Dan Gravell wrote:
Hi, novice diy'er/gardner here.

I want to transform my South London back yard into a rural idyll.
Currently my back yard is almost completely covered in concrete, with
an extra thick bit where a ludicruously oversized shed sits (that's
going too). I guess I want to remove this, but how do I go about it?

1/ hire skip and be prepared to hire another because there's probably more
concrete there than you think, especially if you leave it in big chunks ;-)

2/ go at it with a selection of sledge hammers (my fave) or an electric
drill/breaker/SDS+/- ... until it's all in the skip. this willprobably take
more than the time set aside for the purpose. this is also normal.

How thick is it likely to be?

that's what's called an easter egg, you never know

Do I need to hire a pneumatic drill or similar?

try electric 1st, one of them cheapo £35 SDS jobbies from screwfix et al
ought to do it but, as I said, I prefer to use a big FO sledgehammer and
reduce the concrete crust to wheelbarrow sized chunks.

When I remove it, will I likely just have soil underneath?

hopefully, watch out for pipes, cables, ex tennants, bombs etc.

Another consideration is that manhole covers and drains are built into
the concrete.

indeed. best get rid of the concrete before deciding what to do about them

Thanks,
Dan

yw

RT