Concrete – How to remove/cut off a steel post in concrete

angle-grinderconcretegate-poststeel

As part of some renovation work, I am taking apart a small enclosure on my driveway. Having removed the "walls", I'm left with seven (what look like) galvanised steel posts, embedded in the concrete surface of the driveway.

The posts are hollow, square in cross-section, with a width of about 4cm. They are embedded in concrete which stops about 1cm below the surface of the driveway.

Four of the posts are at the edges of the driveway, where they have a low wooden wall to one side, while the remaining three are in the middle.

Posts

In the right-hand photo the concrete around the base of the post is wet, as I used a power washer to clean away the dirt that had become embedded in the gap between the post and the concrete hole.

Can anyone suggest the best way for me to remove or cut them off (below the surface of the driveway)?

Very interested in any answers that include explanatory/illustrative diagrams!

Best Answer

In the end I hired someone to do the work, and was glad that I did.

In order to remove the posts they used:

  • A reciprocating saw to cut the posts off
  • An angle grinder to cut more of the posts off
  • A powered chisel thing to get rid of some of the concrete that was inside the posts
  • A hammer and lots of effort to fold the remaining parts of the posts down

Here's an image of the aftermath, for one of the posts. (the secondary circle cut in the concrete was there already, and not part of the removal works)

Post remains