On Friday, July 18, 2014 12:47:48 PM UTC-4, micky wrote:
The original blacktop. Repaved once, patched once. I had a pro

out here last week -- he came out the morning after I called, even

though he knew the job was smaller than his company would want to do --

and he said it needs to be cut out, but his minimum was 3000 dollars.

Gave me a list of others with lower minimums, maybe $2000. I asked

him about doing it with a hammer and chisel and he said blacktop was

almost as hard as cement. Of course a pro in most fields thinks its

best if a pro does the work.



Basically you need to cut a 4 inch wide trench six feet long?



Yeah. It's open to a drain on one side, but the original drain opening

is obstructed by the extra blacktop about 4 inches high. The pro said

he'd never seen anything like it.



Saw cut it and pry it up, this is only an hour job. You can rent a saw..



Does the saw have a particular name? I think I read about one that one

can operate while standing up!!

Lowes has a 14 inch concrete saw for rent. They say daily rates are $25 to $65 depending on the tool, they also have hourly rates. I would be very surprised if you couldn't cut two 6 foot slots in half an hour or so. Maybe also make a series of angled cuts every few inches so you can take it out in pieces. Then pry it up with a crowbar or the end of a pick. You really need to sawcut before any other method or you'll get a frayed sloppy trench. A chisel would take you a week I think.

Anyway, I'd go to any tool rental place and tell them what you plan to do. Spend $50 instead of $3000, make the cut and take the saw back, remove the pieces at your leisure.

My neighbor dug a trench for a water or waste line with a weird backhoe. I don't know what it's called. You don't drive it, it's a little tiny thing pulled behind a vehicle. It had a super small bucket, like 4 inches wide maybe, and you stand behind it and move levers, or maybe it had a small seat, but no cab. It took him all day to dig a short trench but it looked good. But that was in soil, it would never work on blacktop without the saw cut.