayed properly. Not a bad idea to have a couple of sheets of plywood around, just in case things need to stop less-than neatly (like it rains a monsoon while you have that window out; or cousin ned needs a c-section or the like.
where is all this dust talk coming from? you guys using a circ saw to CUT the drywall or something????A couple of breaks, pops, and knife cuts and the stuff looses a couple chunks, but very little dust, and that can be sent out the window with a fan facing the right direction.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
where is all this dust talk coming from?
Ah, not just the wallboard, but all of the "stuff" upon and behind it, and the various materials trapped in exterior walls allegedly for purposes of insulation.
Sure, with a bit of experience, a person can "cleanly" peel wallboard off interior walls. How clean can be relative, though.
OP said the target room is a single bedroom. That suggests to me at least one exterior wall. It also suggested that "stuff" might be piled in adjacent rooms while the structure is in simultaneous use as a domicile. Certain domiciallry parties can become aghast at how quickly "that mess YOU made" fails to abide by obvious boundaries clearly understood by right-thinking parties.
To that end, did I suggest a bit more "containment."
That, and I strongly suspect that the ceiling will wind up in the tipp in a "might as well as"--and ceilings are often messier than walls.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Messes do have a way of growing
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Messes do have a way of growing
Yeah, and no need for OP to get beaten like a drum, either <g> Not if it might be semi-preventable.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
All good advice, thanks everyone. The roll off arrives Friday, watch the horizon for the dust cloud.
Charlie
http://www.home-addition.com
My way may seem a bit elaborate, but on balance works well.
First I draw vertical lines about the middle of the space between the studs. Then I draw horizontal lines about 1/3 of the way up - and down- the wall.
I remove everything mounted to the wall - shelves, electrical cover plates, whatever.
I use a knife, and cut at every corner. Inside corners I cut in the center, outside corners I cut maybe 2" from the corner. I also cut at every molding, window, etc.
I use a screwdriver and a hammer to 'chisel' the rock near the 'plaster ears' on receptacles and switches.
I take a spray can, and make the wall where I THINK wires and pipes are.
Now I'm ready to cut.
I used to cut with a sawsall; I am quickly becoming a real fan of the Rotozip. The dust is quite coarse (tends to fall, rather than float in the air), the tool does not seem to toss the dust into the air, and the depth control is a great feature.
I make my cuts on the lines I drew earlier.
Vacuum, then it's kung fu time :D
(BTW, the vacuum MUST have a HEPA filter!)
The reason I made my cuts between the studs is so I can punch the rock free. The leverage will pop the rock free of most screws and nails. Punch, wiggle, pull, toss. A 16x32" piece is very easy to handle- and even easier to stack on a hand truck for the trip to the dumpster. I find it best to punch with an open palm, straight arm, with the shoulder providing the effort.
Once you have the big pieces out, sweep. Vacuum, even. Then go to work on the little stuff caught in the corners. Then clean up again.
I agree with you on the rotozip for demo work.I try to make as little mess as possible as some of the homes I work in it can get very expensive to repair damage. I snap chalk lines horizontally across the wall wide enough to fit through the door or window. Remove all trim and cover plates. Cover the floor with those foam pads that snap together and then plastic over that. I also cover anything not to be removed (doors, windows and builtins) in plastic. If I think any fixtures might get damaged by moving drywall I cut around them and the perimeter first. I set the rotozip depth to an 1/16" deeper than the wall and cut down the lines. When I am done the drywall is still up I then use a flat bar at the studs and pop the strips off the wall. I did make a bracket to attach a 1 1/4" shop vac hose to the saw to suck up all the dust coming off the saw. I then go back and pop and drop all the nails or screws onto the floor. There is virtually no mess to clean up after I put the drywall in a stack in the dumpster and fold the plastic sheets into a trash bag.What I don't like about the sawzall method is I once had one vibrate a wall enough to create a crack in an adjacent wall that I was not removing and had to patch.Day
go mid-evil on it---sledgehammer (small one), and rip get nails out with cats paw or flat bar
I choose to set my skil saw to the depth of the drywall and just make cuts
If you absolutely must use a circular saw on drywall (I never have, but the guy I work with often does), I recommend a battery saw--the kerf is thinner and it spins with less RPM so it doesn't throw as much dust. In about two seconds with a plug-in circular saw you can fill a room with dust so thick you can hardly see! We worked on one job and the woman finally taped up her own plastic sheets. Guy I work with would walk in, rip down the sheets, leave all doors open, then get out the plug in circular saw and make cuts! (I don't think those people will be asking us to do any more work in their house.)
We take a long wrecking bar or crow bar and hammer a horizontal line through the drywall about 48" off the floor. Both top and bottom generally come off in huge sheets.
Scruff