How can I remove a brick patio set in concrete and on a concrete slab? Is it possible for a woman to do this herself?
How to remove a brick patio embedded in concrete
demolitionpatio
Related Solutions
Great question. Adding this addition requires a really good, deep, compacted base. I would isolate it from the building by 1/2 inch, but if the base is good, rebar to the existing pad will help stop any displacement. You have to expect some settling, but the better the base, the smaller the amount. Web rebar won't help much, but 3/8 or 1/2 inch bar will hold the joint. The trick will be compact, wet, compact, wet. Make it rock hard. Good luck.
edit: After reading your updated question, you will be fine installing the smaller drain. I have a large driveway drain that I installed a few months ago, and it works great to drain the huge puddle that used to form. I used a drain box similar to the 9x9 that you have, and 4" pipes. Occasionally, during a very heavy rain, it will get behind and not completely drain until the rain stops, but that is because the pipe itself is only 4"!
Great question! I am not an expert, but I would highly recommend the larger drain. The reason is, on a small drain, every time the drain gets stepped on (or driven over with a lawn mower), 100% of that weight gets put on your pipe underneath. A 4" pipe isn't designed to carry that weight, and could crack.
Even though the 9x9 drain won't necessarily drain any faster, it will have more surface area under it to support being stepped on, that way the soil under the drain, instead of the pipe supports the weight.
Related Topic
- Concrete – How to get water to hop from patio over brick wall
- Concrete – Unsure if structure is solid concrete
- Concrete patio against the house
- How should I redo the patio under the deck
- Concrete – How thick to pour slab over existing brick patio
- How to remove exposed aggregate patio
- How to seal between a concrete patio and a brick wall
Best Answer
If you have plenty of time, and don't want to hire power tools, you can do it a bit at a time over several weeks (months?). It will be hard work but anyone can do it.
That's a brick bolster and a club hammer, which is what I had to hand when I needed to break up some brickwork. You could try some other type of cold chisel or hammer. It depends what you can borrow or what advice you can get from the local store.
The brickwork I was attacking was set with mortar. If your concrete turns out to be too tough you may have to try power tools instead.
It so happens I have an old cheap Chinese-made SDS hammer drill that had been used to break up a large heap of set asphalt (you can buy these very cheaply, they won't be very durable but OK for occasional light use). These things usually have a rotation-stop lever and come with a chisel. I'd probably escalate to that before considering hiring a jackhammer.
A tool-hire shop should be able to advise.