Rainy Day Project

[GregJ]

It was pouring down rain this morning and I decided that this was a perfect day to do a project that my wife and I have been talking about for some time now. When I built my shop, I poured a little sidewalk/patio area between the shop and an existing building. This was basically an afterthought and a good use for the extra concrete that we had from the slab. Well…. 25 years later, we decided it wasn’t all that good of an idea.

This sounded like the set up for a perfect day for me. I get to destruct stuff with my tractor!!!! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Recently there was a post about removing a sidewalk. I don’t remember a lot of pictures with that project, and I really didn’t know how my tractor would do with this, so I decided to document it with photos. I have a Kubota B7500 with a BH. Here is the “pathetic” before picture. As you can see, it is not all that attractive /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif, but hey…. It’s a shop. It is also in dire need of paint. (I have spent the last few summers playing with the kids before they go off to college. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif)

 

[GregJ]

I backed my tractor up and grabbed the first corner and was able to crack the concrete no problem. This is a 4” slab with wire mesh. It even broke the mesh no problem.

 

[GregJ]

Here is another shot from another angle

 

[GregJ]

I was able to stand it on end, chain it to my FEL and transport it to a temporary resting ground up in the woods.

 

[GregJ]

Here is another shot showing the thickness of the concrete.

 

[GregJ]

Things were going great until I ran into a little problem. I did take care to pour this concrete to be relatively strong back then. As I started around the corner, the BH actually lifted the entire slab and it would not crack. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif This shows how powerful these little backhoes are. That is a lot of concrete for a little Kubota to lift, considering that it was stuck to the dirt with a tractor sitting on top of it.

 

[GregJ]

Here is another shot.

 

[GregJ]

Time to run to the Rent-It Center and pick up one of these.

 

[GregJ]

With the 60lb. electric jack hammer I was able to break the slab into chunks that my tractor could handle. I was actually amazed at how easy this whole project went. My little B7500 and BH handled this project very easily and had plenty of power. It’s times like this that I feel a little less B7800 envy.

So….. I started at about 10:30am, ran to the post office, video store, gas station and rental center at noon (10 miles each way). Came home, had lunch, finished the project and had the jack hammer back to the rental store by 3:30. I got home from the rental center and enjoyed an ice cold Pacific NW microbrew by 4:00. Not a bad day! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Now all I have to do is landscape it …. Darn ….. I guess that means more seat time! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[DannyD]

why not put a big rock under the big slab and drop it on the rock, that may break it, but I bet the jack hammer was fun to use and destroy something.

They dont make concrete like that anymore either