Sounds like a idea worth ago.
Yes its common sense really that the vibrations are going to affect something in and around the house but not sure what you can do about that.
More pictures please, see how you are getting on.
Old conservatory base built nearly to damp course
- Thread starter Beginerz
- Start date
Yes its common sense really that the vibrations are going to affect something in and around the house but not sure what you can do about that.
More pictures please, see how you are getting on.
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Always use the point for concrete
have you been using the chisel, it’s just that the broken up parts have a lot of dust, when breaking up a floor slab I wouldve expected chunks
You are doing great, well done for giving it a go. I like breaking concrete, it’s quite satisfying.
no it won’t affect the house, if you wanted the concrete slab inside the house dug up, it would be broken up with a breaker in the same way
Your house will be on substantial foundations which aren’t in direct contact with the slab you are breaking, so there’s no structural issue.
Thank you.
I was using the wide chisel on day one which is when the last photo was which explains the dust mentioned. Switched to the point today, day two. Hope to post another photo tomorrow.
I estimate this concrete in the middle of the base to be 400mm deep I reckon so it's quite grueling.
The patio slabs underneath, which this conservatory was laid on, do not go all the way to the house. There is approx 600mn closest to the house which seems to have been poured onto hardcore over soil, and this is where white bits are found in the base (look like pieces of plaster of Paris or china cley!).
Not when its locked in on three sides.
8" thick.
Pokered/vibrated concrete.
Reinforced.
We started with our medium duty pecker - massive lol. Then hired a Hilti electric monster - not man enough. Ended up with a two piece hydraulic breaker and power pack. That was a long two days.
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You need to try and break down to the bottom. If you can undermine - even better. We tend to chomp a chunk off from above, then drop the point onto the chomp and angle the breaker inwards and split a chunk off the bottom.
Been doing just that today. The job is a killer though, it's just so deep it's unreal. Nearer to finishing than starting but if can't get it done for end of play Tuesday when breaker is due back will have to carry on with it the following week for a couple of days. The stacks of rubble alone seem to be about 4 times the volume of the actual conservatory, probably because there's air between the boulders. And when breaking to the bottom, after about a depth of 5 inches has been removed from the working line, you have to rake and remove the rubble to have space for new breakage to go and to make sure you're down to the bottom. It is quite possibly deeper than a road in the worst part of it I believe.
When I'm sitting on the sofa late evening I literally feel like my whole body is still vibrating from hours and hours of it and taking so long!
You should be wearing some pretty thick gloves to dampen the vibrations, e.g. cheap leather gloves like these...
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Obviously ear defenders too. Safety specs probably should be used but I never bothered as I wear specs and have a special "Safety Squint".
Keep a vertical edge going, you need to break fist-sized chunks off not carve it.
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Obviously ear defenders too. Safety specs probably should be used but I never bothered as I wear specs and have a special "Safety Squint".
Keep a vertical edge going, you need to break fist-sized chunks off not carve it.
Carrying on today....
I have actually found some large rocks under here within the concrete.
Can anyone tell if this is a row of bricks laid up flush to the rear wall of the house and what it might be for? Are the bricks structural to the house or are they likely to have been put there when this conservatory base was constructed and is it safe to remove them?
Note: there is also what seems to be another row of bricks set against the row you can see, just under the soil towards the camera. Again, not sure why?
I have actually found some large rocks under here within the concrete.
Can anyone tell if this is a row of bricks laid up flush to the rear wall of the house and what it might be for? Are the bricks structural to the house or are they likely to have been put there when this conservatory base was constructed and is it safe to remove them?
Note: there is also what seems to be another row of bricks set against the row you can see, just under the soil towards the camera. Again, not sure why?
yeah that sounds nasty
a job for a pecker attachment to a digger if access is possible
You're doing well.
If in doubt, smash em out.
No seriously, have a dig with a trowel and see what's what. There's probably just soil under them and they're not attached to anything. They're unlikely to be part of the house.
If in doubt, smash em out.
No seriously, have a dig with a trowel and see what's what. There's probably just soil under them and they're not attached to anything. They're unlikely to be part of the house.
Today's progress.
This really is one hell of a job. If the concrete was without stones/rocks and bricks inside and was more like 150mm or 200mm thick I don't think it would be so bad.
Realistically I have faced now that this won't be finished tomorrow and the breaker is due back as progress is just too slow even without breaks. I think we could have done with the road breaker but to be fair they did say they were all out on hire anyway.
Next days off are between Christmas and New year so after another day tomorrow will probably aim to finish it off then. My partner works for a builders company in an administrative role so thankfully we do get decent discount on the hire.
Where the airbrick was cut though for an air pipe, you will see underneath the damp proof bricks that the bricks are red. Should these be exposed or is it best to keep the new ground level above the red bricks?
This really is one hell of a job. If the concrete was without stones/rocks and bricks inside and was more like 150mm or 200mm thick I don't think it would be so bad.
Realistically I have faced now that this won't be finished tomorrow and the breaker is due back as progress is just too slow even without breaks. I think we could have done with the road breaker but to be fair they did say they were all out on hire anyway.
Next days off are between Christmas and New year so after another day tomorrow will probably aim to finish it off then. My partner works for a builders company in an administrative role so thankfully we do get decent discount on the hire.
Where the airbrick was cut though for an air pipe, you will see underneath the damp proof bricks that the bricks are red. Should these be exposed or is it best to keep the new ground level above the red bricks?
Ground level should be six inches/two brick courses below the DPC. More is better. In your case it looks like the blue bricks will be enough, I think the cheaper red bricks were not intended to be seen. Are you near Staffordshire, or a canal? Staffy blues are a very fine brick.
The six inches prevents rainwater splashing up and wetting the wall.
Also, in good clean brickwork, damp will not easily climb more than two courses, due to pore size difference between brick and cement mortar obstructing capillarity. This is why "rising damp" does not usually happen.
I am appalled that the cowboys poured concrete over the airbricks.
The bricks beside the house look to my eye like brick footings. Scrape around and under them with your trowel before smashing them out. Usually found in older houses, or old builders, brick footings extend wider in the ground to spread the load of the wall and should not be removed. If they are loose, they might have been an edging for original paving, and are at the right level.
The six inches prevents rainwater splashing up and wetting the wall.
Also, in good clean brickwork, damp will not easily climb more than two courses, due to pore size difference between brick and cement mortar obstructing capillarity. This is why "rising damp" does not usually happen.
I am appalled that the cowboys poured concrete over the airbricks.
The bricks beside the house look to my eye like brick footings. Scrape around and under them with your trowel before smashing them out. Usually found in older houses, or old builders, brick footings extend wider in the ground to spread the load of the wall and should not be removed. If they are loose, they might have been an edging for original paving, and are at the right level.
So is the key that if the trowel goes under them then they can be removed? If it won't they should stay? The house is from the 60s and canals not too far away.
Tell me you hired a skip and not shifting it piecemeal?
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