Thanks. That really helps. I didn't think about the possibility of wire
mesh or rebar being in the concrete. I'm hoping to try this later this week
and I'll post how it worked out.

"Puddin' Man" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 11 Sep 2006 15:12:17 -0400, "BETA-2K"
wrote:

I need to cut a hole in a basement concrete floor in a house that I own so
I
can put in a sump pump.

'Tis an alligator with which I wrestled some years ago ...

I know how to do all of the sump pump stuff, but I'm not sure if there are
any tricks to cutting the hole in the concrete. The concrete seems *very*
hard (it sort seems like it's a finer texture and much harder to chip at
or
break than most concrete). I have tried drilling into this concrete in
the
past with a concrete drill bit and it seemed to go nowhere.

Hammer drill with a nice, fresh percussion bit?

The main thing I want to avoid is creating a crack in the concrete while
chipping or cutting out the opening.

This was my greatest fear. I had a vision of a hideous crack
running the length of the basement ...

So, I'm wondering if I could buy some
kind of one-time-use circular saw blade and cut grooves around the
perimeter
of the hole where the concrete would break/crack instead of the
breaks/cracks extending outward past the opening.

This is very close to what I did. I think I had to buy 2 7.25"
concrete
blades from Home Depot. Spec'd it out -very- carefully, cut out a
square with my minimum duty circular saw, maybe 1.25" deep. Then I
banged and banged with a big hammer/maul until it fell out.
Almost -perfectly- clean, no sizable cracks, tiny chip or 2.
I was much relieved.

I know this is somewhat vague, but any thoughts, suggestions, or ideas
would
certainly be appreciated.

They've got better concrete cutting tools than what I used at the
rental places. Dunno how hard they are to handle. Likely helps if
you're built like Dick Dee Bruiser (I am 140 lbs with bad back).

The guy that warned about the dust wasn't kidding. It's not just
hideous and insideous: I think it gets in your pipes, it forms a
compound like lye, can do much harm if ya don't have proper breathing
protection. Cleanup is a certified PITA.

Also, I'm told that you can find most anything (i.e. rerod) in the
floor. Mine was just 2-2.5" of concrete, but I can't speak for
yours.

Not clear? Ask Q's.

Cheers,
Puddin'

Pease pudding hot,
Pease pudding cold,
Pease pudding in the pot
Nine days old.