# Removing studs nailed into concrete basement floor



## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Im working on fixing up the basement at my new place. Previous ppl had done a very cheap job of a 'finished' section that involved studding out one wall, where many of the studs are placed at different intervals. Outlets in them that had the wires reversed. Gluing simple paneling directly to the cinder block foundation. Many nails and plastic anchors into the cinder block foundation as well. And to top it off... water leakage issues. So it was humid, damp, and moldy as hell in there when i first got here. Tons of fun.


So all thats been worked on the last few months. Right now i want the studded wall taken down. But im more concerned about the floor. It looks like the 2x4s were just nailed right into the floor. I want to make sure the floor doesnt get damaged, or can be easily fixed. - Im guessing getting the nails fully out of the floor wouldnt be to easy. But cutting them off (if i get the wood out of the way some how) with a angle grinder always leaves a small bit sticking out. Since they cant get perfectly flush. And i dont care for that. Also a new wall has to go up.


So im looking for some guidance and suggestions on how to go about doing this.


(ill try to post a few pics in reply)


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

part of wall












second part of wall









wall stud with gaps











Bottom portion of wall stud with water damage


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

More to the point of what im asking about...




bottom floor stud nailed into the floor





















all along the floor they are nailed in like that. Given the cheap quality of the rest of the work, its probably jsut a regular nail.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

Likely concrete nails, pretty common to use them on the base plate like that. Typically leaves a 1/2" -1" "pop" in the concrete when you remove them. Depending on what you install for flooring the pops are typically easy to fill with just about anything...

"


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*very tough to removre them!*

There are square concrete nails and round spiural ones, either way the are difficult to pull out. They will pull right through the wood if you pry underneath the wood plate. They will not cut easily with a sawzall, since they are hardened steel, not common framing nails which are too soft to drive into concrete. 

Here's my solution. Remove all the studs and try and split away all the wood plate leaving just the nail heads. Then "try" to pull them using the biggest, baddest, longest crowbar/nail puller you have, a 4 footer would be my choice. Chances are they will not come up. A leverage block will be needed because they are above the floor surface. If this fails, and it most likely will, DO grind/saw them flush with a thin cutoff wheel on an angle grinder. Safety Glasses ON! You will be able to go flush with the surface with this cut off wheel. It should go pretty quickly. 

:vs_cool:


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I do not understand why an angle grinder will not grind the nails flush with the concrete. Have you actually tried the grinder?


How is the floor going to be finished after the current wall is torn out? It may not even be necessary to have the old nails flush with the concrete.


You may also be able to take a 2 or 3 pound hand sledge and pound the cut off nails flush using a punch.


George


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Flooring is the one thing im actually not overly worried about. Im going to leave the concrete as the floor. I will be putting my chinchillas down there when its finished. They are temp sensitive and require cool/cold areas. Heat of 72/73-75F+ can over heat them and start a slow death. So basement is a good place for them (still with an AC tho) But cleaning up after them on carpet is a massive pain. I hate it. So having a nice smooth floor that i can just hand sweep sounds great!


That being said, i do have to rent a machine to sand up all that black adhesive you see in the one pic above. Its left over from the tiles they had down there. Id like to get that up and adhesive remover wasnt working. 



My main concern tho is the water issues. I dont want to cause any damage removing the studs and base plate that cant be fixed or that could lead to water coming up and in through those holes. I have no idea how thick the concrete floor is. But i dont like taking chances in this regard. I also have a floor sealant product to use after everything is done as well.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

as for the questions about the angle grinder; i got one from harbor freight to use on the cinder block walls down there. Since they put a bunch of hanging nails in them -_- While it gets fairly flush, i wouldnt run my hand across it fast.




The grinder











Closer look at the guard that goes around the cutting wheel. That angle makes it hard to get anything flush. And since it was my first time using one, i figured its better i dont go screwing around with it trying to remove it.














Even the underneath section that holds the wheel in is a little long. So it would be hard to get perfectly flush with the ground.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Your grinder may not work ....*

The grinder you show has a threaded stud/arbor sticking down below the disc. It is meant for a grinding wheel, not a cut off wheel. The cut off wheels have a raised center which allows for closer contact to the floor, like this one. 










These cut off wheels have self contained nut and just thread on:


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## Pineknot_86 (Feb 19, 2016)

Must be the same guy that was the previous owner of my house- put up a curtain rod in the kitchen window with roofing nails and hot glue. It would not be necessary to nail the studs to the floor. I enclosed my basement garage for a shop. I cut the studs a hair oversize so the plate wouldn't move and toenailed the ends of the studs in the the plate. My concern for holes in the floor would be water coming up through the floor.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Thats part of the angle grinder unit itself.













The cut off wheels dont have a connection holding piece in them.











But either way... thats what i have


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Pineknot_86 said:


> My concern for holes in the floor would be water coming up through the floor.



Thats exactly what im worried about too from the nail hole when removing them. Thats why i figured id ask about and see what ppl had to say. I definitely dont want any water getting in. - Thats assuming the nail came out whole. If it has to be cut, then that might be slightly different.


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## gmercer_48083 (Apr 9, 2016)

Wolfgang, A little background into the powder actuated nail. Its origin is Pearl Harbor, they invented the nailer to quickly fasten steel plates over the holes of naval ships that were torpedoed in Pearl Harbor, to aide the quick raising of our sunken battle fleet in 1941. Although what was used by the navy was large caliber, it was modified later into a 22 caliber nailer used to fasten wood to steel/concrete. The nail they all use are a hardened stainless steel makeup. When fired into soft steel, the friction welds (fuses) the nail in place. When fired into concrete, the friction turns the concrete around the nail to glass, therby fusing the nail. The nail shown in your picture is a powder actuated nail, and most can be removed by shattering the glass that holds it. Hammering the nail usually works, then pry it out with a crowbar. If you are lucky they used a 2" nail and they will come out easily. If they used 2-1/2" nails they will be more bonded but will come out the same way. Any fractured concrete can be patched and there is a variety of patching materials available at any hardware/building supply.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

To remove the nails, try hitting them as if trying to drive them further, then try removing them with a giant pry bar like Woodnthings suggested. If you cut them off with an angle grinder, you can follow up with a concrete wheel and make a divot that you can fill to get things flush again. 

If water is going to come in through those holes, my guess is that it’s going to come in sooner or later. Better to make it sooner and figure out what’s wrong.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Quickstep said:


> If water is going to come in through those holes, my guess is that it’s going to come in sooner or later. Better to make it sooner and figure out what’s wrong.



Well water already was an issue when i first came her last summer/fall-ish. Water was already leaking in. And with the paneling up it reduced airflow even more. Windows the didnt open any more didnt help. And the paneling glued to the walls was a breeding ground for mold.


So i already know it was an issue. But i had all the windows taken out and replaced. (Not the greatest, lot of insects getting in when opened iv noticed. But it was remained dry.) And when i was having the cut out for the window in the cinder block enlarged to actually a small bit to actually fit the window, the guy went on my roof and said there were some gutter issues, and especially right above the window where water was piling up on the floor, the gutters were pulling away from the house.


So windows taken out and replaced. And gutters removed and replaced with new seamless ones. Been some 9~ months or so and i havnt had any more water issues. (Incredibly high humidity 70-80% right now. But no actual water coming in.) So it looks to be under control. But none the less, i dont want it to become an issue later. Putting wholes in the floor if not done right could fall in that category lol. 



I also have a mold and mildew proof paint that is supposed to hold back water as well to coat the walls in. Given the mold issues at the start it seemed a good idea. Since they can hide in the pours of cinder blocks and become an issue later. 



And a sealant for the floor as an extra precaution. I just have to remove the studs/fix damage and sand up the adhesive first.


But next step is removing these studs from the floor!


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

gmercer_48083 said:


> The nail shown in your picture is a powder actuated nail, and most can be removed by shattering the glass that holds it.



How can you tell what kind of nail it is from the head? 

Given how cheaply, and poorly everything else was done, i do not expect any quality items (or proper items) being used. But i cant tell the difference either way.


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## gmercer_48083 (Apr 9, 2016)

wolfgang953 said:


> How can you tell what kind of nail it is from the head?
> 
> Given how cheaply, and poorly everything else was done, i do not expect any quality items (or proper items) being used. But i cant tell the difference either way.


I worked in equipment rentals for 42 years, and have rented thousands of these guns in that time. Your nail head is just under 5/16" and was fired in by a low velocity piston driven gun. You will find that when compared to a common nail a magnet does not cling as well to the nail in your floor, and lastly the marking on the head of the nail.


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## Onefreetexan (May 3, 2018)

Dremel has a newer grinder,,,, pretty powerful,, that will cut flush,,, I have one, and use it.

Is that a fuel oil tank in your basement?? Get that thing out of there....unsafe at any speed!!


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Onefreetexan said:


> Dremel has a newer grinder,,,, pretty powerful,, that will cut flush,,, I have one, and use it.
> 
> Is that a fuel oil tank in your basement?? Get that thing out of there....unsafe at any speed!!



... and where exactly would you put an oil tank?


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I'm late to the conversation but you might try running a metal cutting sawzall blade under the bottom plate and try to cut off the nails. Chances are concrete nails were used and they are about as hard as the blade so you would find out quick if that would work or not.


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## Onefreetexan (May 3, 2018)

wolfgang953 said:


> ... and where exactly would you put an oil tank?


Outdoors,.....many states have outlawed them inside.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Onefreetexan said:


> Outdoors,.....many states have outlawed them inside.



i have never once heard of such a thing. Iv never even heard of a down side to having them inside other then taking up space.


However iv heard plenty of issues with out door tanks, from condensation on the inside of the tank, the condensation causing bacterial microbe formation in there. That and the temps causing it to gel up.. etc


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

You have never heard of a downside of keeping flamnable liquids inside your house?


George


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I wouldn't worry too much about a fuel oil tank. While it would be better to have the tank outside the fuel is more similar diesel. Sparks from the grinder won't ignite the fuel. You would pretty much need a house fire before it would be a problem and then it would make it more difficult to put out the house fire if the fuel was heated enough to burst the tank.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

oil is process differently now then it was way back when. You can take a light match and pump it right into the fuel tank and the only thing that will happen is the match will go out. It wont ignite the oil. Besides, even it it were the case, the spark would have to penetrate though the tank itself and still be effective enough to hit the oil.


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## gmercer_48083 (Apr 9, 2016)

Steve Neul said:


> I'm late to the conversation but you might try running a metal cutting sawzall blade under the bottom plate and try to cut off the nails. Chances are concrete nails were used and they are about as hard as the blade so you would find out quick if that would work or not.


Powder actuated nails are too hard to cut with sawzall blades. They can be cut flush with a grinder though.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

Did you have the house inspected before purchasing, if not I would check local regulations regarding the oil tank, if it has to be removed might be easier to do it now than later.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

FrankC said:


> Did you have the house inspected before purchasing, if not I would check local regulations regarding the oil tank, if it has to be removed might be easier to do it now than later.



of course i had it inspected. They never mentioned a word about it. Nor have i ever heard a word about indoor ones being any sort of problem at all until this thread.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

You might want to read these  regulation summary. 


George


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

wolfgang953 said:


> of course i had it inspected. They never mentioned a word about it. Nor have i ever heard a word about indoor ones being any sort of problem at all until this thread.



that's because no such regulation exists for residential installations.
the EPA Best Practices recommends indoor installation.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

wolfgang953 said:


> of course i had it inspected. They never mentioned a word about it. Nor have i ever heard a word about indoor ones being any sort of problem at all until this thread.


It might put an end to this argument if you would tell us the general area where you are. A lot of the country is fine with indoor storage tanks where some areas are not. You certainly are not alone having a fuel oil tank in your basement.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

The previous owner of my previous home also nailed the wall base 2x4s to the concrete floor with the square concrete nails. Some I was able to pull with a long crowbar, some broke the heads off proud of the floor. I ground the proud ones off with with grinding stones in an electric drill. Slow, but it worked. I filled the small craters around each nail with Top n' Bond, troweling it as level with the existing floor as possible. After it cured, I sanded each spot with my ROS and 80 grit disks. That got things smooth enough for any follow up work.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Steve Neul said:


> It might put an end to this argument if you would tell us the general area where you are. A lot of the country is fine with indoor storage tanks where some areas are not. You certainly are not alone having a fuel oil tank in your basement.


PA, previously NJ. never heard a word in either state.





TomCT2 said:


> that's because no such regulation exists for residential installations.
> the EPA Best Practices recommends indoor installation.


Thats the odd thing. It was mentioned here, and i had a select person or to mention it else where since i asked about it. But so far i havnt gotten any reasons as to why an indoor tank would be bad. Its not like you can set them on fire through normal means. They are out of the elements and the microbial issues, condensation, and slug issues that can cause... indoor seems like a good idea to me. And thats the vast majority of what iv seen my whole life. Its actually insanely rare that i see one outside.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

wolfgang953 said:


> PA, previously NJ. never heard a word in either state.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Here is a company you could have an home heating oil storage tank installed now in Pennsylvania. http://www.combinedenergyservices.com/oiltank
What you have is not something somebody jury rigged or is something no longer acceptable to current codes. It is an acceptable practice there.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

Just make sure your tank has a fill alarm. The fill alarm makes the vent make a whistling sound as the tank is being filled from outside. The whistle stops when the tank is full and the operator knows to stop filling the tank preventing it from overflowing from the vent or gauge. 

The horror stories I’ve heard about indoor tanks are about indoor tanks that have been removed, but the piping left in place. The oil company comes, hooks up to the fill and begins dumping fuel into the basement. You can’t get that smell out ever.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

If those nails do come out you probably ought to clean up the holes good with some muratic acid then fill them up with vinyl concrete. If not chop em off, grind down as far as reasonable and still do the muratic acid and vinyl on top to seal out any moisture. (ever heard of concrete bugs? lol)
I worked with a company that did water proofing of basements. We ground off every crack, even used a hammer drill to chip a lot of cracked wall back a bit and filled the gaps with vinyl..It worked pretty darn good..A few walls had cracked all the way out to the dirt on the outside and we packed the vinyl in and sealed it good with some concrete sealer.. 
They kind of went to extremes and flooded the outside with a fire hose and no leaks.. I don't know how far you want to go, but it's a lot of work sealing up every little crack in a basement foundation wall.. I spent the entire summer in one basement.. Yeah...I can't say I miss that job all that much.. lol


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## TimPa (Jan 27, 2010)

make sure your downspouts are taking your roof water away from house, and your ground slopes away from house in all directions. may have to run a dehumidifier in basement, full time. do you see water in basement? during/after rain?


just pull up sill plate, the nails may pull out easy. cut off what doesn't, patch as required.


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## Pirate (Jul 23, 2009)

if you can find one of those old style nail pullers that has two jaws that grab the work when you pry on it and then it has a slide hammer to pull the nail out it may pull it out without cratering the concrete if the plate is still there while you do it, to hold the concrete.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

Quickstep said:


> The horror stories I’ve heard about indoor tanks are about indoor tanks that have been removed, but the piping left in place. The oil company comes, hooks up to the fill and begins dumping fuel into the basement. You can’t get that smell out ever.


That would truly suck ill admit... I dont even know how you would go about cleaning that up. 





TimPa said:


> make sure your downspouts are taking your roof water away from house, and your ground slopes away from house in all directions. may have to run a dehumidifier in basement, full time. do you see water in basement? during/after rain?


I figured it would need a dehumidifier. It get way to high % down there.

I do see water in there after rain, but in a different way then before. When i first got here it was coming in to the half im trying to finish up. Likely though the old window and bad gutters. But both have been replaced last summer/fall and i have not seen any water since.

However, on the other side, behind the room and behind that oil tank near the far corner is the well tank. Whoever installed it ran a pipe through the wall out to the well pump and put the electrical cord in there. But they did not seal the pipe at either end. (or its worn away. Im not digging it up to check) So when it rains, the ground water does seek in through that pipe. But that can be taken care of. And much better then a foundation leak.

If it matters, next to the water tank, in the corner itself is the sump pump. Always some water in there as it only drains it down so far. It need replaced one day, but most things are out of my budget right now.


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## TomCT2 (May 16, 2014)

not sure you'll want to hear this, but . . .


the walls are block. it is exceedingly common that block walls crack and water fills up the blocks. when the blocks can not / do not drain at the bottom, you get a 'water pyramid' - to the point you can have water squirting out cracks/holes. very untidy.



in the pix I see the paint flaking off on the bottom course(s?) of block. that is a pretty sure indication there is standing water in the block. I see the floor is about 1/2 the very bottom course - the usual construction is to break holes in the first course of block on the inside so water can drain under the slab into (hopefully) piping and sump. it is rare that this works 100%; it is very common than some block were skipped or got clogged with concrete from the floor pour or lots and lots of silt sifting into the block from the exterior.


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

The damage your seeing on the brick (as far as my best guess is) does not appear to be from water build up inside the bricks. (could be wrong, i cant exactly see through brick) Rather, when i first got here i noticed that the previous owners did a *very *cheap finish job. The took regular wood-ish pannel slabs and just glued them directly to the cinder block walls. And there you go, wall done. Along with there water leakage at the time, the first couple of rows of bricks had a lot of water and moisture constantly on them. Which is where the mold problem came from. They also 'walled' the room so there was no air circulation. - It was really nasty. And it took its effect on the cinder block. (if you take a look at the third picture you can see the orange looking beads on the wall in an X and some lines. That was the glue they used on the wall/panel.)


Since tearing out the 'wall', opening up the room, and replacing window and gutter to stop water getting in, i have not seen any more issues arise (least not yet). No water has been coming in through the hair line cracks or where they put nails in the the block ><. 



Im not completely sure on this one, but i think the peramiter of the house has some kind of piping that leads to the sump pump. I can see the pipe in the sump pit that is right on the perimiter of the foundation. So they might have had some kind of water drainage system put in when this place was built. (Being an estate sale, it wasnt like i could ask the owner all to much)


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## wolfgang953 (Jun 30, 2018)

just figured id give a final update on this. I took out the floor plates today. I was expecting quite a battle with these pieces since they were nailed in to the concrete floor. But much to my surprise, most came out fairly easy with a crow bar pressure on the 2x4. I lifted the first piece up at the end by the first nail, and it took several of them out down the line. Which i certainly wasnt expecting. On the other hand tho there were a couple nails that the pressure just ripped the head of the nail off and left the body still standing. All but one came out tho with minimal effort. Only one was a pain, but i got it out. So that whole thing went a lot differently then i had envisioned.

Several did leave small chunks in the floor that came out. But they are small and shallow. A small patching job.

So thanks for the advise to those that provided!


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## NickML (Nov 15, 2020)

wolfgang953 said:


> Im working on fixing up the basement at my new place. Previous ppl had done a very cheap job of a 'finished' section that involved studding out one wall, where many of the studs are placed at different intervals. Outlets in them that had the wires reversed. Gluing simple paneling directly to the cinder block foundation. Many nails and plastic anchors into the cinder block foundation as well. And to top it off... water leakage issues. So it was humid, damp, and moldy as hell in there when i first got here. Tons of fun.
> 
> 
> So all thats been worked on the last few months. Right now i want the studded wall taken down. But im more concerned about the floor. It looks like the 2x4s were just nailed right into the floor. I want to make sure the floor doesnt get damaged, or can be easily fixed. - Im guessing getting the nails fully out of the floor wouldnt be to easy. But cutting them off (if i get the wood out of the way some how) with a angle grinder always leaves a small bit sticking out. Since they cant get perfectly flush. And i dont care for that. Also a new wall has to go up.
> ...


How old is your home? The adhesive? If it's mastik, it probably contains asbestos and grinding will make it friable. In other words... Hazardous. If you are concerned I suggest sending a sample to be tested, especially if it's black.


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## pldowney (Nov 16, 2020)

Steve Neul said:


> I'm late to the conversation but you might try running a metal cutting sawzall blade under the bottom plate and try to cut off the nails. Chances are concrete nails were used and they are about as hard as the blade so you would find out quick if that would work or not.


When cutting nails or bolts use a cutting fluid/oil with it, or bolt threading oil, makes it cut much easier like slicing butter. I am just going to cut the nails flush as possible, grind flush and cover with Gago liquid tape, the Gaco roof/floor sealant. I doubt the nails will totally rust out if moisture is underneath since it is pretty much airtight.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

pldowney said:


> When cutting nails or bolts use a cutting fluid/oil with it, or bolt threading oil, makes it cut much easier like slicing butter. I am just going to cut the nails flush as possible, grind flush and cover with Gago liquid tape, the Gaco roof/floor sealant. I doubt the nails will totally rust out if moisture is underneath since it is pretty much airtight.


Usually when doing remodeling work you don't want oil on the premises. In this application though the blade rubbing against the concrete floor will ruin the blade quicker than the nails. The blades are just an expendable part of the job.


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## kwoodhands (May 1, 2020)

wolfgang953 said:


> Flooring is the one thing im actually not overly worried about. Im going to leave the concrete as the floor. I will be putting my chinchillas down there when its finished. They are temp sensitive and require cool/cold areas. Heat of 72/73-75F+ can over heat them and start a slow death. So basement is a good place for them (still with an AC tho) But cleaning up after them on carpet is a massive pain. I hate it. So having a nice smooth floor that i can just hand sweep sounds great!
> 
> 
> That being said, i do have to rent a machine to sand up all that black adhesive you see in the one pic above. Its left over from the tiles they had down there. Id like to get that up and adhesive remover wasnt working.
> ...


Pry the plate up with a 4'0" stripping bar. Borrow or rent one. After the plate is up usually some nails will come up too. Remaining nails ,if they are square and tapered they are cut nails. First wear goggles , and even a shield if you have one. Then smack the top of the cut nail on the wide side. The nail will break off even with the floor.
If any holes are chipped, easily fixed with a small mix of Portland cement . I doubt any water will come thru the holes but if you are concernerned, skip the Portland cement and use Hydraulic cement.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

wolfgang953 said:


> Im working on fixing up the basement at my new place. Previous ppl had done a very cheap job of a 'finished' section that involved studding out one wall, where many of the studs are placed at different intervals. Outlets in them that had the wires reversed. Gluing simple paneling directly to the cinder block foundation. Many nails and plastic anchors into the cinder block foundation as well. And to top it off... water leakage issues. So it was humid, damp, and moldy as hell in there when i first got here. Tons of fun.
> 
> 
> So all thats been worked on the last few months. Right now i want the studded wall taken down. But im more concerned about the floor. It looks like the 2x4s were just nailed right into the floor. I want to make sure the floor doesnt get damaged, or can be easily fixed. - Im guessing getting the nails fully out of the floor wouldnt be to easy. But cutting them off (if i get the wood out of the way some how) with a angle grinder always leaves a small bit sticking out. Since they cant get perfectly flush. And i dont care for that. Also a new wall has to go up.
> ...


Something wrong with your angle grinder if it will not grind nails flush. If you are going to put new wall where this one is it will not matter anyway.

/george


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

I've always just broken cut nails off with a good whack with a hammer.

There is always some concrete cratering from the nailing, so its never been an issue. The nail will break off a the bottom of the crater. You can always fill it with concrete patch if it bothers you.


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## Onefreetexan (May 3, 2018)

This thread is over two and a half years old,,, I think he has solved his problem by now.


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## Martinkatan (Apr 10, 2021)

Oh man, I guess you had to work a lot on it, taking into consideration what I have just seen on the photos. I am actually having the same problem right now. The previous owners have done a really cheap job, and now I have to spend a lot of time and money in order to fix this crap. I was actually thinking about calling for the service of some certified specialists as I am afraid that I could do it even worse. I am still looking for the best floor restoration agency online, as I really want to get it done as soon as possible.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

I removed the cover from my grinder quite some time ago for similar reasons, but different work. Just be aware of the direction of the flying sparks and bits of metal flying off and it might break a wheel off that'll go flying at high speed. I had a chunk of a wheel fly off and hit the end of my..."part".. I was temporarily convinced my sex life had ended then and there, but just a red spot for a few moments.. In any event you don't want to tempt fate with something like that..
Wear gloves and eye protection and keep bystanders out of the area..


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## pldowney (Nov 16, 2020)

Best to cut and grind them to wall/floor level. They will pull sometimes but often crack the concrete creating a possible leak area when in a wall or floor. That's what I did rather than concrete repair each hole. The nails most likely will never fully rust out. it takes air to cause it also with moisture I think.


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