Notching joists - what tools?

[WaterTight]

Not done this before but need to do tomorrow.

Know about regs (1/8th of depth, 7% from supports etc..)

I was thinking two cuts with recriprocating saw then knock on out centre with wood chisel?

 

[SimonG]

I use my Fein multi and hammer and chisel or spade bit in battery drill or hand saw and chisel. Basically whatever is to hand!

 

[kirkgas]

the recommended method is to drill 2 holes then saw down and along to create a U shape rather than a 3 sided square hole (if that makes sense) apparently having round holes as the corners ( haha even that doesnt make sense) instead of right angles causes less stress to the timber, but im only a plumber so i usually saw down 2 cuts and whack it with the hammer, which usually skelps a massive bit out of the back of the joist

 

[wnjswozo]

circular saw ,then wood chisel,rember in late eighties a team of fitters on price had a petrol chain saw ,they were fast,but house was a bit smoky,but they earnrt the money and i suppose it was before all this health and safety b*****cks

 

[stevetheplumber]

skill saw and then hammer and wood chisel i just lay the legth/lengths of pipe on the joist in position then mark down either side with pencil

 

[Bartdude]

the recommended method is to drill 2 holes then saw down and along to create a U shape rather than a 3 sided square hole (if that makes sense) apparently having round holes as the corners ( haha even that doesnt make sense) instead of right angles causes less stress to the timber,

That's fine if you're on a day rate,then you could even sand the notch down

 

[dontknowitall]

Bosch PMF 180 E for me then a sledge hammer.



Hmmm - wanted to put sledge in a strike through font but it don't work ...

 

[GQuigley67]

i used to have a nice set of chisels, but they are now all blunt/broken/lost so now i use a hole saw w/ drill and wood rasp, until i get something a bit better lol

 

[gaspastemania]

What are you lot on about notching joists what do you think the apprentice was invented for !!!!

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

trouble is if the apprentice is a(braces) thick cut there will be no second floor left it will collapse i use a power saw and hammer and sharp chisel

 

[unguided1]

Many years ago when younger and a bit more Lazy I used to use a chainsaw, Damned messy but quick

 

[blayedrunner]

Saw then chisel

 

[AWheating]

circular saw or rip saw and hammer and chisel. if you hit any notches just cut throught it a bunch of times to help remove it.

 

[WaterTight]

Well either my reciprocating saw is pants (which since it's the exact same one my old boss used - ryobi - without issue is unlikely,) the blades that came with it are pants or I am pants.

It just kept bending the blades. Had to do most of work with chisel and hammer.

I have heard that dewalt demolition blades are good. might invest in some.

 

[WaterTight]

also, elementary question #26537162, what different types of wood are the blades for with teeth closer together and teeth further apart?

 

[tamz]

If you are using a recip saw use the blades with the big teeth.

Personally i use a rip snorter (circular) set to the correct depth and knock them out with my Estwing multi tool.
A sharp hand saw is quick too but if it takes more than 3 strokes a cut bin it and nick the joiners saw

 

[Bartdude]

A reciprocating saw is hard work for cutting floorboards,as you found out the blades bend pretty easily. I struggled with one for a while until I got a cordless circular saw. it's much easier,I only use the recip saw when cutting close to walls now.

 

[WaterTight]

nowwwwwwwwwww you all tell me

what the hell am i paying you all for?

 

[AWheating]

buy the wood/nails blade for your rip saw, then you wont punch yourself everytime you hit a nail!

 

[PlumbBobBob]

nowwwwwwwwwww you all tell me

what the hell am i paying you all for?

the cheque must have been lost in the post lol.

 

[cr0ft]

Fein Multimaster, 5 notches done in 5 minutes today.

 

[Dannypipe]

Recip tools are very useful for the right application. Notching aint one of them.

The fein (and bosch-alike) tool is fine, but won't be as quick as a skill/rip saw.

As said, skill saw, then chisel. To be honest most of the time, you only have to wedge the chisel in, wiggle it and the lump of wood cracks out whole. Then tidy it up with the chisel. Don't run them too deep (as I often did when I first started cutting them) and don't run them through the middle of a room (as a mate of mine did, which meant the whole floor bounced, and was basically knackered).

There are loads of set rules laid out in books. This amount of depth in this size joist and this far from the edge....blah...blah...blah.

Who gets a text book out to cut a notch!? Just use your common sense.

 

[Mrs Tara Plumbi]

trouble is if the apprentice is a(braces) thick cut there will be no second floor left it will collapse i use a power saw and hammer and sharp chisel

No joke that happened when we employed some agency "plumbers", gosh, might as well have had me there!