Came back here to thank you for this video. I took down a 30x30 slab patio, nearly 7-10” thick thanks to your advice. I was spending a whole lot of time doing nothing and would’ve given up on the project had I not learned from you. Saved me $3k easily!
This is the 5th tile project we've done where we've removed the old tile before installing new tile, and the first one with this tool th-cam.com/users/postUgkxqqoaX03nrziKwF7Bjjcc71YzLEleMvOS . I want to cry for all the unnecessary work we've done in the past. With this tool, we removed tile surrounding a fireplace, as well as the hearth tile, set in loads of cement, in less than an hour. I highly recommend this tool. It was easy to use, and very satisfying watching the tile literally fall off the wall.
Been removing concrete for many years and this is the best way: 1. Try and 'expose' concrete and/or remove some of its support where possible ie. Dig around it and a little, beneath it if possible, exposing a bit at a time as you remove it. 2. Get the largest sledge hammer you can handle and strike the concrete with some heavy blows *in the same area*, not too far 'in' to the concrete - you will easily be able to crack it, just vary the distance you move 'in' (how big a peice you are trying to break off) depending on how easily it is cracking up. 2 or 3 blows should do it, and try and hit with the edge (corner) of the sledge hammer, not the full face where the force will be spread over too large an area. 3. Once a crack is developed, drive the jackhammer into the crack - AVOID using the jackhammer as a lever, jackhammers are not designed for this purpose, the casing and internals will flex and you will soon find yourself in trouble. It will last many years if you resist the temptation to lever it, otherwise it's days are numbered.. 4. Use a long crowbar for leverage to break away the piece. You should be able to get it into the crack that you opened up with the jackhammer. Be ready to cut any steel with whatever means you have. Again, your long crowbar is used to leverage the concrete away, so you can get access to cut the steel (rebar). ...for those that don't have a jackhammer you can even replace it with some cold chisels and your sledge hammer, which is what stonemasons have done for centuries - bit more time-consuming for a larger area but still doable.. And finally: wear eye protection, you've only got two eyes, you don't want to lose one.. prosthetic eyes are still not a decent substitute yet!! It's dusty work too.. so wear a mask if you can tolerate one. Some other tips: *Get those broken concrete peices the heck outa there so you are not tripping over them - keep your work area as clear as possible, as you will be moving around attacking the job from all angles. * Sheild glass, cars and any other fragile items as debri will fly out from your work. *Hold the sledge hammer really firm, and strike a solid, hard blow - a nice solid strike with the corner edge of the head is worth maybe 5 or more limp, sloppy blows - save some energy by focusing.. *Be careful of concrete that is encasing things such as water supply pipes or electrical conduits - just be a aware, that's usually enough. *Sometimes, putting a cut into concrete with an angle grinder or demo saw can really help. *Invest time in 'exposing' the concrete - the less support it has the easier it will break up. You can always wet the ground underneath a little, to soften the material and get it out but don't turn your jobsite into mud pit! *Enjoy your work :)
Thanks so much for this video-I was doing it wrong and was all set to sell my new concrete breaker and not do the job.The tip of using the pointed tool to make holes meant I could then use the chisel bit to remove huge chunks of concrete.You have made a 5 foot tall,middle aged woman in the north of England very happy!😊
@@sharonwoodhead3421 you should see my power tool collection! I've just bought a router too, for another job. Well, I've been restraining the urge to buy one for a while, and this was on sale. I get more excited about trips to Toolstation or Screwfix than any clothes shop. A friend came and helped with the concrete slab in the end as there was oil leaking and I wanted it checked over first, just in case it was a fault (no response to an email to Scheppach and he's good with machinery stuff). The slab almost melted away; my friend was laughing at how easily it went, and said it was actually fun to do.
Bang on man! I hate when i see people just holding the jackhammer in one place and it's not doing anything. If you don't hear or see something busting off within a few seconds move it down the line!
I’m running my own hardscaping company, and I do a lot of concrete and stone work. A previous customer had me do a concrete demo job, which I had never done. I finished that job today after two days of jackhammering with this exact same tool and after seeing this video I realize I could’ve gotten it done in half the time. Great work💪
This use this technique to propagate a linear crack in rock as well. They use steel wedges inside of holes that are drilled in a line and hammer in the wedges. The crack will form along the line of wedges and make nice slabs. Very efficient technique for concrete demolition as he’s doing here
My grandfather cut a piece of granite in my basement like that. He asked where do you want it cut i said oh any where in here he said where exactly. So he sat on a stool and started an hour later had a line started . That stone was 18 " thick and 2 ft high he died 2 years later I kept that piece of stone in the garden. It was a peace from a 1875 colonial Fondation
Its a little faste if you break off corners you start at a corner and that creates two more corners and you keep breaking them off triangles work best and work the fastest
The fact that you are not butted up against walls in all directions makes this look easy. But say you’re busting out concrete in a CMU-walled in bathroom where it’s wall to wall. There’s nowhere to pry it away from. I was hoping there would be a solution for small scale demo other than turning it into gravel, but apparently not
jackhammers are very underwhelming, in my mind i thought it'd be this unruly machine that only the most buff guys can handle and it destroys any rock immediately but it's just an oversized nail attached to a motor that you just place down and run for a few seconds, idk what i was expecting.
Is it true that u dont want to use full downward pressure against hammer? What i mean is, isnt there a sweet spot of pressure? U can hear a difference when applying your full weight downward vs only pushing a little bit.. It seems to me that it works better using only a certain amount of pressure, it also sounds like its working more efficiently..
@@treykearns4867 yes it does work like that but most guys I know just go full tilt and wonder why they can't hammer all day And it also helps with your hands cos they get punished with the big air compressed hammers
@@ngaromatenga2306 i knew it! I always catch shit from 4mans bc it looks lazy, u can lirerally almost use just your fingers. I try to show them its working faster this way but, u can guess how that goes. . .
Your video demonstrated my plan. I want to remove a 70 years old slab and sidewalks, but retain the chunks to repurpose as a raised bed retaining wall. Thanks. BTW, nice gams.
I will also say if you have a crappy jack hammer, try this Hilti one with the wavy bit. It makes the concrete shatter more but gets results way faster than standard bits in my little experience doing a super thick front porch built like a bunker.
I am also an employee in India who operates an 11 kg breaking machine by hand and cuts a huge column image. He lifts the machine by hand and cuts it for 12 hours. It requires a lot of hard work and strength.
I am doing that also. I found that it's a completely different game when you're cutting a trench or a hole in the middle of a slab, versus breaking up a slab with no boundaries on the edges. Getting your initial hole started takes some time, but the larger the hole gets, the easier it gets because there is room for the pressure to move
I used a kangol before,I was not given instructions on how to do it correctly, it was inside swiss centre Leicester Square a few years ago ,all I remember is how hard it was and the long hours..
I really liked the video but would have liked if he showed us how loud it is when in use, just for a few seconds. I have never hired one before but was curious as to how loud it is, I would have noise cancelling headphones but I still have neighbours.
I was using a demolition hammer. I rented a huge electric hilte jackhammer I wish I would have done that in first place it was 10 times as fast get the right tool for the job
What if I want to shorten a front step of a house without ruining the slab all the way through. The step is about 3 feet long I want to shorten it to 1 foot long for when I get my screened in porch.
Is it ok to keep a jackhammer running continuously. It gets quite hot to the touch, but I don't want to waste time letting it cool down since it takes a while.
Thank you for this demonstration! I do kind of the same thing but only smaller, now when seeing how efficient it was I will start using this method. :) Btw, did you know before hand that you had a big ants nest underneath!?
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. Hilti has been a game changer. The home depot rents for 4hrs. I had no idea about the ants. We had to hand bomb these slabs after 😳
@@theartofconcrete It is our preffered brand to rent, but we usually rent the 500, 700 and some times the 1000. Hehe, so you could say you did not ant-icipate that then. ;)
Thank you for your video, it was well done, your voice is very clear and no annoying background music. I want to do the same, but with some steps, we'll see how it goes, by the way I noticed the ants coming out of the cracked slab, wow.
HOW DO YOU JACKHAMMER CONCRETE? WHAT TO DO IF A JACKHAMMER GETS STUCK IN THE GROUND? DO YOU PULL IT OUT OF THE GROUND BY USING YOUR UPPER BODY STRENGTH OR WHAT?
What are you doing to protect yourself and others against silicosis in this video? If you are not suppressing the dust from getting into the air and breathed in and not wearing a mask you may be putting your lung health and others at risk depending on how much you breathe in and how often you do this.
Came back here to thank you for this video. I took down a 30x30 slab patio, nearly 7-10” thick thanks to your advice. I was spending a whole lot of time doing nothing and would’ve given up on the project had I not learned from you. Saved me $3k easily!
Wow that's awesome, glad it worked out!
How much time it took you? Did you rent the jack hammer?
Same here! 16 by 24 slab 8 inch thick. Makes so much more sense the way you showed!
This is the 5th tile project we've done where we've removed the old tile before installing new tile, and the first one with this tool th-cam.com/users/postUgkxqqoaX03nrziKwF7Bjjcc71YzLEleMvOS . I want to cry for all the unnecessary work we've done in the past. With this tool, we removed tile surrounding a fireplace, as well as the hearth tile, set in loads of cement, in less than an hour. I highly recommend this tool. It was easy to use, and very satisfying watching the tile literally fall off the wall.
Been removing concrete for many years and this is the best way:
1. Try and 'expose' concrete and/or remove some of its support where possible ie. Dig around it and a little, beneath it if possible, exposing a bit at a time as you remove it.
2. Get the largest sledge hammer you can handle and strike the concrete with some heavy blows *in the same area*, not too far 'in' to the concrete - you will easily be able to crack it, just vary the distance you move 'in' (how big a peice you are trying to break off) depending on how easily it is cracking up. 2 or 3 blows should do it, and try and hit with the edge (corner) of the sledge hammer, not the full face where the force will be spread over too large an area.
3. Once a crack is developed, drive the jackhammer into the crack - AVOID using the jackhammer as a lever, jackhammers are not designed for this purpose, the casing and internals will flex and you will soon find yourself in trouble. It will last many years if you resist the temptation to lever it, otherwise it's days are numbered..
4. Use a long crowbar for leverage to break away the piece. You should be able to get it into the crack that you opened up with the jackhammer. Be ready to cut any steel with whatever means you have. Again, your long crowbar is used to leverage the concrete away, so you can get access to cut the steel (rebar).
...for those that don't have a jackhammer you can even replace it with some cold chisels and your sledge hammer, which is what stonemasons have done for centuries - bit more time-consuming for a larger area but still doable..
And finally: wear eye protection, you've only got two eyes, you don't want to lose one.. prosthetic eyes are still not a decent substitute yet!! It's dusty work too.. so wear a mask if you can tolerate one.
Some other tips: *Get those broken concrete peices the heck outa there so you are not tripping over them - keep your work area as clear as possible, as you will be moving around attacking the job from all angles.
* Sheild glass, cars and any other fragile items as debri will fly out from your work.
*Hold the sledge hammer really firm, and strike a solid, hard blow - a nice solid strike with the corner edge of the head is worth maybe 5 or more limp, sloppy blows - save some energy by focusing..
*Be careful of concrete that is encasing things such as water supply pipes or electrical conduits - just be a aware, that's usually enough.
*Sometimes, putting a cut into concrete with an angle grinder or demo saw can really help.
*Invest time in 'exposing' the concrete - the less support it has the easier it will break up. You can always wet the ground underneath a little, to soften the material and get it out but don't turn your jobsite into mud pit!
*Enjoy your work :)
Amazing thanks
InstaBlaster...
Extremely helpful. Thank you
@@jesseorozco5030 you're welcome :)
Very useful comment thankyou
My four year old son wanted to know how a jackhammer works, cheers😁
Awesome 👌
“You can spend a lot of time doing nothing, or you can spend a lot of time removing concrete.” Hell yea
Thank you bro💪
lol
My motivational quote of the day! Nice👍🏻
Hell ya
Hell of a quote!
Thanks so much for this video-I was doing it wrong and was all set to sell my new concrete breaker and not do the job.The tip of using the pointed tool to make holes meant I could then use the chisel bit to remove huge chunks of concrete.You have made a 5 foot tall,middle aged woman in the north of England very happy!😊
Hey Sharon 👋. I'm glad it helped you out
Well done. As a middle-aged woman in not the best health, you've inspired me to try too. 😃
@@toria-j that's excellent! Forget shoes - every girl needs a concrete breaker!😁
PS Toria,it's actually very therapeutic - best of luck X
@@sharonwoodhead3421 you should see my power tool collection! I've just bought a router too, for another job. Well, I've been restraining the urge to buy one for a while, and this was on sale. I get more excited about trips to Toolstation or Screwfix than any clothes shop.
A friend came and helped with the concrete slab in the end as there was oil leaking and I wanted it checked over first, just in case it was a fault (no response to an email to Scheppach and he's good with machinery stuff). The slab almost melted away; my friend was laughing at how easily it went, and said it was actually fun to do.
Bang on man! I hate when i see people just holding the jackhammer in one place and it's not doing anything. If you don't hear or see something busting off within a few seconds move it down the line!
Thank-you! i appreciate the respect
I’m running my own hardscaping company, and I do a lot of concrete and stone work. A previous customer had me do a concrete demo job, which I had never done. I finished that job today after two days of jackhammering with this exact same tool and after seeing this video I realize I could’ve gotten it done in half the time. Great work💪
Thank you glad it saved you time
Your calm voice is a nice contrast to the loud banging i was expecting to hear from the jackhammer.
Haha thanks
Does he make you feel some type of way like aroused
@@mistafresh. lmfaoooo bruhhhh
@mistafresh. Yah battyman bredda kmt 👀🤦🏽🤔👁️🙄
Bob Ross of the jackhammer. I like it.
Haha👍
Thank you so much. Your video is the most helpful to understand how the concrete behaves when it breaks.
Glad it was helpful!
This use this technique to propagate a linear crack in rock as well. They use steel wedges inside of holes that are drilled in a line and hammer in the wedges. The crack will form along the line of wedges and make nice slabs. Very efficient technique for concrete demolition as he’s doing here
That's cool. You should do a video like this on it.
My grandfather cut a piece of granite in my basement like that. He asked where do you want it cut i said oh any where in here he said where exactly. So he sat on a stool and started an hour later had a line started . That stone was 18 " thick and 2 ft high he died 2 years later I kept that piece of stone in the garden. It was a peace from a 1875 colonial Fondation
Its a little faste if you break off corners you start at a corner and that creates two more corners and you keep breaking them off triangles work best and work the fastest
I always thought you stood on them like a pogo stick
You made a good video direct and straight to the point thank you very much
The fact that you are not butted up against walls in all directions makes this look easy. But say you’re busting out concrete in a CMU-walled in bathroom where it’s wall to wall. There’s nowhere to pry it away from. I was hoping there would be a solution for small scale demo other than turning it into gravel, but apparently not
jackhammers are very underwhelming, in my mind i thought it'd be this unruly machine that only the most buff guys can handle and it destroys any rock immediately but it's just an oversized nail attached to a motor that you just place down and run for a few seconds, idk what i was expecting.
expecting a bigger version of the shakeweight were we? I know what you mean though its not that crazy.
Yes even this hilti has antivibration. The air hammers older versions are pretty rough though
Is it true that u dont want to use full downward pressure against hammer? What i mean is, isnt there a sweet spot of pressure? U can hear a difference when applying your full weight downward vs only pushing a little bit.. It seems to me that it works better using only a certain amount of pressure, it also sounds like its working more efficiently..
@@treykearns4867 yes it does work like that but most guys I know just go full tilt and wonder why they can't hammer all day
And it also helps with your hands cos they get punished with the big air compressed hammers
@@ngaromatenga2306 i knew it! I always catch shit from 4mans bc it looks lazy, u can lirerally almost use just your fingers. I try to show them its working faster this way but, u can guess how that goes. . .
Working smarter, not harder...I like it.
Why not use a circular saw
Your video demonstrated my plan. I want to remove a 70 years old slab and sidewalks, but retain the chunks to repurpose as a raised bed retaining wall. Thanks. BTW, nice gams.
Best demonstration of what and how to. Thank You!
Thank you for your positive feedback 😊 🙏
That's exactly how I do it too, way less cleanup too. Nice👍
Thanks I respect your positive feedback
Sweeeeeeeeeet! You make it look easy! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome tip mate.THANKS !
Thank you for sharing! this will help me for my first day of work
Absolutely. Hilti jackhammers are great. I've used many types but this really helps
This video was very helpful. Thank you!
I will also say if you have a crappy jack hammer, try this Hilti one with the wavy bit. It makes the concrete shatter more but gets results way faster than standard bits in my little experience doing a super thick front porch built like a bunker.
I am also an employee in India who operates an 11 kg breaking machine by hand and cuts a huge column image. He lifts the machine by hand and cuts it for 12 hours. It requires a lot of hard work and strength.
Thanks i have to remove the middle of a slab to install a drain.
I am doing that also. I found that it's a completely different game when you're cutting a trench or a hole in the middle of a slab, versus breaking up a slab with no boundaries on the edges.
Getting your initial hole started takes some time, but the larger the hole gets, the easier it gets because there is room for the pressure to move
Yes and when you can't use a saw. Core drill a few holes maybe? That would be great video to do
Keep this in mind I wanna learn how to operate one got to refresh my memory
Can the same be used to remove staircase attached to the wall without weakening the walls?
Nice video, very informative. Thank you!
Thanks for this video man, helped me quite a bit, I had no idea what I was doing. Also those ants everywhere made me laugh lol
Glad I could help
I am removing my patio this weekend, Would you use the same technique if the concrete slab has rebar in it?
That technique won't work with rebar in it
Caught the wife using one....in the bedroom!
😂
Thank you!
I used a kangol before,I was not given instructions on how to do it correctly, it was inside swiss centre Leicester Square a few years ago ,all I remember is how hard it was and the long hours..
I really liked the video but would have liked if he showed us how loud it is when in use, just for a few seconds. I have never hired one before but was curious as to how loud it is, I would have noise cancelling headphones but I still have neighbours.
gracias amigo. 😂 Way better than wat Ive been doing.
Thanks boss!
Very good
THANK YOUUUUU! Perfect video, well explained
thanks so much always welcome
Awesome man, thanks.
Any advice on removing a 8x8 pad that is 16 inches thick.
In shorts like the cement breakage aint gonna bounce off your legs or nuts
?
Na. Just need ear and eye protection. I did it with shorts today. 2200 sqft.... with rebar. Lots of cement chips in the shoes
Do you have super sensitive skin or what? I've been bouncing crap off my legs so long I can hardly feel it anymore.
Genius
Me and my son did a walkway with a heavy sledge lol. It was fun, and exhausting. But definitely fun. 😂
Can i do this inside my house where an oil tank use to sit. Without worry if i hit a pipe? Had convert to gas.
I honestly love these
& well of course chainsaws 😊
How about vertically standing elements
Is it better to use the wide bit or the point bit for an old poured step slab worked on mine with point bit all day breaking tiny pieces lol
I'd use Square and sharp too. I hit some really old well poured concrete last week and I've never seen the hilti struggle like that.
I was using a demolition hammer. I rented a huge electric hilte jackhammer I wish I would have done that in first place it was 10 times as fast get the right tool for the job
I hear ya. That's how we find out new ways is learning the hard way first
Any recommendation on bit type? Ie. the flat bit you're using vs a pointed bit?
What if I want to shorten a front step of a house without ruining the slab all the way through. The step is about 3 feet long I want to shorten it to 1 foot long for when I get my screened in porch.
I'd use a quick cut concrete saw to cut it back hammer and chisle the pieces out. Think of it as soap stone it can be shaped with the correct tools
@@theartofconcrete you must be using dictation with all that mixing up of words but I think I got your point thank you
Is it ok to keep a jackhammer running continuously. It gets quite hot to the touch, but I don't want to waste time letting it cool down since it takes a while.
Good question. I haven't had an issue. But if you you feel it needs a break or you do definitely take it 👍
Nice job
Thanks!!
Any benefit of doing a straight line circular saw diamond blade cut first? Then following the groove?
Good video thanks
Just got offered to jackhammer at neotech in Albany really needed this 🎉
Congratulations that's awesome 👌
Thank you Brother.
Very helpful thank you!
I usually just go at the edges at a angle sorta I’m usually stuck with a chipping hammer tho
I've always wondered if it would be helpful to use a concrete saw to cut strips in the concrete and then use the jackhammer. Thoughts?
Thank you for this demonstration! I do kind of the same thing but only smaller, now when seeing how efficient it was I will start using this method. :)
Btw, did you know before hand that you had a big ants nest underneath!?
Thank you very much for taking the time to write this. Hilti has been a game changer. The home depot rents for 4hrs. I had no idea about the ants. We had to hand bomb these slabs after 😳
@@theartofconcrete It is our preffered brand to rent, but we usually rent the 500, 700 and some times the 1000.
Hehe, so you could say you did not ant-icipate that then. ;)
I would recommend trying to use a Mac Allister MSBR1700-A 230V Electric Braker I think it might do better than this one
how would you approach this if it where a much thicker slab with possible reinforcement in?
Great question. Large slab rent a walk behind saw that cuts 12" depth then excavator with a thumb. Small slab. Quick cut and avr 3000
@@theartofconcrete thank you for this.
I’m the Best on earth with any size jack😅 when it’s time to wreck I get happy. Overhead demo made I man out of me.
How does it do on 100 yr old concrete? The stuff we are cutting it has small river rocks in it.
Will this method work on asphalt?
how risky is it to jack hammer a concrete walkway that is next to a house/foundation with a basement?
Bad ass thanks!
Thank you
Good tips! How would you suggest breaking a concrete slab without damaging a sewer pipe underneath it? I'm looking for guidance.
Probably explosives
Sewer lines go much deeper than the concrete. When breaking up the concrete try to find out where the water lines are and try to not hit them.
did anyone notice the ants crawling around as he is drilling through the concrete???
Lucky you I don’t have the machine and have to do everything with manually with a jack hammer 😂😂😂
Lucky I am. Priced into the job. $50 for two days from the home depot. Highly recommend huge labor savings
Where can I buy Jack hammer and how
What kind of jackhammer do you recommend to break 4"-5" concrete slab?
3:13 Apocalypse for the ants lol
How do you use a jackhammer without having back pain
Do you force down or just let the hammer do the work?
These hammers do all the work 50lbs of metal
I think that works with concrete slab with metal mesh in it
Thank you for your video, it was well done, your voice is very clear and no annoying background music. I want to do the same, but with some steps, we'll see how it goes, by the way I noticed the ants coming out of the cracked slab, wow.
Haha yes millions of them. Definitely keep a can of aunt spray handy
My past bosses be like: we're not buying that. Here's a sledgehammer. Don't take all day. 😢
Does it matter which jackhammer is used ? I have extreme 2200 watt demolition hammer.
Nice
Thank you 🙏🙏
Wish I had seen this 12hrs ago
thx
Nice.
Did you get tc?
Wow
Nice tip, I knew there had to be a better method than how I was doing it
Thanks 👍🙏
That's what she said
What is the jackhammer weight ? 40 lb?
65lbs
In my opinion. Use hilti te 2000 avr if you have alot of concrete to break.
HOW DO YOU JACKHAMMER CONCRETE?
WHAT TO DO IF A JACKHAMMER GETS STUCK IN THE GROUND? DO YOU PULL IT OUT OF THE GROUND BY USING YOUR UPPER BODY STRENGTH OR WHAT?
Tried doing this today but realized soon into the job that there is steel mesh all throughout :/. This is going to take forever.
Rip, good luck brother
Get a quick cut and cut it into 1'x1' squared
Can you explain what you mean about a quick cut and 1x1 squared please? Thank you.
Thats smart
Thats a mission
Best way to remove 4 ft of concrete?
Very similar method to rock cutting by hand
Nothing:
Dolphins: jackhammer language
Why is your hammer bit in sideways ?
Is that a chisel tip
What are you doing to protect yourself and others against silicosis in this video? If you are not suppressing the dust from getting into the air and breathed in and not wearing a mask you may be putting your lung health and others at risk depending on how much you breathe in and how often you do this.
You brave for doing that In shorts bro