Remove patio slabs and concrete

[swampygoeswild]

Hi,

I recently bought a house with patio slabs that are laid on concreted right up to the wall of the property bridging the damp course. I need to remove the slabs and concrete using an angle grinder to create a French drain (so I have been told).

Can anyone tell me what size angle grinder would be sufficient? Are there any potential pitfalls I need to be aware of?

I'm a complete novice when it comes to DIY but having recently purchased a house and the time has come to learn.

Any help will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Stuart

 

[Burnerman]

All must depend on the thickness of your slabs and concrete....personally I'd consider hiring a petrol stone cutting saw, with trolley and water attachment for minimising dust.
It is an excellent idea to remove all material to a good distance below DPC however.
John

 

[alan333]

I agree with Burnerman. Angle grinders and petrol cutting saws do the same thing, but you get a bigger blade with the petrol ones, thus allowing you to cut deeper, and faster. You can get different blades too, a standard stone cutting disc will take much longer to cut than a diamond tipped one will. You can hire stone saws complete with blades fairly cheaply by the day, and usually with the diamond tipped blades you pay per millimetre of blade used.

If you're unsure, here's a link to a petrol saw...
http://www.thesawcentre.co.uk/garde...y-ts410&utm_campaign=product+listing+ads#1246

And to an angle grinder...
http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d28490-gb-230mm-angle-grinder-240v/81389

 

[swampygoeswild]

Thanks both for the advice. I'm not sure exactly how deep it is but I'll guess at five inches. I was thinking of using this: http://www.hss.com/g/6331/Angle-Grinders.html

Do you think it'll do the job and would a complete novice be able to handle it?

 

[alan333]

You'll only cut a couple of inches deep with the grinder, and it'll be slow, better off with something like this...

http://www.hss.com/g/7116/350mm-Portable-Cut-Off-Saw.html

If you're good with your hands and machinery in general you should be able to handle either. If in doubt consider paying someone to do it.

 

[r896neo]

Definatley use a petrol cut off saw. They have a clutch so that if the blade should jam it will stop rotating whereas a grinder will just grab and try to pull itself out of your hand. At worst it could sprain your wrist or the inertia could make you swing the blade towards your leg or foot.

Check for services first. You'd be very unlucky to hit water electric or drainage but quite possible to hit ntl cables or any kind of supplies of water or electric to outbuildings so try and work out if any of those might cross your path first.