Breaking up 12/14 inch thick concrete

[kevkdg]

Hi,

A pathway made up of paving slabs backing onto my rear garden has encroached onto my land a bit, I have agreed with the owners the actual boundary line and they got a contractor in to cut the paving slabs back by 1.5 feet so I could reposition my fence. But, it would appear the paving slabs were sitting on a concrete bed that appears to be a foot in depth, which they have left and have no intention of removing, so I will have a go myself.

Basically, I need to remove/break up a strip of concrete which is approx 30' long by 1.5' wide by 1' deep. Before I realised the depth I did have a go with a pick axe but to no avail, so I dug some earth away from the edge of the path to reveal about 12 inches in depth of concrete.

I have booked a Heavy Duty Electric (110V 1,800W, 13m/s2 AVL) Breaker from Hewden Hire Centres, but never having used one of these can anyone tell me whether it is likely to get through a foots depth of concrete, and how long it might take me? Also, any tips on using it would be appreciated, bearing in mind I am only removing a section of the path, the flag/paving stones having already been cut away and removed, so I need to remove the underlying concrete taking it back 1.5 feet to what will be the new edge of the pathway.

You may ask why am I bothering, the answer is because my garden is a 1.5 feet below the height of the path, and the fence will need to sit with its base dropped down a foot or so.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

[InfAddict]

I broke up approx 4m x 4m x 1ft deep concrete with a medium duty breaker and it was fine, so I don't think you'll have any problems with a heavy duty one. The only minor problem I encountered was letting the bit drill too far straight down so it got stuck. I found that doing smaller insertions and then levering the breaker up and down worked best for me.

With a heavy duty breaker, I don't think it will take you any more than half a day to break it up. It's getting rid of it that'll take the longest

Good Luck! .

P.S. Don't forget adequate feet, hand, eye and ear protection.

[kevkdg]

Many thanks for your reply, however, it has now transpired that the fencing contractor will do it for an extra £40, and as it would cost £30 to hire the breaker that would be an extra £10 well spent me thinks!

That said, he is charging £200 labour for him and his co-worker to clear this concrete but NOT take it away and to install 6 concrete posts. Does that sound reasonable?

Cheers