Anyone ever used a Concrete Breaker?

Can't see it mentioned above, but broken chunks of concrete will have razor sharp pieces of stone aggregate sticking out, and even if you're wearing gloves they can still ruin your wellies, boots, whatever.

 

We found a 48" pry bar today. We have so far had better success with the sledge hammer though. We are finding that whatever we put under the pry bar it keeps sinking into the clay. Cleared about a foot so far though. But have found out most of it is reinforced with some kind of wire mesh.

 

Yep the ground is very wet now, so its probably not the best time to be doing this.

Its reinforced, didn't reckon on that.
Maybe a breaker might be the best option then.

You might need bolt croppers as well to get through the reinforcing.

 

Hi Jane ..
Never thought to ask what are you doing with the area once its cleared ??

Dave

 

Hi JJane

No need to be scared of any machine, if you use it properly and follow basic safety rules thay are quite safe.

I am guessing that the machine you hire will be electric. So basic safety gear is some leather gloves to protect your hands. (Rigger gloves are fine for this sort of work and cheap to buy. The hire shop will probably have some). Make sure you wear decent goggles, you will get a lot of tiny bits of concrete flying around and they can really do some damage to your eyes if you are not sensible. Steel toe boots are also a very good idea. If you have sensitive ears then some ear defenders are a sensible option, as these machines can be quite loud.

Breakers are very solid machines, so can be quite heavy. Use your legs when lifting so you don't strain your back. Make sure you have a good quality extension lead. Always make sure that the lead is out of the way before you start the machine. Best to drape it over your shoulder so you do not run the breaker over the cable. Unwind the whole cable before use, not just the first few metres. Coiled cables generate a lot of heat.

I would start work on the top left corner and work back toward the house. Clear the rubble as you go or you will be left with a massive pile of it to clear at the end of the job, very disheartening.

Be warned though. It is heavy work and the breaker will send a lot of vibration up your arms and shoulders. Your hands and wrists will tingle afterwards and you will really know you have done some work.

PLEASE REMEMBER!!! SAFETY FIRST. Goggles most important bit of kit and dirt cheap to buy decent ones. Good luck.

Chopper.


[hr]
Hi again.

Just read one of your replies Jane, well all of them actually. Noticed that you mention some kind of reinforcing metal in the concrete. Depending on the diameter of the reinforcing, bolt croppers may well do the job, but make sure they are big enough to cope with what you are cutting. If bolt croppers are not suitable use an angle grinder. 41/2 inch grinder with a cutting disc will do the job nicely. You can buy a cheap one from most of the big DIY stores. If it is not something you are going to use a lot a cheap one will do. If you use one of these, you will get a hell of a lot of sparks of the wheel and they will be red hot. Goggles are essential.

Good luck.

Chopper.

 

I really should post a picture of what it looks like now (that picture was taken months ago when we moved in, it's a lot different now) in order to sort of explain what I want to do with the area. But basically I want to turn it into a large bed that will run along the whole wall on the left hand side. I'm keeping the right hand strip of drive for now, so we have something to walk along in the meantime, while I save up for some sort of paving that will eventually replace and widen the strip.

We gave up with the sledgehammer and pry bar, it was taking far too long. We hired the breaker that I posted up in this thread for 7 days and have so far cleared about a third of the left side of the strip on the left of the picture. There is an awful lot of rubble to clear away and am starting to wonder how big a skip I will need. Breaker isn't (so far at least) that frightening at all, hardly any vibration. Not really that difficult to operate either. I do find that I keep getting the chisel stuck in the concrete which is a tad annoying though. I must improve my technique I guess. Any suggestions?

Also any tips on keeping the tiny bits of rubble out of the soil?

 

Sounds like you coping with the project ,well done ...As far as getting the chisel stuck try not to tackle to large a section at a time ,thin concrete can be more difficult to break as the impact of the breaker tends to push straight through the concrete instead of breaking it. I think you will find a technique as you progress ..

Dave

 

I suggest you operate the breaker in one spot for just a couple of seconds before you move it to another spot a few inches away from the first. That way the concrete should crack before you go right through it. Trial and error.

Have you tried covering the soil with a tarpaulin?

Sounds like you are making good progress Jane. To calculate the size of skip required measure the concrete length by width by depth.

Good lcuk

Chopper.