I am needing ideas on how to demo some cement steps. If I have to I will rent a jack hammer but would rather not. Any ideas?
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Replies
jackhammer would be my first choice. if the steps are block maybe just a sledge hammer. wear safety glasses!
"it aint the work I mind,
It's the feeling of falling further behind."
Bozini Latini
http://www.ingrainedwoodworking.com
you can beat on it for three days or jack hammer in about twenty minutes.
.
Haga su trabajo de fricken
Isn't there a liquid that you poor into a hole drilled in concrete, and the liquid causes the concrete to crack open? (And NO, I don't mean frozen water)
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Yes there is. But you have to drill a lot of holes, mix the suff very quickly and pour it in the holes before it starts to react. I think if you clculate the number and size of the holes (like 1" or bigger I think) it would be quickewr to use a 90# hammer. "Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Useful tho for someone who cannot swing a big sledge, doesn't have a jack hammer or cannot handle a jack hammer.
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
http://www.archerusa.com
I use enough of this stuff and recommend it often enough that I should get a sales bonus from those folks.
It's easy, safe (if you follow the directions), quiet, and way less work than the jackhammer.
I tear up a lot of concrete. I don't think I've touched a pneumatic (like a 90-lb) hammer in ten years.
Thanks. I will let them know that you are missing some commission checks from them.
<G>
That's not the brand I had researched a couple of years ago, but the theory is the same. I looked at their site and found the instructions: 1.5" dia holes 8" apart, 80-90% full depth of the slab. That a lot of holes and drilling, assuming you have a 1.5" concrete bit and something to spin it."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
It is a lot of drilling, and certainly one must weigh out the relative benefits.I've timed my crew on a few jobs, with a good-sized Makita SDS-Max hammer it takes less than an hour to drill enough holes to use up a bag of powder and about 15 minutes to mix it, pour it, and clean up.So before lunchtime one guy can get a case of powder placed. If four bags won't do it, it's time for the hydraulic hammer on the track hoe. We have removed some seriously big over-reinforced chunks of mass concrete with less than 4 bags.One of the compelling arguments for this stuff is I can shape the pieces I want to end up with at a size I can pick up with a machine. That of course depends upon access. Easy access = big trackhoe = big pieces. Bad access = smaller machine = smaller pieces.If for any reason I had to shovel the concrete up and carry it out in wheelbarrows, then of course I would agree with you 100% - there is no way to justify drilling that many holes. Just let the 90# hammer do its thing.One of the things I really enjoy about Breaktime is I get a perspective check every now and then. I assume a lot, one of the things I assume is immediate access to heavy equipment, which isn't always the case for everyone.Thanks for your comments -- I do appreciate them.
a good-sized Makita SDS-Max hammer
I assume is immediate access to heavy equipment
Except for those two items, which most HO's won't have, I agree the expansion goop is a great idea."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Cat,
I have to take out a foundation, poured concrete, that is a 6in thick about 2.5 ft high stemwall sitting on about a 10in wide footing (right near the surface). Not that big of a house, 26 x 44, so wasn't thinking in terms of hiring a big machine but physically holding anything sideways to that would s&$#. Drilling holes doesn't sound too bad in comparison - if it's from the top. But that's a deep hole. What would be the minimum bit size? Just thinking about options.
- r
If you centered the holes every 18" to 24", you could make 1-1/4" holes work as long as you were at least 18" deep. If the wall is backfilled, this would not be a bad way to go, but it's still going to be a lot of work, especially if there is steel in the wall.If the wall is exposed (not backfilled) you could move a lot faster if you sawed the stemwalls and footings and just lifted the chunks out with a mini-excavator that has a thumb.If you can get to both sides, a 14" saw with a wet kit would make quick work of it.If you can only get to one side, I'd look around and see if anyone will rent you an ICS chainsaw.Give me a few more details and I'll come up with some more ideas.
Cat,
Thanks for the reply! Hadn't thought of cutting with a saw. Although holding one to a vertical surface sounds a little painful (but not as bad as a hammer).
The wall is almost wholly uncovered. The top surface of the footing is just below the grass.
I don't think there is any reinforcing, it was built by a DIY in the late 40s. I do have a little excavator with thumb, just had that put on last year. Handy! 500 lbs is about my lift limit. The lot is flat, looks like I can back my trailer right up to the work.
Thanks also for mentioning that stuff again. I have a vague memory of its existance but keep forgetting it's out there. I'll have to experiment with it.
Hate the vertical stuff. Worked for the power company once, we were in an underground transformer vault busting a doorway through one wall through the hardest d$mn concrete I've ever seen about a foot thick and full of rebar. Must have been a pillbox in an earlier life. Dust was so thick couldn't see a guy two feet away. Hotter than blazes with the transformers. We were using air hammers. We always used hammers. Hammers for everything. Not so bad going downwards. Downright nasty going sideways. I like to avoid that now whenever I can.
- r
You're welcome.CAGIV brings up a good point. Me, I would not use a hydraulic hammer for something this small, but his suggestion is still a good one if you can find someone in your area who will work that cheap. Which you might.It hadn't crossed my mind because I won't bring a track-mounted hammer out unless the job is a real lot bigger than this, but as I have learned many times here, this is a big country with many regional differences.As for the sawing, it's really not at all difficult. A 14" wet saw is no worse to run than a chainsaw, no dust, the concrete supports most of the weight just like a chainsaw on wood. A rental is not bad, usually they just charge you by a day rate plus blade wear.Good luck.
I've hired a backhoe before. Unless the steps have rebar, they can generally break them up with the bucket pretty easily. Once they're broken up they generaly need to be loaded up to be hauled off anyway. That way the backhoe can do that while you have it too.
Q: Why did the blonde stop using the pill?
A: It kept falling out.
How many steps? I just had to break out a porch with three steps. The side and the steps were done in one pour. I broke down and rented a breaking (jack) hammer (gasoline powered). Was glad I did. Lots of work manhandling the heavy hammer, but I got it all out in an afternoon. Would have taken a lot longer and much more work with a sledge hammer. Wear a face shield and hearing protection and it's good if an assistant can go behind you and get the rubble out of your way (also rubble is hard to stand on while wrestling with the hammer!).
"Lots of work manhandling the heavy hammer,"Next time, relax and let the hammer do the work
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
After about the first hour you sort of have no choice but to relax because your muscles are tired. But you still have to haul the machine up after it works its way through the concrete and is heading for China!
after it works its way through the concreteThat is a good time to take your finger off the trigger to keep from heading to China
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"That is a good time to take your finger off the trigger to keep from heading to China"
By then my fingers are pretty well locked into place and don't move too good (even with the vibration damping gloves). Just don't flex the way I used to :-(
Plan "B"....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
In a pinch I have used a 1/4 bit or what ever else I have on hand in a SDS drill and just drilled a bunch of holes in a line across the slab or whatever and then a couple of hits with a sledge and I have big chunks. I did a 5' x 5' x 4" landing the other week, the drilling took me about 30 minutes and then another 10 minutes with a sledge and the slab was gone. If I had wanted to use a jackhammer I would have had to drive to the rental place, spend $50 for the 4 hr rental, drive back, hammer away for 20 minutes, drive back to the rental store, and then drive back to the site = 4 hours gone
day
The more I look at this project the more I think I will use the drill and hammer method.
Thanks.
Plan "B"....
Hire Hose A...........<G>
Naive but refreshing !
your house for for a customer?
How much value to you place on your time? Any chance you have an angry 16 y.o. boy?
Basic method if you have zero value for your time is a sledge.
Next step, rent a 60 or 90 demo hammer
Both methods leave you having to deal with the debris?
Me? I'd call bubba and bob-cat with the breaker attachement. Cost somewhere around 75-90 an hour, depending on the size of the steps I'd pay between 200-300 for the whole mess to be broken and the debris removed from the site, left broom clean....
Worth every penny
My friend down the street was doing the same thing. His wife thinks I'm nuts anyway, but I told her she could get the steps out in 30 minutes with a 16 lb sledge. she didn't believe me.
There were six steps. I looked for the cracks and dropped the sledge. We took turns and had the steps broken up in 35- 40 minuets. Threre's a big difference betweeen an 8 lb and a 16 lb sledge.
I did the same with an old garage slab. Looked for a crack and dropped the sledge on the crack and used a pry bar to open the crack. Once a crack opens up, you use a 3' pry bar to loosen up the chunk.
A sledge wouln't work if there is rebar or wire mesh
On the other hand if you got cash to burn, rent the tool.
Edited 9/30/2007 8:22 pm ET by curley
Edited 9/30/2007 8:24 pm ET by curley
It depends a ton on how old the concrete is, and how good it is.
I had to pull out some 3" concrete pad a while back, and the electric jackhammer I rented went through them like butter.
Then, I had to do a pad outside a slider. It was 4" in the middle and 6" on the sides and 30 years old, and it would take 15 minutes to do a small section.
If I ever have to do it again, I'll use something like dexpan.