In the process of construction work, situations often arise with the need to solve the problem of removing the dowel from the wall. How to pull it out? By itself, this mounting tool is not particularly difficult to dismantle, but the surfaces into which it has been clogged may be too hard or brittle to remove. The simplest task can be a real headache.
All work that is carried out using a power tool must be carried out in protective equipment. A broken dowel head is capable of causing serious injury.
What types of dowels are currently found?
The time has long passed when the most common means of fastening on vertical walls was a wooden chopstick and a metal screw. Modern industry represents a huge variety of forms, materials and manufacturing techniques for building dowels. The most common now are:
- plastic with metal screws;
- rod, metal with shock mount;
- metal wedged in aluminum liner.
Fixing technology for dowel-nail
Since many materials have high hardness, this does not allow direct fastening with a nail or self-tapping screw. Driving a fastener into a solid brick or concrete base with a construction gun can damage its structure or appearance. A more gentle way is to mount the mount using an intermediate resilient device called a dowel. It is an insert with a technological hole for screwing or driving a metal core in the form of a nail or a screw.
How to pull a dowel from a concrete wall?
Clogging it with a construction gun makes this mount virtually indivisible. Since concrete substrates are very hard, it will be extremely difficult to swing fasteners. How to pull a dowel-nail from a concrete wall? The most rational way is the following. It is necessary to cut off the head, and try to hammer the rest into flush with the wall. You can also try to loosen it, but this is fraught with destruction of the upper layer.
Since it is impossible to pull the dowel-nail out of the wall lined with decorative materials without damaging them, such fastening (in the form of a rod hammered in by impact) is better not to use in these cases. If it was clogged in an aluminum shell, then there is a chance of dismantling. To do this, warm the fasteners with a gas burner and cool with water. Aluminum will expand greatly when heated, and when cooled, it will take its previous shape. This will relieve pressure in the mounting hole. Having cooled, it easily leaves the wall.
How to pull an old dowel from a wall when it breaks?
In any job, marriage happens. During installation, screws may break, notches on their heads may be erased, and plastic bushings may crack. If the screw is not completely broken, then you can turn out its remains with a little trick. To do this, take a reversible drill, clamp instead of the drill into the chuck the remnants of a screw sticking out of the wall, and turn on the reverse stroke. If the splinter does not allow this, then you need pliers with a large lever or pincers. These tools have great pressure in the working part, which will allow you to grab the most difficult edge.
The same tool will help to get the plastic part stuck in the wall. It is necessary to gently pry the upper skirt of the liner and pull it, I try not to interrupt. Since it is difficult to remove a broken dowel from a tiled wall without damaging it, you can consider the option of partially dismantling it.
Partial dismantling of fasteners
If complete extraction is not possible, only protruding parts can be reached. It is also possible to melt the sleeve plastic with a soldering iron and install a smaller dowel in the resulting hole. The protruding parts can be cut with a construction knife or sawn off with a hacksaw blade from a hand saw for metal. To do this, a hacksaw blade is wrapped at both ends with a rag (so that the central part is free). The resulting impromptu pens will protect the hands of the worker. Then, picking up the canvas and bending it slightly, they cut the dowel.
Removing old and rusted mounts
How to remove the dowel from the wall if it has been in the humid environment of the bathroom for a long time, covered with rust and solid layers of dirt? In this case, you will need a penetrating liquid WD-40 or a solution of edible acetic acid. First you need to pour the dismantled rusty fasteners with a solution of vinegar. This will help dissolve the oxides and free the threads on the screw. If this does not help, then rinsing the dowel abundantly with water and letting it dry, treat the mounting location with WD-40 liquid. Judging by the reviews, it easily penetrates into building cement materials and softens them, and also facilitates the extraction and rotation of the screw in the sleeve.
How to pull the dowel from the wall? Soap treatment is still effective. It will help dissolve body fat and penetrate the pores of the wall. Also, being a good anti-friction agent, the composition will allow you to unscrew the fasteners.
Radical methods
To remove hard to remove dowels, you can apply the following methods:
- drilling;
- dissolution with strong acids.
For drilling, you need a powerful drill, in which there is protection from biting the drill. This is necessary to protect the hands of the worker, as the remnants of the fasteners can jam the tool and harm it. In order not to aggravate the damage, you need to act slowly. If reuse of the hole is not planned, then only the uppermost parts of the dowel can be removed, and the remaining damage plastered or painted over.
How to remove the dowel from the wall when you can’t remove it and you must use this particular hole? You can apply the most radical way. To do this, use a brush to apply a concentrated solution of sulfuric acid to the protruding parts of the dowel and leave for some time. Acid destroys the bonds of mortars, dissolves metal oxides, organic glue and paint. After this treatment, it is important to thoroughly wash off the remaining acid, as it has a toxic effect. You need to work in personal protective equipment (in a respirator) and in a well-ventilated area.
Unusual dismantling methods
Non-standard solutions can be used to remove fasteners in difficult cases.
How to remove a dowel from a wall if its metal fragment cannot be caught with pliers? It can be welded using electric welding to a bolt and unscrewed with a wrench. An indelible dowel can be hammered into the punch to a great depth and the old hole can be used again.
Wizard tip
In rare cases, you can do without dismantling. To strengthen the dangling dowel, it can be glued with PVA glue and used again. The deformed plastic part does not have to be removed. It is enough to choose fasteners of smaller depth and diameter and hammer into the existing one. Also, using PVA glue, you can hammer a wooden liner into the old shell, which can easily replace a new dowel.
In such difficult ways, you can pull the dowel out of the wall with your own hands.