To make way for our deck, I had to remove a built-up flower bed that I had framed with pressure-treated lumber. The wood was still in fine shape, and I planned on saving it for future projects. But when I tried to remove the numerous hot-dipped galvanized nails embedded in it, I just snapped off their heads. On the fourth nail I cracked the handle of my framing hammer. By this time I was so disgusted that I chucked the wood in the comer of the garage and went back to the deck project.
A couple of months later I returned to the pile in the garage with the intention of cutting it up for disposal. I decided to try once more to remove the nails, and the first one came out so easily I almost fell over backwards. The lumber had dried out, and in the process had shrunk away from the nails. A little patience works wonders.
Brad R. Johnson, Chicago, IL
Edited and Illustrated by Charles Miller
From Fine Homebuilding #71