I don't quite understand!
You have masonite inside your bathroom walls, and the nails holding it in place stick in about a centimeter into the studs if I've understood correctly.
But how long are the nails or how thin are your walls?
Normally, wall studs are hardly thinner than 45 mm to ensure the wall doesn't give way if someone falls against it. If nails have penetrated the wall on one side, they end up in the void between the wall panels and don't cause any problems.
My advice is:
* The end cutter that has already been linked to
* Bolt cutter (I myself have a short Knipex, really good, handles most things; I would have started by testing it)
* Reciprocating saw with a fairly good metal blade.
Do not use the angle grinder, the fire risk is obvious, and it can become a very weak smoldering fire that takes several hours before it suddenly ignites.
I don't get it, is the masonite really attached from the "wrong" side with nails going straight through the wall? Seems absolutely crazy.
If the masonite isn't attached in any other way it seems like an obvious risk that the masonite either comes loose or even worse, the nail tips puncture the wet room mat.
Many who misunderstand, am I that unclear? The studs are 50mm thick, the masonite in the bathroom is 9mm thick, the nails the masonite is attached with are about 69mm long, which means the tip sticks out about one centimeter on the "wrong" side of the stud.
Now even I understand!
But I don't understand why someone nails masonit with such long nails! 3 times longer than the thickness of what is to be nailed down is more than enough. But a proper pair of pliers remedies this mistake.
Many misunderstand, am I so unclear? The studs are 50mm thick, the hardboard in the bathroom is 9mm thick, the nails the hardboard is attached with are about 69mm long, which means the tip sticks out about a centimeter on the "wrong" side of the stud.
Crystal clear now?
Normally, hardboard is nailed with lots of very short nails, around 20mm long, directly onto something like 20mm thick wood sheathing. So nothing sticks out. These small nails are a pain to remove when tearing off old hardboard, as many who have renovated old houses have probably experienced... So it's not too surprising that there's some misunderstanding about how it looks in your place. A bit of an unusual construction.
If they stick out as far as a cm, it should be fine to bend them without them pulling out as well. It's worse with those that only stick out a mm.
However, bending the nails is not the right way to go I feel, because if we ever renovate the other side it will be impossible to get the nails out then :/
I think you are thinking correctly.
Cut or saw them
But be careful so they don't stick out afterwards. Or ensure that what you put on is so soft that it doesn't push them out on the wrong side. Plaster is quite soft.
But bending them is not the right way to go, I feel, because if we ever want to renovate the other side, it will be impossible to remove the nails then :/
Can't you cut them later then? When and if you're going to tear down the bathroom wall?
But cutting them is probably the right thing to do, anyway.
The biggest risk with bending them, I feel, is the risk of pushing back some nails slightly. This would result in a "sharp" nail head pressing against the wet room mat, potentially causing damage.
