| Author | Message | ||
     Bomber |
All -- I need to make a trench in my asphalt driveway, about 5 inches wide, and an equal amount deep -- any suggestions as to tools, techniques, things to pay attention to? I rather avoid spending the rest of the summer with a star drill and maw -- there's got to be an easier way | ||
| Grndskpr |
A partner saw like i have mentioned about 10 time since you have begun this project You are about as thick headed as they come If you are hell bent on doing it yourself, go buy a blade at home depot made for cutting concrete, i belive ther fiber blades, buy a few, and enjoy the dust R | ||
| Kccyclone |
Rent a gas powered concrete saw...about $35 per day....And if you haven't used one before make sure to keep you feet away from the kick back area... Larry | ||
| Newfie_buell |
Thick Headed - hehehehehe Rent the Concrete Saw as it will do the job in no time. I hear a blow torch and a large malled will work as well, heat the area up then pound it to the shape needed, you could even create a nice little pattern. | ||
| Bomber |
OK, concrete saw for asphalt, yes? thick headed, you betcha, but accurate, by gum! | ||
| Dsergison |
go buy an eletric abrasive chop saw and get an asphalt blade. (an asphalt blade may be hard to find at a discount home store but a good industrial rental outfit should stock them) take the saw off the stand and use it. AND HOLD ON GOOD! http://www.sergisonmachine.net/images/wall1.jpg when youre done you'll still own a usefull tool for metal work. | ||
| Bomber |
ooooooo -- that looks like FUN! | ||
| Mikej |
I can't believe you haven't thought of this already. When you get home go out to the entropy lab with a tape measure and measure the width of your rear M2 tire. You will find that it is close enough to 5" wide to probably work. Then forget all about all that chop saw stuff (way too dangerous unless you like 30' sprints on your belly being drug by said saw until you run out of extension cord, note the mention above about "hanging on" ). Take said M2 with the close enough to 5" wide rear tire and coat the tire with contact cement while the bike is on a rear stand. Next lay down a trail of crushed granite (found at any nearby unpaved bicycle trail) approximately 8" wide and 2" deep and 10 or so feet long in trail length. Finally drop the M2 down off the stand and roll it backward along the course crushed granite getting a good coating on the rear tire. Your hugger fender should have probably been removed for this by the way. You now have a ready-to-go trencher. Just find 6 or so friends to sit on the front fender to avoid looping it as you do a trench diggin' burnout across your pavement. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.  | ||
| Bomber |
Mike -- there's a procedure to make a fella smile -- think I'll use the Missus new Bonnie, though -- newer meat on the rear, and I'm thinkin the deeper treads will hold more abrasive | ||
| Metalstorm |
Cut off saws (small hand held gas powered) arn't too dangerous if ya go slow & use caution. Make sure you have the right blade. Don't make one deep cut. Make the first cut shallow, it will be the guide for the second, deeper cut. Make a third or even fourth pass if needed. If you have a friend to help, have him stand by you with a hose & spray a light stream of water on the blade as you make your cut. This will greatly reduce the dust. WEAR EYE PROTECTION & EAR PLUGS. After that just use a digging bar & a pick & pry it up. A sledge hammer will also be very valuable. On edit: If it's only 5" wide I suggest having a 2X4 handy for packing the fill in. I'd sugest going a little deeper so you can have some coverage over your pipe or whatever you're putting in & get a good 2" of asphalt in there to cap it. One last thing; get a thick string line, like a 5/16 or 3/8 clothesline & some marking paint. Lay the string line out where you want it & follow it while spraying the marking paint DIRECTLY on the string line. When you pull the line up you will have a paint line with a nice perfet unpainted line running through it providing a good easy line to follow with the saw. (Message edited by metalstorm on August 13, 2005) (Message edited by metalstorm on August 13, 2005) | ||
| Frausty12r |
Yup Concrete saw, preferably 3 hp or greater and an asphalt blade (steel) you'll have both lines cut in an hour (depending on length) then you can come back and plunge cut into sections and remove each with a shovel/prybar/sledge hammer. Good idea to wet the asphalt with a water hose and have someone (as mentioned) keep a steady slow stream of water running at the edge of the cut to not only keep dust down, but keep the blade cool and keep the tar in the asphalt from vulcanizing on the blade (slowing it up considerably making it take longer to cut) it can get messy so make sure you and the helper are prepared to get wet and dirty in the process. Also safety glasses, earplugs and a cotton mask is used (if you don't have someone to keep it wet) Just go slow, let the saw do the work. | ||
| Leftcoastal |
You can look through your phone book and find a bunch of concrete cutting/coring companies. Call around and tell them what you need done and get estimates. The small independant guys will likely have the best prices, and sometimes if they have another job in your area they'll give ya a break on the rate as the travel time is on another jobs' bill. Then, when you get out of the emergency room after attempting any or all of the above methods, call the guy with the best price and have him do the job! If you try Mikes method - we fellow badwebbers must insist that you video the entire thing - WE GOTTA SEE THAT! AL | ||
| Jerzydevil |
Go to your local tool rental shop and get a K-12 saw, with the metal/asphalt blade and follow the above directions. (that would be metalstorms and fraustys directions) (Message edited by jerzydevil on August 14, 2005) | ||
| Swampy |
Mike..... Have you been watching Red Green? | ||
| Loki |
Maybe just a tad too much Possum Lodge logic. Now if you duct taped the bike to the back of the possum van. So as to let the saw(i.e. the bike) pivot about the front axle. Tied a rope to the tail of the new saw, passing it over the van. So as to act as a lifting mechinism. Might need Harold to sit on the saw to act as the steering and throttle jockey though. As a by product the extra weight might help in the cutting formula. | ||
| Bomber |
fellers -- my ancient craftsman 7" circular saw with a masonary blade did just fine cutting the grooves -- now to rent an electric jackhammer to actually make the trench -- the plung cut thing would take me til next june (it's a 20 foot trench what needs makin) 4 layers of asphalt, minimum, more than 7 inches think, total -- now I understand why the driveway had risen to a point that is is 2 inches higher than the garage floor, causing the last blacktopper to make a speedbump at the garage entrance to keep the rain outa the building (which is the reason I"m cutting the trench in the first place, just in case it ever rains again in Chicago ;-} ) Frausty -- after the first two inches, I'd figured out the water thing (just about the same time you posted your excellent advice) -- big mess, for sure, but I'm feeling rather good about hte progress thus far thanks, all, for either your great advice/data and/or the first class suggestions that would certainly have landed me in a Vonage commercial! | ||
| Mikej |
I was going to recommend clamping an outboard motor to the side of a wheelborrow and having a friend sit on the other side of the wheelborrow to both control the throttle and counterbalance the engine while you pushed the wheelborrow across the driveway and let the prop blades dig the asphalt trench, but this isn't a boating forum so I didn't. Red/Green? Never heard of it.  | ||
| Grndskpr |
now to rent an electric jackhammer to actually make the trench Belive it or not, i have a manual jack hammer, works great, little tuff on the hands, but your welcome to it, you just have to pick it up, its pretty much a gynormous slide hammer with a pointed tip, designed for concrete, works on anything R | ||
| Bomber |
h,mmmmm -- options, options . . .. .. . . let's talk at Peoria, sir! | ||
| Newfie_buell |
He is Canadian?!!!! Red Green | ||
| Newfie_buell |
And Remember If the women don't find ya handsome, they should at least find ya handy | ||
| Metalstorm |
7" of asphalt!? Geez, that's a lot of overlays. Or whoever paved it was just sheer lazy & pluged it with ac rather than bring everything up to grade with base rock. If ya had the time & money I'd just tear out a good section in front of the garage, install a trough drain & patch it leaving a 1/2" lip along the garage floor (ac 1/2" lower than garage floor) & have every thing swailed to the drain. | ||
| Metalstorm |
Hmmm... Just re read that post. 4 layers. got it. It should have been removed & replaced before the second to last overlay to avoid those nasty speed hump situations. | ||
| Phonemanjustin |
I have three letters for you HMX | ||
| Loki |
Newfie, I am shocked to learn this fact. That you did not know this!  | ||
| Bomber |
Metal - you are no doubt correct -- there are signs all over the joint that the previous owners were, ehem, thrifty, which is good, I spose, and were also willing to calculate ROI on the amount of time they planned on spending in the house (lemme see, I"m moving in three years, I'll use 5 year paint on the trim and save $15) . . . you're suggestion is pretty much what I have in mind - this project is a prime example of mission creep, growing way out of scope before my eyes -- removing the existing asphalt is a non-starter for me -- it runs right over the root systems of several American Elms that are more than 18" in diam at ground level -- very few of these old gentlemen survive in this area, and having spent all of high school dropping them all over the Chicago area due to Dutch ELm, I will go to fairly extrordinary lengths to preserve what is on the property (luckily for me, the extrordinary lengths, in this case, simply means not paying to have the Driveway Of The Ancients removed {big grin}) I love learning new skills, but to be honest, I coulda done without this one ;-} |
