Those screw removers are pretty slick. I just have a set of Easy Outs, but sometimes you gotta drill holes in whatever's stuck in order to use them.
I was able to get one nail out today. It is rough and corroded. I think it's impossible to remove very many without damaging the wood. The hinge pin was a great idea. But very few can I pound down either. The wood seems to have gotten swollen and spongy over the years. With the big head nails, you have to essentially smash the wood under the head to drive the nail down below a sander. It pulls the wood down around it to leave a low spot, but still not sunk. This guy uses a hole punch to form a ring around the nail head. That might dislodge enough wood just below the head to be able to pound it down below the surface. You think? They have a HOLLOW PUNCH SET in stock at Harbor Freight for $9.99. I may get one tomorrow. Not much to gamble.
My girlfriend put in trex and three years later was complaining it bleached out too. Although she is a perfectionist. I saw some caps that fit over boards a while back, that I might use when the time comes but they were pricier than boards, I think.
That might work. Funny how it turns out that simple projects aren't. You're just trying to pound a nail, for goodness sake. HF also sells drifts (pin punches.) In addition to your immediate application, these are great for pushing pins & such through to the other side of an assembly, since their shanks are thin & cylindrical (not conical/tapered.) One example might be for pushing a stuck hinge pin out of the hinge. Rather than searching for the right diameter nail, you put the pin punch in the hinge and tap the pin through with a hammer. Lots of other uses when you're trying to push something through the other end of a hole/channel. I've used small ones for getting the rubber seat out of the carb/float assemble of a lawn mower. The small shaft fits through the donut hole and you can work the thing out without tearing it (as a screwdriver does) so it can be reused.
Update on the deck: I give up. I surrender. Maybe better put, it's just not worth it. The hole punch works great by the way. Very sharp. Digs right in. Doesn't help a bit. These are ring shank nails and corroded into rough pieces of steel, probably from the treated wood chemicals, not rusted. Rusted would be easier. They seem to be embedded into the wood. Reminds me a lot of these dental implants. Only a few have popped up where the wood has split. The rest are right where they were originally put. The wood has shrunk down around them. Pounding them down would be into a new section of 40-year-old treated wood joists. I would need a sledgehammer. In fact I think you could just cut the heads off them and the floor would stay put. If I can't make the floor look neat, there is no reason to make the rest look neat. I'll just sand down the rough spots or high spots, and take off a little dirt. Never again. Next deck is going to have screws. It will be finished before the next rain, predicted Wednesday. Likely by Monday. Putting it in writing. [/THE END]
@Mary Stetler: . Do your chickens molt this time of year? Do you feed them anything special during molting season? I just learned about molting birds this year.
Aren't those frizzle chickens funny looking? Mine don't molt going into winter but I feed them well all of the time. They even get table scraps. They had pork and bread for lunch today.
Some chickens must molt less dramatically than others. Do they get cranky during this period? . I would. The reason I asked about food... About mid-August, a funny-looking cardinal was the first clue that molting had begun here. Then the bluebirds and some others started looking scruffy. Shortly after that, all the birds disappeared. Except for one suet block, I stopped putting out food about that time anyway. The new young bluebirds needed to learn how to find food for themselves somewhere else. Maybe that was a mistake. They say birds tend to hide during molting season, because they can't fly very well and are more susceptible to predators. There must be an exception to the rules in the instruction manual for 3rd nesters. They would be too young to molt. I wondered if I'd know when to start putting out feeders again for winter. They let me know this week. First a cardinal, then some chickadees, showed up, all with their brand-new feathers. Then Friday morning there was a female bluebird sitting on a newly stained deck post. A little smaller, with paler colors than Mama from last spring. They are rushing me to get this deck finished. . .
Should Have Picked Gray? The only part of this deck that has deteriorated over the (40) years are the railings and floorboards. Finished those Sunday. The structural parts are fine. Planned on two coats, but the Mfg warns against it—might end up tacky. (Does this sound like excuses?) Finished the stairs late this afternoon. I'm declaring this job done, and I'm sticking to it. I didn't do a good job. Keep reminding myself this deck is at the end of its life. If I got into a bar room type brawl with someone and we came tumbling out the kitchen door, the railings wouldn't stop us. Just after I bought this house, I painted the brick under the front porch brown. The guys at work kidded me for weeks, saying that shade was the color of sh*t. I finally painted over it with gray. It looked better. I "might should have" chosen gray for this also. It would match the granite stone on the basement. Sunlight makes it look different than it really looks. (Taken during major tailgating party before the Auburn game. No audio.)