update on removing concrete footing 600mm wide , 500mm deep by 5 m

[clive12345]

I would like to thank you all for the advice given to me .

Thread "Advice needed ,best way to remove footings ?"

In the end i decided to buy a cheap breaker ,a Titan , which i needed for other jobs anyway .
If that failed i would go for one of the other options.
I started where the footing joined the house , it took 4 hours to dig a metre length working on top of the concrete. I could now fit into the trench .
I then got into the trench and hammered out the bottom six inches of the footing ,creating an overhang .
Next i hammered from the top , to remove the overhang , repeating along the footing .
As long as i kept the bottom clear , and the concrete had something soft to break into it worked.
It took about 14 hours over 3 days .
The Titan was okay in the trench , but on top i needed a bigger breaker .
The vibration was bad until i wrapped some foam around the handles .
If i had to do it again , i am not sure i would use this method ,it was hard and slow .
I hope this helps somebody .

 

[Nige F]

Thanks for the update and well done for your perseverance and graft. When I was @ primary school I watched 2 workmen demolish a WW11 blockhouse in the playing field with jackhammers.....for weeks and weeks. Probably they got Vibration White Finger - unless the ciggies they smoked got them first