# Best for tearing out driveway?



## OleGrandWizard (Jan 9, 2006)

I had a very large tree tear up part of my driveway and cause significant damage to the sewer plumbing coming from my house in MS. I had been cleared by insurance to remove the driveway and to get it repaired. I don't want to outsource this to a plumbing company as they are already overpriced in my opinion. 
What is the cheapest procedure for tearing up and removing a standard 4" slab driveway. It is about 30 feet long at best. Keep in mind that concrete and construction services and contractors are very expensive and hard to come by around MS and LA at this time. Is this something you can get done with a sledgehammer, or jackhammer and a bobcat for removal of the larger pieces? any suggestions?


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## Fordfarm (Dec 27, 2005)

Is this driveway all in one piece or does it have expansion joints? You can rent a jack hammer and break it up into smaller pieces, then a loader or Bobcat will pick them up. Are you going to re-route the sewer? Is there anyway to re-route without tearing up the drive? You will probably need a trencher or backhoe to dig the trench. Make sure to compact the soil under the new drive. Other than the trenching, you should be able to do it with a loader and jackhammer. You could go the sledge hammer route, but you'd be a tired pup when you got done! How thick is the concrete?


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## JDFANATIC (Dec 28, 2005)

If you want to do this yourself, a sledgehammer and a bobcat will work just fine (you will feel muscles that you forgot you had). I just did this with a sidewalk (smaller scale, but some of the sections were as thick as 12"):


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## OleGrandWizard (Jan 9, 2006)

Thanks JD and FF for the info! I found out today that I can rent a large jackhammer for about 65 per day. I figure that and a buddy with a Bobcat and a couple extra hands and we might be able to get this done pretty quickly. The slab as mentioned is only 4" and there are no expansion joints. Better than calling in a plumbing company and being charged a couple grand for the work. Heard the biggest thing is getting the edges up off the ground to pick them up properly. Will be a mess and a load of work, but all part of the progress! :jumpropeb


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## Glenn9643 (Jan 22, 2006)

Concrete will vary in strength depending on the mix, aggregates, fibers, and steel mesh/wire reinforcements. I would recommend the jackhammer to break it up into manageable pieces. Depending on what you find you might need boltcutters for steel.
Are you just removing enough of the damaged area to redo the sewer line or the entire drive? If getting concrete or finishers is a problem you might want to consider removing what's necessary and backfilling with gravel or something until you can readily get the concrete and someone to finish it. (You can see that pouring and finishing cement is something that I try to outsource)


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## Big Allis (Nov 24, 2003)

if u have local rental store see wat thy rent a skid loader wth hammer and get bucket wth it so u can break up the concrete and then dig it out be sure wen u rent any jackhammer wether it be hand operated or on skid steer if rental place charges u for the wear u put on tht bit on the hammer some places do dnt no wat u plannin on doing with the concrete after u dig it out here u can get dumpster brght out thy charge for dumpster fee n take concrete away to recycle hope this helps


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## Chris (Sep 15, 2003)

OGW,

Just another note, did u check into the possibility of having is scope with a video plumbing camera first to determine the exact problem and point of failure? I don't know what this service costs, but I would hate for you to break the driveway up if the problem might be elsewhere in the line...


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## OleGrandWizard (Jan 9, 2006)

I never considered the video check option. I guess there is a possibility that the damage could be either in a different place or perhaps MORE EXTENSIVE! (great) I have no idea what this will cost but it might be a good option before I destroy too much of my yard. I will look into this today and report back. Thanks for all of the information.


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## lb59 (Jan 2, 2006)

> _Originally posted by admin _
> * After u dig it out here u can get a dumpster brought out for a fee and they take the concrete away to recycle.
> ************
> *


**********
I simply took my tractor and pushed the concrete down to the end of my drive way and stuck a sign by it that said FREE.
Some guy came along and loaded it up in his pick up and hauled it away.
Didn't cost me a cent to get rid of it.


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## Chris (Sep 15, 2003)

Did he take the tractor or the concrete for FREE?
HEHE
yumyum yumyum yumyum 

Wonder what he would do with the pieces of concrete?


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## lb59 (Jan 2, 2006)

> _Originally posted by admin _
> *1*Did he take the tractor or the concrete for FREE?
> HEHE
> 2*Wonder what he would do with the pieces of concrete? *


==========
1*I still got the tractor so it must have been the concrete .LOL
2*He needed it for rift raft to put along a creek bank that had washed out.

2 other fellows came along after he took it and wanted it too.

I've gotten rid of a bunch of stuff in the 40 years we've lived here that way.

Hay to some people it's like a free yard sale.


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## Fordfarm (Dec 27, 2005)

When I lived in Independence MO, I cleaned out an old wood shed. I pulled about 3 cords of old firewood out and stacked some of it on a pallet by the road. I hung a big sign that read: "FREE FIREWOOD". Two weeks later it hadn't moved. I decided to try an experiment, and changed the sign to ; "FIREWOOD - $25 A PALLET". The next morning it had disappeared! Once it had assumed value, it was worth stealing!


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## lb59 (Jan 2, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Fordfarm _
> *When I lived in Independence MO, I cleaned out an old wood shed. I pulled about 3 cords of old firewood out and stacked some of it on a pallet by the road. I hung a big sign that read: "FREE FIREWOOD". Two weeks later it hadn't moved. I decided to try an experiment, and changed the sign to ; "FIREWOOD - $25 A PALLET". The next morning it had disappeared! Once it had assumed value, it was worth stealing! *


***********
Over the years I've gotten rid of a lot of stuff using the drive way method.
Everything from old junk refrigerators and other appliances to junk in general.
I call it my version of CURB SIDE RECYCLING.

I have an old junk chest type freezer I keep my gas and diesel cans in.
In the 12 years it's been setting here I could have gotten rid of it
10 times over.
People want old refrigerators and freezers to store things in.
Giving them away sure beats paying 40 bucks to have the freon removed and another 15 bucks to the trash hauler for disposing of it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

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## OleGrandWizard (Jan 9, 2006)

I got the video work done today and I 'll tell ya what...those boys just made a real mess of things around the place. Two little cohorts drove down in the plumbing van and let the hose run all into my area dug for the new pool and soaked all of my bags of concrete (50 stacked bags) and even moved all of my tools out of my tool shed (the fancy one with the spanish tiles) and shoved my lawn tractor into the hole for the new pool. They must have been high on something. I just got off the phone with their supervisor. I just don't know what else is going to happen around these parts.


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## HarryG (Mar 28, 2004)

Thats terrible. I hope you get satisfaction.


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## Chris (Sep 15, 2003)

Whoa...that sounds wild. Did you ever get anywhere with the supervisor? Tell us the update!
:homereat:


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## OleGrandWizard (Jan 9, 2006)

> _Originally posted by HarryG _
> *Thats terrible. I hope you get satisfaction. *


I sure did. I drove down to the main office and spoke to their supervisor who called them in from another job and confronted them in person. He wrote them up, ordered them to pay for the damage, and gave me a free video inspection to occur tomorrow with his best workers. His insurance will cover whatever the boys cannot or won't pay. The open pit for the pool was filled with a ton of water and cement and is probably ruined now along with my lawn tractor that was shoved in. I guess I might be getting a new CUT sooner than I thought! I just don't know what else might happen, I was shocked to say the least. Any ideas for the pit filled with water and concrete and my tractor? I knew they weren't grade A - American boys when they showed up the first time for the estimate. Well, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
:tractorsm


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