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Thread: Breaking up Septic Tank Lids (Concrete)

  1. #1

    Breaking up Septic Tank Lids (Concrete)

    Had 2 new risers and lids installed today. The Green plastic ones. The old round concrete lids were getting getting in pretty rough shape. So, I figured it was time to replace them , and make access a bit easier when it comes time to pump the Septic Tank out. The Septic tank guy just left the lids on the side of the Shed for me to get rid of. I figured on just breaking them up and tossing them down the Ravine in the Backyard. It's a good 20 + feet drop straight down. It could use the fill !!

    Anyhow, what is the best way to bust these two Concrete Septic Tank lids up , so they are easier to move ? Just want to toss the pieces over the fence.

    Thanks,


    Clarence

  2. #2
    Rent a jack hammer

  3. #3
    Round 24 inch concrete lids

  4. #4
    I would say take a skil saw for wood and use a masonry blade then miter the cuts and reinforce them with concrete biscuits, remove all the parts using a fein shop vac and a large suction cup with a chain fall or some sort of block and tackle.

    All of these techniques are of course to keep this post on topic with a woodworking forum

  5. #5
    Lift one edge with a slid loader and drop it over another piece of concrete.

    I watch an excavator do this when replacing a driveway on a job I was working on. I thought it was genius and simple.

  6. #6
    Put on your safety glasses, then pick up your sledge hammer and go to work.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Andrew View Post
    Put on your safety glasses, then pick up your sledge hammer and go to work.
    Yea, this is what I'd do after putting a rock under it to provide a break-point.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Clarence Martinn View Post
    Anyhow, what is the best way to bust these two Concrete Septic Tank lids up , so they are easier to move ?
    I don't know about "best", but an amusing way to break up concrete is to drill holes in it and use a bentonite clay product. (For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msV1xnW3Gbc ). Of course, you need a heavy duty drill - something like an SDS hammer drill.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Wasner View Post
    Lift one edge with a slid loader and drop it over another piece of concrete.

    I watch an excavator do this when replacing a driveway on a job I was working on. I thought it was genius and simple.
    That's what I wood try, with the bobcat. Everyone has one handy, right? I watched a guy in a huge excavator do this with gigantic rocks once. He must have lifted them 30' in the air and dropped them on other rocks. Good clean fun.

    I have also split concrete (that wasn't reinforced with rebar) by drilling a series of holes first with a big hammer drill, then using a chisel in the same drill to split along the holes. If the lid was full of rebar it might be a bigger job. Might be easier to take down a section of fence and roll the rounds into the ravine.

    JKJ

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Tashiro View Post
    I don't know about "best", but an amusing way to break up concrete is to drill holes in it and use a bentonite clay product. (For example, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msV1xnW3Gbc ). Of course, you need a heavy duty drill - something like an SDS hammer drill.
    If its cold out you can do the same trick with just water and letting it freeze in the holes. The clay trick is certainly less weather dependent

  11. #11
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    Round lids roll down hills why do you need to break

  12. #12
    you must know somebody with a back hoe or front end loader, even a farmer. A case of beer and $100 for gas is a heck of a lot less work and far cheaper than renting a jack hammer. I once lifted a tool shed back onto it's foundation (after being knocked off by a drunk in a truck.) I did it without power machinery. A few inches at a time with a 12 ft 6x6 and a big rock for a fulcrum. Took me about 30 minutes. Depending on what reinforcing , if any, just an old digging bar can do some damage. An air chisel and an aircompressor may work, a hammer drill, You don't need a pad where you can park the car and crawl underneath for oil changes etc? Level the lid in the yard and put a park bench on it. You are only limited by your imagination.

  13. #13
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    No way you can handle this with anything short of a mining shovel, loader and dump truck.


  14. #14
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    I keep seeing visions of Fred Flintstone. I would want to get them to the ravine in one piece. The bigger the piece the better the reaction when rolled over the edge.

  15. #15
    Harbor Freight Rotary Hammer.
    Those things are awesome.
    (Cheaper than a backhoe)

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