Concrete Driveway question

[JamesCoste]

The lower part of my driveway that is all busted up and cracked. The part that needs to be repaired is 11' x 36'.

About half of this section is broken into pieces that will be light enough to move by hand. I plan to bust up (with a sledge hammer) the rest of the drive.

I plan to move the busted up concrete pieces to the side of the driveway, dig out about 8" of dirt, and then place the concrete pieces back in hole. I then sandyclay to get some sandy-clay to put on top of the busted up concrete. I will rent a compactor and compact this sandyclay so that the sandy-clay mixture will fill in the cracks of the broken up concrete and make for a firm foundation for the new concrete.

I've formed up concrete in the past, but never had to deal with demolished concrete. I want to avoid the cost and work of hauling off the concrete.

Is this a good plan?

How do I uncracked up the section of concrete closest to the "good" uncracked concrete section without busting it.

Can I get a special blade for my circular saw that will help cut the seam separating the two sections?

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Concrete Driveway question

You're going to dig out enough to put a 11' x 36' driveway in there. That's ALOT of digging!! I suppose if you have the room and bury it so it's 3 or 4 inches below grade, it would work. As for the cutting, I would rent a concrete saw with a diamond blade. Home Depot and others will have these. A carbide blade on a hand saw for a big cut is like digging out that area with a spoon....8) If it is a control joint that you are talking about, odds are it will crack their anyway. You may be able to just chisel it in the joint to break it clean..

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Concrete Driveway question

If it were me I would at least rent a skid steer (Bobcat) to dig out the base. If you have never used one they are fairly easy to catch on to, if you have then you already know that. Probably for not much more $$ you can rent a jack hammer attachment that mounts on the front which will really speed up the process. I don't know if you have ever done a project like this but busting up that much concrete with a sledge is a HUGE job! For a few hundred dollars you can rent the tools so you can have it prepped in a weekend. Good luck!

 

[tommays]

Re: Concrete Driveway question

IMHP burying the old under the new would be a bad way to go the soil should allready be pretty evenly compacted and that would take you back to step 0

Tommays

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Concrete Driveway question

rent concrete sawcutter, once you get used to it, you can use it to cut good from bad and also cut up the bad to easily managable pieces. eliminates the hours you'll spend swinging the sledge.

rent small (10 cy) dumpster to remove concrete. if you don't fill it, empty the garage, basement, nieghbors yard, etc of unwanted trash.

assuming you have a good, capact base, form and place concrete. make sure you leave expansion joints, or go back with the sawcutter and cut them afterwards.

 

[JamesCoste]

Re: Concrete Driveway question

More info:

The base below the existing concrete is bad. It has some pine tree roots in some parts and is actually hollow under a large section due to wash-out. The pine trees have been cut down and the stumps ground down.

My builders got real cheap and I didn't know better. My concrete guy complained that the soil they put as a base was just sand. I didn't know better or I would have argued with them and had them put down a better base for the concrete to be poured on.

I will rent a concrete saw. I'll use it to cut the "control joint" so they don't bust up as I'm removing the old concrete. I guess I will also use it to cut up the old concrete as well if it is easy to use. I imagine that I can also use that saw to cut out some of those roots, right?

Thanks for your advice! The community of iboats has helped me countless times in the past. I have a list of friends who actually want to come over and help bust up the concrete. We might all regret it and wish we had rented some equipment. I've never operated equipment like that, but I could look into it.

I will take pictures of this project. It will be something.

I called a concrete man and he said I was looking at about a little over 5 yards of concrete for this job. That'll run me about $500.

The good news is that I have another access to my garage through my property by another dirt driveway. If this project takes a couple of weeks, we'll still be able to park in the garage.

 

[rottenray6402]

Re: Concrete Driveway question

Good luck and we look forward to picctures!8)