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The plan is to put some raised beds in, with a wood retaining wall (more decorative than retaining) on the right hand side
There is 1 section of solid limestone rock that needs removing about 70cm long
So far I have used a hand axe which is slowly working, but very slowly.
My next thought is to use the small angle grinder I have with a stone blade in and cut long straight channels about 1” deep at a time to make it easier to then hammer/axe out.
Failing that it’s hire some form of breaker?
The only thing is we had some other garden work done and they used an electric breaker. Because the rock turns to powder on heavy impact it took them hours!
My other thought is to hire a full size disc cutter, but am I being daft/dangerous thinking that’s a way to do it ?
Any thoughts welcomed !
SDS drill, first drill some holes then chisel away?
Your on the right track. Disk cutter will help, bigger disk cutter will help more. Same with a breaker. Small mains breaker will do the job but a bigger breaker will make it easier. If you were in Bristol I could lend you both.
Bolster & lump hammer? Masonry drill to weaken it first?
Oh and some home made dynamite. But you are quite close to the house so go careful on that.
I had to remove some set concrete from round a fencepost before I could put in a fresh support. I ended up using a bolster and lump hammer after drilling some holes.
Unless you have infinite free time
Spend the 30 quid on a weekend hire of an electric jack hammer
It'll be blitzed in minutes
Why remove it? Just build the retaining wall around / over it.
Easy way, if you have a decent SDS drill is to use plug and feathers like these...
The very easy way if you have access to .22 blanks is to drill a 8mm hole then drop some .22 blanks down it. Then use an old drill bit, a lump of lead, some blankets and a hammer, et voila... This is what we used to use when exploring/digging blocked cave systems. It was some time ago and the technicalities escape me. But it worked very well 🙂
Why remove it? Just build the retaining wall around / over it.
Retaining walls need foundations.
SDS drill and wedge and feather
Or go all ancient Egyptian and use wooden wedges soaked in water after inserting.
Here you go 🙂
(don't try this at home folks lol)
Retaining walls need foundations.
I would have thought a nice lump of limestone would make a good foundation?
Indeed it could but If its a proper retaining wall based on the photos I doubt it's deep enough.
I would have thought a nice lump of limestone would make a good foundation?
yes, don't get more solid than that!
Kango, with drills and chisels, will work well on that, personally would want a bit more assurance if i was to try with any type of circular saw or cutter, lots of angles and unknowns for potential kickbacks?!
Limestone? Just pour some* lemon juice on it and wait a minute or two**
* you're going to need quite a few lemons
** maybe more
I'm messing around with rocks day in day out as my job. Chiselling limestone takes bloody ages, so I'd always look for other options.
First thing I'd try here would be digging it out, unless it's freaking huge.
Second thing, if you've got a grinder, would be what I think you'd planning, if I understood your post. Make a series of fairly close together parallel cuts, leaving a load of narrow stone 'fins', which should be easy to knock off with a hammer, or hammer and chisel. No need to do it all in one go if you only have a small disc, you can just work your way in gradually. Shouldn't need to hire anything.
Hope that helps.
yes, don’t get more solid than that!
Well yes assuming you know it's depth and what it's sitting on.
Other wise it's not a foundation just a liability.
Re Using it as a foundation:
If you were building a stone wall that small, leaving a lump of stone that size in would be fine in the bottom. There's going to be so little weight or force on it that it's unlikely to shift.
In a bigger bank, it might be an issue, but as taking it out would potentially disturb the bank anyway, you'd have to make a call based on the earth, the stone itself and so on.
Your real problem would be that it's sloping outwards, so it's never going to work as a footing.
But all that's irrelevant if it's going to be a couple of sleepers instead of stone.
And as I said above, it's such a tiny wall and the bank looks pretty stable so it's unlikely to really matter anyway.
(I build dry stone walls. I'm always coming across awkward lumps of stone in places you don't want them.)
Alternaticely OP, just move the wall forward a couple of inches?
Oh and some home made dynamite. But you are quite close to the house so go careful on that.
Low blast explosives are available, do you know anyone who works in demolition? (It's a bit involved mind).
Having got a hulking great 110v breaker on hire, I imagine it would do the job but it's such a heavy beast it can be difficult to hold it in place (my garden is almost as steep as yours, I'm currently replacing a rotten 1.2m sleeper wall with gabions)
I think I'd stitch drill it with a good SDS drill, and then use the breaker if a bolster/sledge won't break it off.
Thanks for all the advice.
I think attempt 2 will be with the grinder, cutting grooves and then hammering/ chiselling out.
Alternaticely OP, just move the wall forward a couple of inches?
Space is at a premium to get reasonable sized raised beds in.
First thing I’d try here would be digging it out, unless it’s freaking huge.
Absolutely zero chance of that it’s bedrock. This region has limestone very close to the surface everywhere. I’ve heard this is why it’s not mains gas (but that could be myth)
The answer to everything is fire!
Drill some deep holes, big fire, pour water, stone will crack. It worked for the Egyptions (we think)
And if it doesn't work you still had a fire!
Or change your plans abd incorporate it so you don't have to break your back removing it.
Or pay a man (or woman) with a digger to do it for you.
Maybe just don’t bother, seems like a lot of work for a flower bed, life’s too short for that.
Sds drill 8mm holes maybe 10cm apart
Then Sds 75mm brick chisel should remove enougj material in an hour to enable a straight run
If the retaining wall is going to be mostly decorative (sleepers going by the parallel strings), why not tidy the stone up a bit then notch the bottom of the sleeper around the stone?
Wood being softer and that..
I'd love that in my similarly steep garden. Make it into a rock garden.
Brick/patio cleaner. Pour on until enough has disappeared. Or disc cutter. Lemons are for amateurs.
Also the best way to descale a toilet. Add sodium hydroxide when done to be kind to the fishies.
Using a disc cutter on limescale in a toilet seems a bit extreme...
Hammer some frozen sausages into it and let the dog sort it out...