Pro Handyman Blog

If you have grown tired of your old security door and want to replace it, you will have to remove the one-way screws. These are screws that are not meant to be removed. They have a domed head with the slot cut in such a way that you can only tighten it, not loosen it. One-way screws make it difficult for an intruder to remove the door rather than defeating the locks.

Removing these screws appears difficult for obvious reasons, and if you don’t have the right tools, they are. There are several ways to remove one-way screws and each will take no more than a few minutes to do. You will re-install your new doors with the one-way screws that come with it.

You can buy a specialized tool to remove these, but you have to use low torque settings and slow speeds in a drill driver to hope that they work.

Since the head of the screws are dome-shaped, they have plenty of meat there in which to cut. One way to back the screw out is to take a hacksaw or grinder and cut a slot into the head of the screw. Take it slow, keep a steady hand and cut a new slot perpendicular to the old one. Make it deep enough so that a screwdriver will have enough metal to turn against, but not so deep that you split the head.

Another method is to make two opposing sides of the head flat so that you can use a wrench to turn out the screw. You can use a file or a grinder to flatted the sides. Realize that you will damage the old door frame by filing down the screw, but you are replacing it anyway. If you want to protect the old frame, you can set a piece of sheet metal or roof flashing over it. Once the sides are flattened, you can use vise grips or channel locks to remove the screw.

You can also flatted the top of the screw head and then use a screw extractor to remove it. One type of screw extractor, called an “EZ Out”, involves drilling a hole into the top of the screw and then inserting the reverse threaded bit and backing it out.

Your final alternative is to cut off the screw heads. This will leave you with the exposed shank which you can grab with vise grips and unscrew.