I am getting to the fiddly parts.
I ripped off the rails and lattice.
I ripped up the decking.
There is a 16'-by-10' frame (gazebo?) over the deck and I want to save as much of the treated lumber as is practical. It has 6, 10' 2"-by-8"s and 10, 8' 2"-by-6" planks.
At the time of this writing, a new, treated 2-by-6 runs a buck-a-foot. I am leaning toward not trying to save them. Just chainsaw the 4-by-4s and yank it off the remnants of the gazebo with at tow-strap and the pickup truck.
The weather turned cool on us. It is good weather for working. No bugs.
Depends on how much extra work you want to put in to saving the lumber. Not only pulling them apart without breaking them or splitting the boards, you'll also have to pull all the nails before you can use them.
ReplyDeleteI have plenty of experience in trying to save lumber on demo projects. Sometimes it's just not worth the aggravation.
After too many years of salvaging lumber, I've found screwing things together may take longer, but make salvaging easier.
ReplyDeleteDeck was rotted out. The only way to walk across it was to step where the joists were.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with that!
ReplyDeleteWhile I am normally in favor of pulling things out and/or apart with a strap and truck, sometimes it is better to use discretion. Is it easier to take apart as a pile or as a structure? If you pull it down do you have to take it apart, or can you drag it to its final resting place?
ReplyDeleteThe last deck I took out, I mostly used a 4-foot Harbor Freight 7,000-pound farm jack. I put the jack next to the post, under the beam bolted to the post and jacked the post loose. Got all the posts loose and jacked the whole side up.
I quit using a chain saw on decks and skids after hitting too many nails. Now I use a Sawzall.
sam
We save whatever might be usable since 2Xs and what-not can be pricey. And I hate to waste a new good piece of wood for a project that is temporary or subject to weather.
ReplyDeleteI would salvage what I could. Even short pieces can help prop up a corner, support a barrel, square up a wood pallet for support, etc.
Southern NH
+1 on the sawzall
ReplyDeleteAll good advice above.
"a tow-strap and the pickup truck" The source of many a "watch what happens next" utube video. Safe demo-ing!
ReplyDelete