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Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

ivanptr
Making a Splash

Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

signal-2022-11-30-20-50-36-554-1.jpg

 

 

Wondering how deep is the concrete base, will that be too heavy for two men to lift it up in bare hand after using shovel to take out the soil around it ?

 

We got rotrary drill , shovel and spade

 

Thanks for any ideas

Jewelleryrescue
Kind of a Big Deal

Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @ivanptr 

Hand method

Generally speaking a post or pole should only be buried  1/3 of its length.  with concrete possibly less  so as a rough  guide your pole  will be  buried between 50cm to 90cm deep just so you  can estimate you work ahead. Drill may assist you  here drill on  one side (More sides if you wish beware your  drill being hurt by concrete footing)

 

Simply dig out one side of the post as  you go deeper the hole  will usually be  wider at the top. As you progress push and pull pole  towards dug hole trench shape until it starts moving free.  If  ground super hard  fill part hole with water wait 5 mins go again and repeat.

 

Dig some  more and put  a 100mm brick or block infront  the pole and as the  pole  tips over  the  block it will act as a piviot point lifting concrete  base  out too.pole topple.jpg

 

If you find this pole super tough i use a car  jack especially in old timber fences  ie many posts. Pulls them out like steam hard  bit is lowering jack then adding blocks as post rises. I use section of old fence posts  to make varying block heights. 100% success  done with my experiance.

I drill  15 to 20mm hole in post and push through thick steel rod (reo or very heavy  tent peg ) I then put a  besser brick and timber block one side and a car jack on the other side chocked up under the other side of metal rod.  Then simply operate the jack with 2 to 4 tonne lifting force re adjusting  jack and opposite blocks as it lifts up. Always  double  check stability around jack work.  When pole is  quite loose then man handle it.Strap and jackStrap and jackJack  with rod through poleJack with rod through pole

 

I dont know if a  woven strap will grip the pole as not to have to drill a hole. 40% success estimated.

 

Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @ivanptr,

 

It's great to see that @Jewelleryrescue has been assisting.

 

Do you need to remove the concrete footer, or would a simpler approach be to cut the post off at the top of the footer with an angle grinder? If you could leave the footer in the ground, that would save a whole heap of work.

 

In regards to your question on whether two men could lift the pole and footer, I doubt it if an adequate amount of concrete was used to install it. A post that size would typically call for 60kgs+ of concrete. It all depends on the pole's use, and how well of a job was done with installation. You could find that next to no concrete was used.

 

Keep us updated, and reach out if you have further questions or get stuck.

 

Mitchell

 

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Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @MitchellMc @ivanptr 

 

Cutting it off certainly  will save some work  I agree with you Mitchell  100%  I have done it before  myself.  but consider these thing have away of coming back and effecting  us later.  From the photos of the property its is reasonably  undeveloped so into the future  I think that area needs landscaping steps or something buried post might get in the way.

 

Why is that  single post there any way ? its so  unusual.

 

My experiance that lead me to modifiy my thoughts and my mini case study

I replaced a timber fence and concrete footings with colour bond (different post spacings yeah  happy days, I am older lets cut them)   and  just lopped  timber fence post off.  2 things happened those remaining  timbers  attracted termites(fought them for 2 years+) and secondly the concrete footing was in the way of plant spacings  in a narrow garden  bed so a  double whammy and I had to  dig them out the hard way. 

 

 

Some times it is best to remove posts fully while you have full pole attached for leverage.

 

I only mention this to  allow  post owners a choice of actions.

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hello @ivanptr

 

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @MitchellMc and @Jewelleryrescue. Just to add to the ideas suggested, have you thought about the reason the pole is there? I believe it is used to attach a Marquee 3 x 3m Charcoal Triangle Shade Sail. Hence the reason why it is buried so deep and held in with so much concrete.

 

If you look at the front of your house you might find anchoring points for the shade sail. This would make an excellent spot for your car to park in without driving into the garage. It will keep it nice and cool this coming summer, although all this rain is making me doubt that summer will show itself. 

 

However, if you wish to remove the post both methods suggested are worth doing, the third method I propose is to use a Cyclone 1650 x 25mm Hex Fencing Bar to break apart the concrete footing. Once you break the concrete footing you should be able to slide the steel post out. 

 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the post removed.

 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

 

Eric

 

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Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @EricL 

 

I think you are right about that being and ex shade cloth pole i was thinking  i was seeing things wrong but that poles on an angle. I think I can see that  eye at the top. well spotted @EricL 

 

I just busted up some concrete path way 2 days ago with  Bunnings

ozito 900W 3.5J ROTARY HAMMER DRILL KIT  

 

Its not  designed for heavy but if used it gets pretty hot for short 10 min periods (small duty cycle let it cool down for more work 1/2 hour later or risk tool damage) it will crack  concrete with   using the chisel point or I purchased a  300mm long 14 mm  concrete heavy duty after market drill bit and swiss cheesed my cutting line and  @EricL  fencing bar  equivilant  I call my tooth pick. 

 

Beware using  chisel point it will go deep into concrete and  it will be very very hard to  get out , Think king  Arthur  and Excaliber the sword in the stone story.lol best way it free it is  to disconnect first tool  from  drill first then  use second tool to free it or  a fencing  bar. Dont  chisel drill more it more than 100mm approx at a time make life easier.  But I still  stuck  my drill a couple of times but wriggled it out side to side.

 

A combination of  all these  tools will get  results with out too much  physical effort all going well

Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @Jewelleryrescue

 

Thanks for the excellent suggestion on how to avoid getting your drill stuck in the cement footing. Let me tag @ivanptr to make sure they see your added recommendation. I was wondering why there would be a pole in the middle of the garden at an angle and it came to me that it might have been part of a shade sail assembly.

 

Eric

 

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Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Thank you so much for all the advice.🙏

@EricL @MitchellMc 
We want to remove it because we want to install drainage and the pole is standing in the way of the best drainage path. Then we talked to the plumber, he said he would hire excavator to dig trench so he would remove the pole so well. The rate for the excavator with operator is approximately $400 – 500.


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@Jewelleryrescue
Wholehearted thanks for the thought. car jack is really a good idea. even we decided to let the plumber to remove the pole for us, we are thinking to buy one car jack. It seems a great tool 😂 can come into handy sometimes. Do you have any recommendations? 
TradeTools | Huge Range, Great Service
We found one, seems reasonably priced? $99, is it good enough?

 

 

EricL
Bunnings Team Member
Bunnings Team Member

Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @ivanptr

 

Have you had a look at the Sidchrome 4000kg Hydraulic Bottle Jack or the Stanley 1600kg Trolley Jack? These should provide you with enough lifting power to get that post out.

 

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

 

Eric

 

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Re: Can you remove this with just a shovel and rotrary drill?

Hi @ivanptr 

 

Your  excavator with operator is the best way too go.  Just need  a solid chain of woven belt around the pole to grip it is the secret there. our pull it over.

 

I meantion car  jack as a tool as every one  with a car  should  own a  car jack. But not every one owns  a car.

 

I might not recommend you buy a car jack for a one off job Try  always buy tools you need for multiple  jobs and cross purposes at times. Other wise you garage so full of tools  you cant move.

 

Just tring to keep things real for you.  Glad to hear  your project progressing.

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