Dear all
I have an ugly concrete path at the back of my house that is cracked and collects surface water. I've been thinking of breaking it up and replacing it with gravel (no cats nearby!).

However I am worried about damaging the sewage pipes that I know are underneath and also the foundations.

Any tips or advice before I have a go at it?

Cheers

Dan

dan offcamber wrote:

I have an ugly concrete path at the back of my house that is cracked
and collects surface water. I've been thinking of breaking it up and
replacing it with gravel (no cats nearby!).

However I am worried about damaging the sewage pipes that I know are
underneath and also the foundations.

Surely if it's only a path it's not going to be very deep - a few inches
- and the sewage pipes and foundations are going to be a lot deeper than
that. So unless you're intending to use a JCB...

David

Lobster wrote:
dan offcamber wrote:

I have an ugly concrete path at the back of my house that is cracked
and collects surface water. I've been thinking of breaking it up and
replacing it with gravel (no cats nearby!).
However I am worried about damaging the sewage pipes that I know are
underneath and also the foundations.

Surely if it's only a path it's not going to be very deep - a few inches
- and the sewage pipes and foundations are going to be a lot deeper than
that. So unless you're intending to use a JCB...


Indeed.

Rather than smacking it with a sledge, consider hiring a concrete saw
and cutting it into bits small enough to be levered up.

David

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Lobster wrote:
dan offcamber wrote:

I have an ugly concrete path at the back of my house that is
cracked
and collects surface water. I've been thinking of breaking it up
and
replacing it with gravel (no cats nearby!).
However I am worried about damaging the sewage pipes that I know
are
underneath and also the foundations.

Surely if it's only a path it's not going to be very deep - a few
inches
- and the sewage pipes and foundations are going to be a lot
deeper than
that. So unless you're intending to use a JCB...


Indeed.

Rather than smacking it with a sledge, consider hiring a concrete
saw
and cutting it into bits small enough to be levered up.

David

It is suprising how delicate you can be with a Kango if you don't go
hammer and tongs at it. A few years bask I managed to remove a cast
block of rough concrete 18" cube that had been placed totally encasing
a 4" salt glazed drain. The concrete had been placed by the previous
twit owner who 'repaired' a crack by tying lino round the pipe and
encasing it. As far as I could tell the only crack in the pipe was the
original one.

AWEM

Andrew Mawson wrote:

"The Natural Philosopher" wrote in message
...
Lobster wrote:
dan offcamber wrote:

I have an ugly concrete path at the back of my house that is
cracked
and collects surface water. I've been thinking of breaking it up
and
replacing it with gravel (no cats nearby!).
However I am worried about damaging the sewage pipes that I know
are
underneath and also the foundations.

Surely if it's only a path it's not going to be very deep - a few
inches
- and the sewage pipes and foundations are going to be a lot
deeper than
that. So unless you're intending to use a JCB...


Indeed.

Rather than smacking it with a sledge, consider hiring a concrete
saw
and cutting it into bits small enough to be levered up.

David

It is suprising how delicate you can be with a Kango if you don't go
hammer and tongs at it. A few years bask I managed to remove a cast
block of rough concrete 18" cube that had been placed totally encasing
a 4" salt glazed drain. The concrete had been placed by the previous
twit owner who 'repaired' a crack by tying lino round the pipe and
encasing it. As far as I could tell the only crack in the pipe was the
original one.

AWEM

I smashed up a concrete path in my garden with surprisingly little
effort and no chance of collateral damage. The trick is to find ( or
make ) a weak spot and then lever the concrete slab just a fraction of
an inch clear of the ground so that there's a small air gap underneath
it.

A small whack with a club hammer will easily break up the unsupported
part and then you can attack the next part. I did the job very much
faster than I anticipated.