How Do I Remove Old Wood?

Inspect the wood being removed and find an edge where it may be nailed or screwed. You may need to remove paper or other covering to access the bare wood. Take notice of how the different pieces of wood are connected. You may need to remove the pieces in order.

Determine whether the wood was secured with nails or screws. If the wood is old, the nails or screws may be rusted and hard to identify. Look for the star pattern in the tops of the heads identifying the fasteners as screws.

Unscrew as many of the screws as you can see, if screws were used, using an electric drill with a driver bit installed. Ensure that the drill is in reverse. Some screws may not come out and, if they are very rusted, may snap off. Remove as many as you can.

Slide a flat pry bar under an edge of the wood and pry along the length of the edge. Remove nails with a claw hammer as they are pried up by the pry bar. Work the wood loose with the pry bar a little at a time and do not try to pry it completely loose in just one spot.

Take out whole pieces of wood at a time if possible. You may need to remove parts of whole pieces if the wood is rotted. Loosen the pieces of wood using the pry bar and claw hammer and remove any screws with the electric drill. Dispose of the wood according to local ordinances.