I have a septic line underneath a deck that I need to replace. I crawled below the deck for a few hours; it has NOT been fun. The deck boards are screw in and I managed to get 10% of them out. Most won't budge. Any ideas to get these boards up without ruining them?
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Stuck deck screws are usually one of a few problems: stripped heads, paint/finish gunked in the driver slot, or rust fusing the threads to the wood. A few things that help, roughly in order of how much they save the board:- Switch to an impact driver if you're using a drill — the hammering action breaks the rust bond much better than straight rotation.
- If a head is already stripped, a screw extractor bit (sometimes sold as a "grabbit" or "speed-out") will usually still get a grip and back it out.
- Soak stubborn screws with a penetrating oil (PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench) and give it 10-15 minutes before trying again — makes a real difference on rusted ones.
- If a head shears off completely, slide a flat pry bar or cat's paw under the board near that screw and pop it up — the shank will usually pull through the board or you can grab what's left with pliers afterward.
Since you're going to need these boards back down over the septic line repair, it's worth numbering them (or photographing the layout) as you pull them so reassembly is quick. For any board where the screw totally destroys itself on the way out, don't worry about salvaging that exact hole — just drive the replacement screw an inch or so to the side when you put the board back.
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