Removing wooden decking, driver choice (& water damage?)

[AnimalGlu]

Hi all,

I have an issue where I need to move and reinstall the wooden decking that was installed by the previous owner of my house approximately 3 years ago.

The decking is in good condition and looks to be the usual stuff from B&Q/Wickes. The problem is that the wood is butted right against the brickwork without a gap behind the ledger and this is also blocking two underfloor air bricks. So I need to make some modifications.

The problem is that although the decking is screwed in (two screws every 18inches or so), and I can't guest enough leverage on a screwdriver to remove the screws.

I've tried to remove with a cheap corded drill on low speed (not sure what torque rating this) but I still can't budge any screws.

Will I have any luck with the following drivers/drills?

The highest toque rating from a corded Bosch was the PSB 1000-2 RCE @ 60,0 / 18,0 Nm.

Alternatively, I was in B&Q today and there were two Bosch cordless drills on offer:-

PSR 18 LI-2 @ 25 / 46 Nm (no hammer) for £98
PSB 18 LI-2 @ 30 / 48 Nm for £110

And I also spotted the Ryobi range of cordless devices.
CDA18021B @ 55 Nm but the 2.4Ah would cost ~£166

I wasn't really in the market for a cordless drill/driver, my thoughts being that a corded drill would be better for my general usage about the house. Especially since I need to put up some plasterboard on a ceiling in a few weeks and I though the battery just wouldn't last!

BUT a cordless drill would be handy for a few other projects, shelves, curtain rails etc so the PSB 18 LI-2 would be useful.

Does anyone have any advice for my decision/predicament, so I can ask my Dad to pickup a drill from B&Q for me after the football.

Thanks in advance.

 

[EddieM]

Prolly put in with an impact driver, so arm yourself with one should spin out pronto

 

[AnimalGlu]

Prolly put in with an impact driver, so arm yourself with one should spin out pronto

Ah, so I need something a little more heavy duty. I'll have a quick google for impact driver recommendations.

Many thanks.

 

[EddieM]

Well if you do buy borrow or steal one a bit of advice. Get either impact or decent bits. Practise a bit first, don't go hell for leather otherise you'll either snsp the screw or mash the head up

 

[Thermo]

good luck, most decks we try and take up that are usually screwed down, are a pain to take up and youre lucky if you can get the screws out. They normally cam out or snap

 

[big-all]

Hi all,



I wasn't really in the market for a cordless drill/driver, my thoughts being that a corded drill would be better for my general usage about the house. Especially since I need to put up some plasterboard on a ceiling in a few weeks and I though the battery just wouldn't last!

your task can only be done with a battery drill
mains drills are not sutable for very slow high torque applications as the electronics dont like it and burn out
even a high torque battery drill driver/hammer drill wont be up to this task

you need an impact driver off around 18v which will not realy be sutable for other applications[hammer into masonery or large drills for example]

 

[AnimalGlu]

As always I'm glad I posted here before I made my purchase as it seems I would have been wasting good money.

Since my last post, I've had a word with an uncle and I'm hoping to borrow a impact driver off him over the weekend.

Thanks for the great advice. Hopefully luck will be with me.

 

[big-all]

As always I'm glad I posted here before I made my purchase as it seems I would have been wasting good money.

Since my last post, I've had a word with an uncle and I'm hoping to borrow a impact driver off him over the weekend.

Thanks for the great advice. Hopefully luck will be with me.

as long as your sure its an impact driver
people mix up impact with hammer also known percussion

ask your uncle when he bought his impact driver and what he uses it for

if his answer isnt for heavy bolts or screws and bought within 2 or 3 years its not an impact driver

if your not shure please give us the make and model number for clarification

 

[AnimalGlu]

as long as your sure its an impact driver
people mix up impact with hammer also known percussion

ask your uncle when he bought his impact driver and what he uses it for

if his answer isnt for heavy bolts or screws and bought within 2 or 3 years its not an impact driver

if your not shure please give us the make and model number for clarification

Hi,

It was an impact driver. He uses it for building childrens play frames/areas.

So it was easy to remove the first few rows of decking to expose the airbricks and to view the ledger.

As I suspected, the ledger was fastened directly to the brickwork. fortunately it doesn't look like the ledger has actually blocked airflow to the airbricks. However, looking at the airbrick holes, I couldn't push anything through. I should be able to, as they are below a suspended wooden floor.

I'm a little concerned about the brickwork and the damage that has/is occuring.

What should I do? any do I need to involve the insurance company? I want this "cleaning up" but don't know where to start.

1)View media item 23950 2)View media item 23951 3)View media item 23952
Am I right to be concerned? It looks a right mess!

 

[big-all]

not shure what its got to do with the insurance company!!!

wrongly installed or badly maintained is not an accident

idealy all wood should be spaced off the wall by 12mm
what do you actualy think looks "realy bad" !!!