Removing an old driveway - Taking out tarmac

[smileyriley]

Hello,

First of all congrats on an excellent site. The level of detail has inspired me to take on my driveway myself.

I intend to put flags down but I need some advice regarding ripping up the existing drive.

The exisitng drive is half gravel (obviously easy to tackle) and half Tarmac (different story here). The Tarmac is on concrete.

How do I get a clean break where the Tarmac/Concrete meets the wall of my house? Do I have to use an angle grinder prior to breaking the Tarmac? I am also thinking of using such a breaker as this http://www.hss.com/g/74116/Hydraulic-Breaker-Petrol.html am I choosing the right equipment?


PS Hopefully I have explained this properly.

Regards

smileyriley

[matt h]

breaker best withyour job, if you cant get digger in . a digger would save a lot of time, and you could easily grade the area to be compacted, how deep is the concrete, or does that need to come up as well?

[very simple simon]

where the tarmac meets the wall should be no probs. When you hire the breaker, get a point and a tarmac cutter (like a very dinky shovel almost) play it a bit canny with the tarmac cutter, and clean up after with a brick bolster if necessary

only really need to cut tarmac cleanly where you are repairing it for insrtance and you want a nice clean line to work to

[Rich H]

That's an expensive machine to hire. Consider a 110V electric one instead. Half the price:

http://www.hss.com/g/2151/Vibration-Damped-Breaker-110v.html & they should give you the point and chisel.

The slab and the wall are very unlikely to be joined.

Depending on height and the condition of the slab, can you chip off the mac (usually with a decent spade) and leave the slab in place?

[smileyriley]

breaker best withyour job, if you cant get digger in . a digger would save a lot of time, and you could easily grade the area to be compacted, how deep is the concrete, or does that need to come up as well?

The concrete is underneath the tarmac and is about 2inch thick!! Could I get the whole lot up with a breaker?? If not, how much to hire a digger?

Cheers

[smileyriley]

That's an expensive machine to hire. Consider a 110V electric one instead. Half the price:

http://www.hss.com/g/2151/Vibration-Damped-Breaker-110v.html & they should give you the point and chisel.

The slab and the wall are very unlikely to be joined.

Depending on height and the condition of the slab, can you chip off the mac (usually with a decent spade) and leave the slab in place?

Cheers 4 reply! The tarmac is 150mm below the dpm. Does this mean that both the tarmac and 2inch concrete has to come out?

[Dave_L]

Well, for a start, I wouldn't be hiring any equipment from HSS!

Shop around for a JCB Beaver Breaker hire - look from £35/day.

[James.Q]

depends on the size of drive but if only 2 inch thick sledge hammer and pick axe should be enough . and yes your finnished level of paving needs to be 150 below dpc

[Dave_L]

50mm of properly laid and compacted tarmac in fair condition will be a bitch to break up using hand tools! All depends what sort of condition it's in.

Have you a picture you could post up of the proposed project?

[Rich H]

If it's only 2" thick you can get it out with a 3/4t digger (the smallest one), about £75-£100/day to hire but if you haven't driven one before I wouldn't recommend this sort of job for your first time.

A good sledge hammer will break 2" concrete without any trouble, no need to hire tools at all.

[matt h]

As concrete only 2 inches thick it will need to come up as well. think about changing your mains at the same time if they havent been updated, as this will save a lot of heart ache later imho. The water board will fit a new mains tap at your boundary, and in some areas they will even run pipe to your threshold. Beware gas mains not always buried deep enough as the depth they are supposed to be sited are only listed as'recommended' and not specified by law. They should be imho, but that would be too logical:p :p

[lutonlagerlout]

many water board men will do a mole for you as a private,costs about £200 to get connected from the street to the house,worth asking because digging a trench is a pain
cheers LLL
and as matt says the old one likely needs replacing :;):

[smileyriley]

As concrete only 2 inches thick it will need to come up as well. think about changing your mains at the same time if they havent been updated, as this will save a lot of heart ache later imho. The water board will fit a new mains tap at your boundary, and in some areas they will even run pipe to your threshold. Beware gas mains not always buried deep enough as the depth they are supposed to be sited are only listed as'recommended' and not specified by law. They should be imho, but that would be too logical:p :p

LMAO - this is why I need a new driveway. As part of our recent extension we had a new water main fitted and have a lovely trench.

you lads are quite right taking the oportunity to have a new water main put in is definately worth thinking about. Our water supply is REALLY good now and services the new Combi a treat!

Photo of project to follow.

smileyriley

[smileyriley]

50mm of properly laid and compacted tarmac in fair condition will be a bitch to break up using hand tools! All depends what sort of condition it's in.

Have you a picture you could post up of the proposed project?

I have taken the pix but can't attach them. Do I have to post them on the net somewhere?

[James.Q]

check the notice board on uploading pics