Removing decking screws Ryobi drill/driver

[Paul-man]

Hi, I have a Ryobi One+ 18v cordless drill/driver. I am trying to get my decking up without causing too much damage. Most of the screw heads are buried below the surface. Each deck board has about 10 screws in it and it took me about 30 mins to get one board up, as the bit kept slipping (on highest torque).

If I bought the 18v impact driver, would it help me much? I've no idea how good they are at removing screws.

 

[Deluks]

Would be much quicker, although they're quite powerful so buy some spare bits and maybe a screw extractor at the same time.

 

[joinerjohn]

Impact driver would certainly be a lot better. As Delux says though, buy some extra screwdriver bits. Some of the cheaper bits tend to break after a bit of use.

 

[robbie77]

Paul,

Make sure you are using the right size and type of bit.
I made the mistake earlier on in my DIY of using phillips bits instead of pozi drive on pozi drive screws this ruins the heads and means you don't get good purchase.
I would buy some decent bits before buying a new drill and see how you get on. You are better off buying a few good quality ones than a big cheapo pack.

Good luck

 

[Paul-man]

Cheers guys. One of the main problems I've had is seeing the heads. I found that using a flathead bit helped to start some of them, but soon broke the corners off of the bit! Both the pozi and phillips bits I had were slipping and beginning to damage the screw heads.

Anything I should look for when buying bits? Brand/material/price?

 

[joinerjohn]

If there's any paint/decking stain etc in the heads of the screws, try to remove as much of this as you can, using a sharp nail / bit of steel. Before using the impact driver on them.

 

[Deluks]

The Dewalt tictac boxes are good value.

 

[ladylola]

If you really can't unscrew them after all that use a reciprocating saw cut between the timbers and cut the screw in half.

 

[tinytom]

i got some dewalt bits a while ago, they were ok but think ive gone through an entire tictac box in a couple of months,in my opinion wera bits are the best, cost about 1.50 each but a single one will last months of constant work

tom

 

[crank39]

Defo get some decent bits, bought the dewalt tictac box a while back when it was on offer at screwfix, used them for a week or so then bought a pack of gold Wera's, can't tell you if the dewalts are any good as i haven't broke any Wera's yet.

Wera's...........made for the job, especially when used with the Bi-torsion bit holder, i know this starts getting expensive just to get a few screws out but you'll not have to buy bits for years and you won't go back to anything else

 

[Paul-man]

Ok, well I think I'll start by getting a couple of decent bits and a Wera bi-torsion adapter. Still not sure if I need PZ2 or PH2 as my existing Phillips bit seems to fit a removed screw just as well as my Pozi bit. - I could buy a couple of each.

If the new bits don't work, then I'll try an impact driver. If I'm applying pressure and the drill bit is slipping in the screw head, does it mean that the driver doesn't have enough torque or I am not putting enough weight on the bit / wrong bit?

Does that sound like a good plan?

 

[Monkeh]

Post a photo of the head of the screw. It should be marked to indicate what type it is.

 

[Paul-man]

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• Paul-man
• 16 Apr 2011
• 1

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• Paul-man
• 16 Apr 2011
• 1

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• Paul-man
• 16 Apr 2011
• 1

Not sure how useful these are? I did look for some markings but to no avail.

I have ordered these:

12558 x 1 Wera Impact Screwdriver Bit PH 2 x 25mm Each £1.20
71982 x 1 Wera BiTorsion Rapidaptor Bit Holder Each £14.20
88131 x 1 Wera Impact Screwdriver Bit PZD 2 x 25mm Each £1.20

 

[keenedge]

The Dewalt tictac boxes are good value.

But crap!
Get decent or good quality bits, Witte, Wiha, Magna something better than the cheap bits. Diamond bits will grip as long as you are not using impact as they will break quickly, push down firmly and hold straight.

 

[MrTinker]

they are pozi head screws, and look to me like a No3.