I am trying to remove several screws in a very old hardwood floor. The screws have snapped and I'm left with less then a 1/4" of the screw above the floor. What can I use to remove them?

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• Thanks. Tried the vice grips. Tried gator grips. The screw is so tight that the vice grips can't budge it.

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  by Ephraim on October 27th, 2008

• What are you doing to the floor, Is it possible to break the screw off, Us a nail punch drive it in an putty it?

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  by DukeG on October 31st, 2008

• I'm trying to get it even so I can paint it. It's not in good enough shape to really strip and use. I've tried the nail punch, but it didn't drive it any further. I just want a flat floor so that it can be safely walked on without stubbing toes or getting a nail head in the sole of your foot.

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  by Ephraim on October 31st, 2008

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• I've tried a number of vice grips and even gator grips. I was hoping for something that would relax the wood and help me get more movement.

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  by Ephraim on October 27th, 2008

• There's also many lubricants on the market that might help (make sure they won't damage the floor)

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  by sloroller on October 27th, 2008

• I'm not really concerned with damaging the floor. It's bowed and likely I will either have to put a new floor on, or have this removed and reinstalled flat.

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  by Ephraim on October 27th, 2008

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• I have tried screw removers like the grabbit, the problem here is that the head is no longer on. It's simply part of the shaft.

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  by Ephraim on October 27th, 2008

• This works on headless screws as well. Have you tried pliers with a blunt nose?

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  by SloaneRanger on October 27th, 2008

• I have tried blunt nose and pointy nose pliers and vice grips. Even the gator grips, which are more adjustable vice grips and pliers.
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  The screw head is gone and the top is pointy. I can't see how to drill into it to get the grabit to work. (They sell them here at one of the local hardware stores. I was wondering if there was a way to get the wood to relax or a way to get a better grip. Maybe superglue something on to get a better grip? I'm not sure what to do anymore.

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  by Ephraim on October 27th, 2008

• One time I used large toenail clippers to get hold of a screw like this. Maybe that would work. If not, I wonder if you could drive the screw all the way through the board? Then you could cut it off at the sub-floor. You may have to patch and re-screw in a new area but still it would get the board up. I can't think of any way that wouldn't be unsightly to get the wood away from the screw.

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  by SloaneRanger on October 27th, 2008

• Also if you have removed a plank from either side of this one maybe you could slip a hacksaw blade under the wood and above the subfloor and cut them off that way.

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  by SloaneRanger on October 27th, 2008

• Floor is currently in place. I can't easily remove plank. It's about an 80 year old floor. (Not in great shape, though).

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  by Ephraim on October 27th, 2008

• I wouldn't want to damage the floor anymore than I had to either. A refurbished 80 year old wood floor would be really be something special.

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  by SloaneRanger on October 27th, 2008

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• After reading all the answers, which were all good, I believe this to be the best idea.

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  by Grammy Robin on November 1st, 2008

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