Best tool for cuts close to wall?

[diasbox]

I need to replace sections of 1/2" subfloor in various sizes (water damaged). My standard circular saw won't cut very close the the wall. I have mabye 25 feet of perimeter to cut altogether, too much to do by hand. I also need a good tool to make Pergo cuts (clean and straight). I'm looking at buying a cordless trim saw. I don't want to spend any more than necessary.

Any recommendations? Thanks

[JD]

A power trim saw will only get you a little closer. We use a sawsall. But a good aggressive cutting tool box saw will work pretty good along the wall. Here is one.

http://cgi.ebay.com/IRWIN-211100-15-Inc ... dZViewItem
you can probably get it at Lowe's or Home Depot.

For cutting laminate, your cuts should only be on the outside edges. Most any saw would do. I just came from Sears where they had a simple Craftsman miter saw for $59

JD

[Greg]

As JD said, you are only going to get just so close to the wall, the rest is going to have to be done by hand. I used a 3/4" chisel, particle board breaks up fairly easy once you get started.
For the new laminate, a power miter is the only way to go. I would recommend going to a home center and playing with them before buying one, you will be surprised how different the various ones feel. Swing the table notice how hard they swing, is the lock nice and solid, you don't want the angle changing between cuts, 1 degree will make a joint look terrible. you don't have to buy the most expensive one, but don't settle for the cheapest one either. Greg

[diasbox]

JD and Greg: I'll try a combination of your suggestions (chisel and aggressive hand saw)... getting a hand saw started in a corner against the wall could be tricky.

This little saw looks like it might help in tight corners, you think?:
http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-20-556-6- ... B00005QVQH

Thanks...
Dia

[JD]

I just whack the floor next to the wall with a hammer. A good stout blow and you will leave a hole the size of the hammer head. 2-3 more blows and the saw fits in fine. Be careful of wiring and plumbing. It is not always where it is suppose to be.

JD

[Brenda (OH)]

not low cost, but the tool I cannot live without is a Fein Multimaster oscillating tool. It will cut close to the wall, where the circular saw could not reach.

It can be used to make the corners of the hole square, and can shave off left over particle board if it was glued to the joist. It also can cut a this thickness of metal, such as a flooring staple. they are listed on Amazon, if you want a look at them.

You also can use it to cut off the bottom edges of moldings and door jams etc at the new height needed to go over the new flooring, while the molding is still attached to the wall.

it can also be used to make the weird cuts needed in the laminate for corners, registers etc. it is less useful for that type of cutting than for the other things.

I recently had to get stitches from an accident with a utility knife while cutting vinyl flooring, and I have substituted using the multimaster for as many jobs as I can that I had been using the utility knife for. it is safer for me. and a lot less scary. Because the tool oscillates instead of rotates at the head, it does not tend to pull itself along the material, you have to move it yourself, which for me equals finer control of the cutting.

Brenda (OH)

[diasbox]

JD,

I don't know if I, personally, can make a hole in the floor by whacking it with a hammer but I will include that in my repertoire.

Thanks,
Dia

[Yanita]

Hi Dia,

The tool you posted a link to is a sheetrock saw.

Yanita

[JD]

The MultiMaster is a great tool for undercutting door jambs for laying vinyl. There are other tasks where it can't be beat when it comes to detail work. But when starting a tool arsenal, it probably won't be the first $200-$300 you will spend. 25' of subfloor would also be a pretty big job with an E-cut blade.

I love tools and the more the merrier. I have amassed quite an arsenal over the years. I have many multi hundred dollar tools I probably should have rented rather than buy because they mostly sit in the shop looking cool.

But I also remember working the trades in my 20's, way before cordless. Hard to imagine how we functioned. While we used AC powered screw guns, drills and skillsaws, hand tools were the first thing we reached for. I used to use a Yankee screwdriver and beeswax to drive short hex heads to 3" sheetrock screws into wood. We'd make intricate cuts with a plain old handsaw. My sander was a block of wood. My Buck knife had a single blade and a zillion functions.

JD

[Mark]

Dia -- welcome and thanks for completing a profile. I usually use a sawz-all when I need to cut close to a wall. Like JD said, just be dang sure there's no waterlines or electrical lines in the way.

JD -- When doing sheetrock, I still use a handsaw fairly often for cutting. For instance, when sheetrocking around a door, I'll put up a sheet over the whole doorway area, then cut out the door using the handsaw. I also have one of those roto-zips that I sometimes use for outlets. But overall, I seem to reach for the handsaw and a poke saw. For most straight cuts, I (like most people) score with a knife then snap.

Mark

[JD]

Dia, as Yanita said, the saw you showed is a sheetrock saw and would have a very hard time with the subfloor. Even a regular hand saw is not the same as the ones called Aggressive Cut saw. Mine is a Stanley and it is called a Piranha or Gator or something like that. The name is wore off now. It cuts a 2x4 almost twice as fast as a standard hand saw and particle board it goes through with ease. The tool box saw is very handy. Just like a standard handsaw, but very short.

Popping a hole in the particle board might be hard for you. When I teach new helpers how to do it, they often have a hard time the first couple of tries. I think it is more about the size of the hammer and speed of the blow. A lot more wrist involved. The hammer should be a framing hammer, at least 20oz. A 16 oz might work, but you would need a karate mind set. Become one with the wood, grasshopper.

JD

[Greg]

Oh, so JD is a tool collector also. It is amazing how fast some tools become outdated I still have a collection of "early" cordless screwdrivers, some with wooden handles some with plastic! I used to have a saw sharpening shop (another outdated trade) and I came across a strange hand saw that I can only guess must have been for flooring. It was a cressent shaped with teeth on both sides of the front. It looks like you started the cut with the cressent part and after you made the inital cut you could use the front of the saw to make the cut large enough to get a regular saw into. Boy have times changed! Greg

[JRC]

A sawz-all is a good way to go. But instead of beating the floor with a hammer, you can start the cut with the saw alone.

First you place the shoe of the saw to the floor so it (the shoe) is the only part that is in contact.
Slowly ease the blade into the floor, keeping the shoe on the floor aswell.
As the blade starts to cut, slowly drag it along the Floor in the direction of your cut.
Continue pushing the blade down until it brakes throught the bottom of the subflooring.
You can then cut with the blade viticle.

It is important to start far enough from the corner that the blade won't bounce off the wall. If you have never used a sawz-all, this will be difficult. Just take your time and it will work fine.

[JD]

I think as of her last post, Dia was going to try a hand saw. She wanted to keep her immediate costs down. A sawsall would be great but it would have a cost a bit of a learning curve also. Cutting 25' with a good hand saw is not too difficult and anyone could do it.

If knocking a hole in the 5/8 particle board is difficult for you, drill a three holes in the area you are going to hit first. The hammer will punch through real easy then. Then enlarging the hole by striking next to your last hole is much easier than the first hole. I do the same thing to find the center of floor joists that I want to cut on. Punch a few holes next to a joist, and you can accurately measure to the center of that joist. Next to a wall, it allows me to feel back under the wall to be sure I am clear of wires and plumbing before I start sawing.

JMO

JD