The steps from my deck to the patio are screwed down with typical deck screws. They've been there long enough that the screws are rusting right at the deck board interface with the joists. I need to replace the screws but I can't screw in a new screw in exactly the same spot because I don't know how to get the old ones out. One end of each board is cut at 45 degrees so I can't simply turn the boards around and have the screw holes in a slightly different spot. I could go buy new boards if I can find the right colour, but the current ones are fine, just not fastened down. Any ideas?
The screws are likely a T25 and the bits are easy to come by. Buy extras because the aren't very durable. Hopefully the screws aren't rusted to the point that they break when you're taking them out.
I used the typical deck screws but bought a counter bore bit and some plugs. Because mine is sketchy, I glued the plus in hopefully to keep water out also.
In reply to triumph7 :
I'll bet the majority of the screws will break. About 25% are already broken and I haven't even touched them . They've rusted completely through. I end up with the heads all breaking off and the bodies of the screws left in the joists. Then I won't be able to run in new screws without hitting the old ones.
Are the screws broken off flush with the joists? I had a similar situation with my deck--the screws had rusted below the heads, but above the joist, so when I tried to remove them, I would just break the heads off. After pulling the board up, I was able to grab the remaining screw stub with a cordless drill chuck and spin most of them out that way.
In reply to obsolete :
That's it exactly. I haven't removed the boards yet to see if the screws still protrude above the joists. I never thought about using the drill chuck. Good idea. Thanks
