# How would you dismantle a house to salvage the wood?



## Darren (May 10, 2002)

Yesterday I went with a friend to look at an old one story four room house he wants removed. The house is typical of that era. Every thing is wood; outside sheathing, inside walls and ceilings. Years ago he spray painted the house to preserve the wood. Even the windows got a coat of paint. 

Most likely with the exception of the framing, oak, the rest of the wood is poplar. The siding looks like it was put on with regular nails not the square cut nails.

I'm not sure yet if the inside is tongue and groove. I figure I'll pull the sheathing of the inside walls and ceiling first, followed by the outside sheathing. Other than that, I'm not going to list the tools and techniques I'm considering. Folks on these boards have a wealth of knowledge and experience. I'm hoping you can come up with some tricks you've used, seen or heard about.


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## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

Leave the roof on as long as possible as you remove the siding, flooring and non supporting/load bearing timbers. You want the house to remain dry as long a feasible. You will also want the removed wood stored in the dry. It will take longer but if you remove the nails as you go it will allow the wood to be stacked neatly and not waste space. Just remember, the nails have to be removed at some time regardless. Store like materials together. Have stacks by size and length. If you are going to reuse the material you need to run a metal detector over each board prior to sawing. Disassembly is reverse of Assembly.


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## texican (Oct 4, 2003)

What agmantoo said. I've taken down several old old houses, and a couple of barns. I've passed on some more "modern" houses, because the wood is so brittle as to be unusable. Before I committed to tearing em down, (not obvious made out of old growth pine planks) I'd ask to test a section in a back room... go in and pull out a board in a closet or whatnot, and see how good the wood is. Some old brittle wood is almost impossible to salvage without it splintering/shattering. I passed on those.

Unless it's an old roof, with nothing but metal roofing, it IS a hassle hauling off all of the waste to a landfill. Last one I pulled, I was able to dig a hole with a hoe, and bury the waste, on site...


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Top down with a good nailpuller in the spring after heavy rains. How about just having a house mover move it. Oak and poplar are hard to get apart and reuse....James


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

jwal10 said:


> Top down with a good nailpuller in the spring after heavy rains. How about just having a house mover move it. Oak and poplar are hard to get apart and reuse....James


That's the info I'm looking for. How do you remove the nails? I know I can use a sawzall to cut nails. I can do that to dismantle the frame. Anyone have any leads to unusual tools or methods for removing nails? I;ve got the usual wonder bar and crow bar assortment. Would something like a farrier's pincers work?


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## tallpines (Apr 9, 2003)

Don't have an answer to your questions but your post has caused me to remineisce.
My father recently passed away at age 91.

When I was a child, he tore down an old house and saved almost everything, including the nails.

It was my job, about age 9 or 10, to pull nails and then straighten them.

He used the old lumber and even the old nails to build us a nice 2 bedroom lake cabin.

Lots of good memories ~~~

One thing he didn't save, even tho I begged, was the old wooden leg he found tucked away in the attic.
:spinsmiley:


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

My grampa was pretty good at salvaging old buildings. One thing he did (this may be difficult in todays society) was he would remove all the doors and windows first... then hang about a half a stick of dynamite from the ceiling in the center of each room and set it off. The concussion loosened all the nails pretty good and he was able to save nearly every piece of lumber. I have found the best tool for removing siding, and other lumber (including tongue and groove oak flooring) is a grubbing hoe. It will remove the boards evenly with very minimal amount of splitting.


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

That's not a bad idea. Around here, I could do that. Using a grubbing hoe also makes sense because it's a lot wider.


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## Ozarka (Apr 15, 2007)

Scout around places that sell old tools and buy a nail puller. If you've never seen one, it is an 18-20 inch long cast or forged steel affair with a pair of pincers to grip the nail, a sliding weight to force the pincers around the nail head and a short arm that is your fulcrum. They work like nothing else. Also look for a T style wrecking bar. The old man who taught me always took houses apart exactly in reverse of how they were built... From a classic old hippie coffee table book _Shelter_, their advice was to pull off each board, pull out the nails right then because those nails will never be straighter or easier to pull out. And you will never puncture your foot that way... You might get yourself a long handled Estwing framing hammer; they are indestructible in this application... For removing finish flooring, get a mechanic's stool-type creeper and you can store your tools below you and scoot along the floor, pulling up boards as you go. Get several pairs of top grain cowhide work gloves, the suede ed gloves are split cowhide and won't hold up to the abrasion.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I have salvaged lots of old buildings. Most everything here was old growth fir, nice wood to salvage. I use a metal detector to find all the metal bits before reusing the wood. Makes planing and cutting tools last a lot longer when it is remilled. A heavy flat faced sledge to bump the boards near the studs or joists works good....James

Crescent 56 | Hammers & Mallets

Vaughan 45301 Flat PRY Bar, Rocker w/Hook, 15 in


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

Best money I never spent. I was given this by the new owner of a Habitat house I was lead on....James

Edit, I have the professional demo set....James

Artillery Tools: Catalog/Purchase

Artillery Tools Pry Bar System


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