How do I get nails out of concret?

Question

My stupid landlord took out the nasty basement carpet but left the nails around the edges in the concrete. When I try to pull them up. They break. Any idea how to get these out?

There is also cheap one sheet linoleum on the ground. Any idea's how to get this up?

Answer 1

grind the nails away

Answer 2

You can cut the nails with a reciprocating saw.  No need to pull them out it will ruin the concrete and its too difficult.

The linoleum will not be easy but you can rent a machine that scrapes the floor (costs about $50 a day and may not work), or use a flat headed hoe that you can get from Lowe's or Home Depot that will catch the edges and you can work on it until it's all gone.  However,if you don't have to pull this up just cover it with an area rug. That is an awful lot of work for a renter to do.

Answer 3

I suppose your asking because your landlord won't fix it.  He should fix it for you.  Nails in concrete depending on the type of nails and how deep can be tough to get out.  Concrete nails(flat wedged nail) and fluted masonry nails are wedged in and they usually are not so brittle, you can wiggle them out(with a good set of channel locks or vice grip) leaving a hole in the floor.  For brittle nails(hard tempered steel) just hammer them on the side all the way  back and forth till they break(usually flush with the concrete) if part of the nail is still sticking up then hammer it down flat.  Stronger nails will chip the concrete a little bit a little bit so don't be expecting something to be looking pretty.  The absolute best way is to just grind the nails flush with the concrete and cover them.

Answer 4

The nails are short and come out quite nicely with a wonder bar. Just put the long side under the nail head and pop it out.

The linoleum comes up good with a long handled scraper that you can get from HD or any other big box home improvement store. That just takes some elbow grease