I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

An easy way would be to run over it a couple of times with a
D-9, but that would probably be expensive. In lieu of that,
you may use a sledge hammer to break it up, but that would not
be easy. A jackhammer isn't really easy, either. A bobcat
could probably deal with it fairly easily, by lifting at the
edges and getting it to crack and then break. The skid steer
would then allow you to haul it off to a vehicle fairly easily
too.

This is concrete. Not much easy about it.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

"Marcy" wrote in message
...
I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Easier to drop some patio furniture on it.
Nothing about breaking up concrete is easy. I'm pouring my hot tub slab
next Tues.
Theres going to be #10 rebar in it 24" OC.

"Rudy" wrote in message
news:CNtue.1779114$Xk.532100@pd7tw3no...

"Marcy" wrote in message
...
I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Easier to drop some patio furniture on it.
Nothing about breaking up concrete is easy. I'm pouring my hot tub slab
next Tues.
Theres going to be #10 rebar in it 24" OC.

You lucky SOB!

I gotta wait until October.....

On Wed, 22 Jun 2005 22:01:26 -0700, in alt.home.repair Hot Tub
Slab Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

If it's not more than 4" thick, rent an electric jack hammer for the
day. Start at the edge and break off pieces about 6"x6". You should be
able to complete it in 4 or 5 hours.

--
To reply to me directly, remove the CLUTTER from my email address.

"Marcy" wrote in message
...
I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?


Breaking an unreinforced slab is not difficult. You will need a large
sledge, say 16 lb, and a long (at least 6') steel pry bar. Just whacking the
slab on grade will be very difficult, the key is elevating it slightly off
the ground. That's where the prybar comes in. Stick it under a corner, use a
block of wood as a fulcrum and get it just an inch or two off grade. Have a
helper cram a board under there to hold it up. Whack. One blow with the
sledge will break it cleanly. The first break is the hardest - after that it
goes quickly. If the slab has an existing crack or 2, so much the better.

The most laborious part of the job is actually carting away the broken
chunks. Okay, I just noticed your name is Marcy. If you're a 98 lb. woman -
you might have a tough time getting enough leverage to elevate that slab.
Just remember the words of Archimedes ( I think ), give me a long enough
lever and I can move the world - or words to that effect. But what would he
use as a fulcrum? But I digress...

JRanieri wrote:
"Marcy" wrote in message
...

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?



Breaking an unreinforced slab is not difficult. You will need a large
sledge, say 16 lb, and a long (at least 6') steel pry bar. Just whacking the
slab on grade will be very difficult, the key is elevating it slightly off
the ground. That's where the prybar comes in. Stick it under a corner, use a
block of wood as a fulcrum and get it just an inch or two off grade. Have a
helper cram a board under there to hold it up. Whack. One blow with the
sledge will break it cleanly. The first break is the hardest - after that it
goes quickly. If the slab has an existing crack or 2, so much the better.

The most laborious part of the job is actually carting away the broken
chunks. Okay, I just noticed your name is Marcy. If you're a 98 lb. woman -
you might have a tough time getting enough leverage to elevate that slab.
Just remember the words of Archimedes ( I think ), give me a long enough
lever and I can move the world - or words to that effect. But what would he
use as a fulcrum? But I digress...



The moon could be used as a fulcrum,...with a long enough
lever. But then we get into the motion induced. Relative to
each other, which would be moving? The earth or the moon or
(probably) both? Relative to the sun, you would probably see
both move, the moon having the greatest deviation from
original position, the earth lesser. But if you were to brace
the moon against say Jupiter, then you could probably just
move the earth with the moon as a fulcrum. Or why not just
use Jupiter as the fulcrum? Of course that would vastly
increase the length needed for the lever,...

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX

Breaking up a slab this size isn't all that hard, using a large sledge
hammer. The other problem is getting rid of the material. Depending
on where you are, that can be expensive. Are you sure you want to do
this? If the slab is in good shape, If possible, I'd consider other
possibilities, like using the area for something else, eg barbecue
area, table/chairs

"Marcy" wrote in message
...
I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

Go down to your local nursery. There are always a lot of workmen around
mine in the mornings looking for work. Hire them to do a hard job.

Steve

Dr. Hardcrab wrote:
"Rudy" wrote in message

I'm pouring my hot tub slab
next Tues.
Theres going to be #10 rebar in it 24" OC.





You lucky SOB!

I gotta wait until October.....



So use his until then. Problem solved.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Breaking up a slab this size isn't all that hard, using a large sledge
hammer.

Are you related to my wife? She says things like that all the time, usually
through the window from air conditioned comfort. ;-)

The other problem is getting rid of the material.

You got that right. It is easier to pay someone with a truck to break it up
and haul it away at one time. You can put it in the garbage one block at a
time, but it takes a couple of years to get rid of it all.

Depending
on where you are, that can be expensive. Are you sure you want to do
this? If the slab is in good shape, If possible, I'd consider other
possibilities, like using the area for something else, eg barbecue
area, table/chairs

Excellent suggestion. One of those premade gazebos would probably fit over
it pretty good. Just be sure to anchor it.

Steve

Corinne,

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.
Is there an easy way to break it up?

you may use a sledge hammer to break it up,
but that would not be easy.

Last year I had to break out a small 2' x 3' step to pour a new patio. The
step was about 6" thick, but I figured it would be an easy task with a
sledge and/or a chisel. I weigh over 200 pounds and figured I could smash
that thing up easily. However, I spent an afternoon beating the heck out of
that small step and the best I could achieve was to chip off the corners.

So, the next day I rented an electric jackhammer. Again, I expected the
jackhammer to pulverize the slab, but it was a bit more work than I
expected. It's hard to describe, but there's a certain "trick" to using the
jackhammer. You kind of have to beat in a spot for a bit, move to the side,
and repeat. You're trying to create a fracture line across the concrete.
Eventually, it'll break at that point. Once I figured it out, I had the
step out in about 15 minutes. However, be aware that the jackhammer itself
is fairly heavy (60 pounds maybe?), so just moving it around takes some
work.

A bobcat could probably deal with it fairly easily,
by lifting at the edges and getting it to crack

A few months ago I rented a bobcat to do some landscape work. Part of the
project involved relocating a small 8x12 shed. I unbolted the shed from the
slab, jacked it up, and set it on 2x6 runners. I then used the bobcat to
pull the shed to the new location. It worked great.

With the shed gone, I now had a 8' x 12' slab to break up. I dug the bobcat
blade just under the edge of the slab, and slowly lifted it up. It was slow
going at first, just to get the slab to separate from the ground. But
eventually, the slab lifted and it got about 2' off the ground before it
cracked in the middle from it's own weight. I then continued lifting the
pieces up and cracking them that way. A cracked a couple of stubborn pieces
by flipping them over so they landed on other pieces of concrete. This
cracked them fairly easily. We were filling in a low spot anyway, so I used
the bobcat to bury the large concrete chunks, and later cover them with
topsoil.

Both my step and slab were unreinforced (no rebar). If the slabs had
contained rebar, I would tend to think the jackhammer would be the better
option?

Good luck!

Anthony

Really? We love our hot tub (that came with the house).

You can rent an electric "jackhammer" to do the job if you really don't want
it.

-Tim

"Marcy" wrote in message
...
I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

Go down to your local nursery. There are always a lot of workmen
around mine in the mornings looking for work. Hire them to do a hard
job.

I hereby nominate this as the oddest reply of the week.

"JohnH" wrote in message
...

Go down to your local nursery. There are always a lot of workmen
around mine in the mornings looking for work. Hire them to do a hard
job.

I hereby nominate this as the oddest reply of the week.


And I nominate yours at #2.

I have never seen the Statue of Liberty, yet, I take other people's word for
it that it is there and exists. It takes a small brain not to listen to
others who have experiences outside our own. And to believe that just
because we haven't experienced something, that it is possible for others to
have done so.

I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. When I want to hire day laborers, or a person
for a specific job, I go there. They are not a referral agency, but if you
need some grunts, or a grunt with a truck, go there, and they are on the
sidewalk outside.

Now, if you are paranoid type who can't just hire day laborers, it would be
advisable to go to an employment agency, or call a contractor. Be sure to
get their insurance certificate. Have them fill out an I-9 and W-2, or
1099. Have them sign a disclaimer. Be sure not to give out your address or
phone number, and don't touch them.

For others who are looking for a simple solution to a simple problem, just
look around in the obvious places. I even have a corner near my house where
two guys have put up posters saying "Man with truck will haul."

We also have a guy called "Spa Steve." He will buy all used spas, and pick
them up. I am sure he could recommend someone to clear the slab, too.

I'm sorry. Did you actually have something to offer this poster, or to add
to this conversation, or were you just trolling?

Steve

Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Before you rent a jackhammer or hire someone to deal with it, try
using a sledgehammer on it yourself. It's hard to break up concrete
when it's flat on the ground, which just absorbs the shock of the
sledge blows. Frankly, an 8 x 8 slab is probably too large and heavy
for you to pry up yourself, but you could try it with a steel pry
bar. Otherwise, this worked for me: start at one of the corners and
dig out/under it a bit. You
want that bit of corner hanging over the soil, not supported by it.
Slide the pry bar or a 2x4 under that corner, so that pounding that
corner with the sledge won't just cause the corner to settle back
down into the dirt. Hit the concrete corner a couple times with the
sledge. If the corner fractures off easily enough, repeat this
process a few more times to break off more pieces of the slab. At
some point when the slab gets smaller, you may finally be able to
pry it up with a pry bar, at which point slide a 2x4 or two under it
to prop it up so it'll keep fracturing more easily.
You may decide you can do the whole job yourself. If you decide it's
too much effort for you to manage with a sledgehammer, then you can
look into renting a jackhammer or hiring the job out.

You have some possible options for getting rid of the concrete. For
a fee, a local trash hauler may provide a dumpster you can fill, and
they'll remove it in a week or so. There may be a local dump site
that'll accept concrete chunks for a fee, if you can manage to haul
it over there. Ask around to see if there's a company in the area
that does heavy construction, like roadbuilding, where they pour
concrete and supply gravel. The one in my area accepts concrete
chunks for free, they grind them up and reuse them. I just had to
borrow my neighbor's trailer to haul it over there.

Finally, remember you'll end up with a large shallow hole in the
yard where the slab was. You'll need to haul in some topsoil to
level it off. Now that you've had a chance to think about how much
work and expense getting rid of the slab will make for yourself, you
may decide you'd rather leave it in place.

HellT

I could use a hot tub. Give it to me and I'll break up the slab for you.

Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

"Marcy" wrote in message
...
I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

A jackhammer is a good idea, but they're big and heavy. A demolition hammer
is the same thing, but much smaller, and made quick work of my cinderblock
walls and portions of my slab that needed removing.

Either way, it's best if you dig a bit around one edge of the slab, to give
the broken concrete somewhere to go.

Once it's broken up, you can place it in your trash a little at a time,
until it's gone.

Frankly, if it works for you, I like the suggestion of using it for a small
patio. Plant some tall bushes and a couple small trees around it, throw on
some patio furniture, and you have a little private nook away from the rest
of the world.

Pagan

I'm pouring my hot tub slab next Tues.

You lucky SOB!
I gotta wait until October.....

We sold our other house w/tub 2 years ago..been "without" since then.
We' ve been building this one for 1 1/2 yrs..the "aches" NEED a hot tub.
I'm not getting any younger..Glad the concrete is the last big job.

R

The moon could be used as a fulcrum,...with a long enough
lever. But then we get into the motion induced. Relative to each other,
which would be moving? The earth or the moon or (probably) both?
Relative to the sun, you would probably see both move, the moon having the
greatest deviation from original position, the earth lesser. But if you
were to brace the moon against say Jupiter, then you could probably just
move the earth with the moon as a fulcrum. Or why not just use Jupiter as
the fulcrum?

Or we could really hang it out there and use uranus as a fulcrum

Theres going to be #10 rebar in it 24" OC.
#10 rebar would be 1 1/4" in diameter.

Oops, what they call 10 mm rebar around here (1/2")

"Rudy" wrote in message
news:IIMue.80711$El.76121@pd7tw1no...
I'm pouring my hot tub slab next Tues.

You lucky SOB!
I gotta wait until October.....

We sold our other house w/tub 2 years ago..been "without" since then.
We' ve been building this one for 1 1/2 yrs..the "aches" NEED a hot tub.
I'm not getting any younger..Glad the concrete is the last big job.

R


You can't beat a hot tub for relaxing and aches and pains. I never was in
one until three years ago, and now I wouldn't be without one. I hear people
poo pooing them, and I don't understand.

They really are great, and not a lot of upkeep.

Steve

Well, where do you live?

Corinne

Mark and Kim Smith wrote:
I could use a hot tub. Give it to me and I'll break up the slab for you.

Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

Thank you so much for the informative post.

I would not mind leaving it and making a second patio out of it, but
it is off to the side of the house, not in the back where I would really
use it.

I doubt that it has any rebar in it as the owner poured it himself.

I may try your method, and if all else fails, if my male friends cannot
bust it up, then hire it out.

Many thanks.

Corinne

Hell Toupee wrote:

Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend is
taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?


Before you rent a jackhammer or hire someone to deal with it, try
using a sledgehammer on it yourself. It's hard to break up concrete
when it's flat on the ground, which just absorbs the shock of the
sledge blows. Frankly, an 8 x 8 slab is probably too large and heavy
for you to pry up yourself, but you could try it with a steel pry
bar. Otherwise, this worked for me: start at one of the corners and
dig out/under it a bit. You
want that bit of corner hanging over the soil, not supported by it.
Slide the pry bar or a 2x4 under that corner, so that pounding that
corner with the sledge won't just cause the corner to settle back
down into the dirt. Hit the concrete corner a couple times with the
sledge. If the corner fractures off easily enough, repeat this
process a few more times to break off more pieces of the slab. At
some point when the slab gets smaller, you may finally be able to
pry it up with a pry bar, at which point slide a 2x4 or two under it
to prop it up so it'll keep fracturing more easily.
You may decide you can do the whole job yourself. If you decide it's
too much effort for you to manage with a sledgehammer, then you can
look into renting a jackhammer or hiring the job out.

You have some possible options for getting rid of the concrete. For
a fee, a local trash hauler may provide a dumpster you can fill, and
they'll remove it in a week or so. There may be a local dump site
that'll accept concrete chunks for a fee, if you can manage to haul
it over there. Ask around to see if there's a company in the area
that does heavy construction, like roadbuilding, where they pour
concrete and supply gravel. The one in my area accepts concrete
chunks for free, they grind them up and reuse them. I just had to
borrow my neighbor's trailer to haul it over there.

Finally, remember you'll end up with a large shallow hole in the
yard where the slab was. You'll need to haul in some topsoil to
level it off. Now that you've had a chance to think about how much
work and expense getting rid of the slab will make for yourself, you
may decide you'd rather leave it in place.

HellT

Southern California.

Marcy wrote:

Well, where do you live?

Corinne

Mark and Kim Smith wrote:

I could use a hot tub. Give it to me and I'll break up the slab for
you.

Marcy wrote:

I am purchasing a home with a hot tub that I do not want. A friend
is taking the tub, but the 8' x 8' concrete slab will remain.

Is there an easy way to break it up? Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Corinne

SteveB wrote:
"Rudy" wrote in message
news:IIMue.80711$El.76121@pd7tw1no...

I'm pouring my hot tub slab next Tues.

You lucky SOB!
I gotta wait until October.....

We sold our other house w/tub 2 years ago..been "without" since then.
We' ve been building this one for 1 1/2 yrs..the "aches" NEED a hot tub.
I'm not getting any younger..Glad the concrete is the last big job.

R



You can't beat a hot tub for relaxing and aches and pains. I never was in
one until three years ago, and now I wouldn't be without one. I hear people
poo pooing them, and I don't understand.

They really are great, and not a lot of upkeep.

Steve



Great for casual sex as well.

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 01:20:20 -0700, Marcy wrote:

Thank you so much for the informative post.

I would not mind leaving it and making a second patio out of it, but
it is off to the side of the house, not in the back where I would really
use it.

I doubt that it has any rebar in it as the owner poured it himself.

I may try your method, and if all else fails, if my male friends cannot
bust it up, then hire it out.

Many thanks.

Corinne

When I was young(er), I might of had at it with the sledge hammer.
Nowdays, I would opt for some sort of power tool. The manly way would
be to rent a dry concrete saw to score the slab into managable chunks,
then use the sledge to break it up. The gentlemanly way would be to
use a walk behind wet concrete saw.

Big jackhammers are brutal machines, best left to young, burly
studs...

DJ

"DJ" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 01:20:20 -0700, Marcy wrote:

Thank you so much for the informative post.

I would not mind leaving it and making a second patio out of it, but
it is off to the side of the house, not in the back where I would really
use it.

I doubt that it has any rebar in it as the owner poured it himself.

I may try your method, and if all else fails, if my male friends cannot
bust it up, then hire it out.

Many thanks.

Corinne

When I was young(er), I might of had at it with the sledge hammer.
Nowdays, I would opt for some sort of power tool. The manly way would
be to rent a dry concrete saw to score the slab into managable chunks,
then use the sledge to break it up. The gentlemanly way would be to
use a walk behind wet concrete saw.

Big jackhammers are brutal machines, best left to young, burly
studs...


Dear God, I would much rather swing a hammer than eat the dust from a dry
concrete saw. I'm telling you, it really ain't a big deal to do the sledge
thing, and I'm 42.