How do I get half of a screw out of my wall?
by
MH
+7
I've got a screwhole in my wall. It's a little too wide, so I'd like to fill it with wood and wood putty (or glue) and then screw into it. But also there's a broken off piece of a screw in there. It's deep in the wall, but not so deep that it won't be in the way when I try to screw in the new screw. I don't want to use a slightly different location: I want to get that piece of screw out. I can't get a grip on it with any tweezers I've found: either they're too flimsy or they're too thick to fit around the screw. I tried soaking the end of a thin, long wooden dowel in crazy glue and pressing it to the near tip of the piece of screw, waiting a short while and then pulling the dowel out — but the screw didn't come with it. Anyone have any other ideas for getting the piece of screw out, please?
Related Discussions
Suggested Project Book
Hi! Have you tried a screw extractor? I didn't know what they were until I had a similar problem, and found it took the frustration out of the process.
https://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_15?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=screw+extractor&sprefix=screw+extractor%2Caps%2C-1&crid=Z4E0O22JY79O
Have you tried long nose pliers.
Have you tried putting a rubber band on the end of your screw driver to see if you can back it out?
Maybe you could leave the piece of screw in the wall, fill with a wooden dowel, then use a shorter screw that will not touch the broken one.
What I do is take a small set of vice grips turn them upside down and clamp onto the broken screw.. Then I put a small piece of wood ( shim ) between the wall and vice grips. Then I push up and down onto the shim a little to get it started and then turn it counter clockwise and it should come out. Sometimes you can just turn the screw and it will turn out. If you need to, cut out some of the drywall and stud with a drywall knife to get access to the screw little a better. Hope this is helpful. Good luck.
Michael's idea seems like the best one! Try it and see what happens. If that fails call Home Depot, Lowe's, or some store like that and ask for someone to help you. The guys always like to see who can come up with a better answer. You know, it's a man thing! haha