Help-Tin Ceiling Removal??

[BillyGoat]

Hubby and I have gotten the opportunity to get approx. 1200 ft. of antique tin ceiling. It is in pretty good shape also.

We removed the large trim and corner pieces, but only a couple sections of the ceiling!!

It took about 4 hrs to get those two sections!!

We had every kind of tool, pry bars, mini lift bars. There is no way we can finish getting this, it is just too hard.

The sections are 2 x 4 ' and the ceiling is 12' (we have the proper ladder).

We go back Saturday and are going to get the rest of the trim and maybe forget the ceiling.

Dee

[uncle Will in In.]

What are they fastened to the joists with? There is an antique dealer who uses them to make door panels for cupboards which she hires a couple of local guys to build out of new native lumber that has been planed and dried. She slaps an ugly coat of paint on them and they sell like hot cakes. The builders usualy cut them down to fit the doors.
If you can't get them off you might be able to saw them out along the edges of the ceiling joists. If they are nailed up there, I'd cut the nail heads off with an angle grinder. (Googles)
They are saleable.

[farminghandyman]

the one I rember running in to were just nailed on, and I think I use a "cats paw" to remove the nails, or the old type of greenlee nail remover, it has a slide hammer shank and two claws that you work on the nail and pull it,

example
http://cgi.ebay.com/LOT-6-VINTAGE-AN...QQcmdZViewItem

or put in "nail puller" in e bay search,

[uncle Will in In.]

I have one of those nail pullers. I got it at an auction years ago, but never used it. I'd hate to pound the ceiling all day with that bugger. If the nails weren't is old dried out hardwood it would likely work.

[moopups]

A finely ground pair of horse hoof nippers could maybe help in this situtation; they would have to be super sharp before approaching that situtation. Simply place them squarly aganist the nail heads and squeeze.

[insanity]

If the nail heads aren't to big you might be able to just drive them on threw with a nail set.

[ericjeeper]

I have taken down many panels in my ceiling career.. Just drive them through.. once you get the panel down just lay it on an anvil and peen the nails holes down smooth.

[BillyGoat]

Hey, thanks for all the advice.

The nails are small (slender) but they are set pretty snug into the tin. I don't think anything will get under the nail to pry them out.

The punching them through may work, might give that a shot!

We head down there tomorrow morning, ugh!!! We will at least get the rest of the molding trim.

I will let you know what we accomplished.

Dee

[BaronsMom]

Are you going to try to preserve and sell the ceiling tiles?

[BillyGoat]

Well, we couldn't get the ceiling down. We tried everything and it was causing more damage than it was worth and very, very time consuming.

We did get the rest of the molding(trim). Thanks for all the advice anyway!


Baron'sMom.......no, we are keeping it for ourselves. As soon as we finish the kitchen in our house and put it up for sale, then we are going to start the remodeling work on the house in the country. We are going to put the tin molding in that house. It is a very old rock house.

We are collecting used materials as we go.

The things we got out of this old building were donations to the misssion for helping homeless. We donated $150.

We got tin trimand corners(1200 SF), 6 flouresent shop lights(8 ft.), some 10' long 8" wide solid oak wood boards, boxes and boxes of iron angle irons, bolts, heavy chains, large and medium size pulleys, and antique hand saw, a medicine cabinet, metal pipes (12'), antique wood ball stage curtain supports, a large breaker box with about 300 amp of breakers, a small breaker box AC amp indicator and can't remember the rest.

So we got our moneys worth even without the ceiling tiles(we did get 3 panels)