I usually take a large flathead screwdriver and gently pry it away from the stud. You need to make sure the far end is pished in a little or you need to cut it out just a tad wider.
If the nails are inside the box then you take a pair of nippers or large diagonals and from inside the box pry the nail out by putting pressure toward the stud while holding the nail with the tool
I do a bit like Dennis, I pry it gently with the beater, then I switch to the sawzall. I also score around the old box to make sure it isn't touching the plaster or sheetrock, less of a chance of it cracking.
Yeah. Old wood can hold those nails tight. If they’re...the word escapes me...those boxes you take apart and gang up...you can tear them apart to gain more room to get at the nails.
I cut a 12x12 piece out, change box and replace rock with same piece. Can always cut a new piece. Add some short pieces of stud or other material to support the sides. Tape then paint.
I cut a 12x12 piece out, change box and replace rock with same piece. Can always cut a new piece. Add some short pieces of stud or other material to support the sides. Tape then paint.
This works too and in the long run, this is more efficient for you and not much more work for the guy doing the taping if there is other taping to be done.
One thing about the oscillating tools. I had a job where I needed to make a kind of big mortise in wood and ran out and bought the harbor freight one to see if it worked. It was really useful so when I saw a Fein Multimaster, the original super high quality one, on craigslist, I bought it. Every job people asked about that tool, and it was promptly stolen.
Before it was stolen I did some head to head testing with the harbor freight. Not surprisingly, the winner is whichever one has the better blade. The advantage of the Fein is quality that will last a long time. Which doesn't matter if it gets stolen. Nobody will bother to steal the horrible freight.
The blades are a significant consumable expense, the good ones work better and stay sharp longer but they are not cheap. For example I remember I used the oscillating tool to remove some windows from a brick building, cutting the screws around the casing, within 24 cuts a $15 blade was slowing down quite a bit. It was so quick and easy you wouldn't think twice about spending the $15 but just remember to spend enough on blades.
One thing about the oscillating tools. I had a job where I needed to make a kind of big mortise in wood and ran out and bought the harbor freight one to see if it worked. It was really useful so when I saw a Fein Multimaster, the original super high quality one, on craigslist, I bought it. Every job people asked about that tool, and it was promptly stolen.
Before it was stolen I did some head to head testing with the harbor freight. Not surprisingly, the winner is whichever one has the better blade. The advantage of the Fein is quality that will last a long time. Which doesn't matter if it gets stolen. Nobody will bother to steal the horrible freight.
The blades are a significant consumable expense, the good ones work better and stay sharp longer but they are not cheap. For example I remember I used the oscillating tool to remove some windows from a brick building, cutting the screws around the casing, within 24 cuts a $15 blade was slowing down quite a bit. It was so quick and easy you wouldn't think twice about spending the $15 but just remember to spend enough on blades.
The hack saw posted reminded me of one of the most tiresome tasks in resi: old boxes held together by screws and you have to put a gfi in the box so you have to cut the screws off shorter.
Just thinking about it makes me wish for an apprentice.
Bosch makes some really good blades for the oscillating saws. Their carbide tipped blades make fast work of lath and plaster. I used a single blade on a whole house rewire in SF. A two pack is $35-$40, so that was about $20 worth of blades.
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