# Forum Home Renovation Demolition  Demo stone footings - how?

## Micky013

Hello! 
I have just finished knocking the old lean to on our 1900s villa and now need to rip out the original stone footings. Have had a couple bobcat guys come through and one said could have a go (never done it before) and the other said it cant be done - need an excavator with rock breaker.  
My options are:
Call in an excavator w rock breaker,
Risk the first bobcat guy (max 2 days work to fully level the site w rubble),
Hire a heavy jack hammer and have a crack by hand, or
Hire and excavator my self and do it.  
Has anyone had to do this before and how did you go? Im not looking to spend a fortune here but get the feeling im not gonna get away with less than $1k. Prob about 18 lineal mtrs to remove.  
Any words of wisdom would be great! 
Michael

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## johnc

> Hello!I have just finished knocking the old lean to on our 1900s villa and now need to rip out the original stone footings. Have had a couple bobcat guys come through and one said could have a go (never done it before) and the other said it cant be done - need an excavator with rock breaker. My options areall in an excavator w rock breaker,Risk the first bobcat guy (max 2 days work to fully level the site w rubble),Hire a heavy jack hammer and have a crack by hand, orHire and excavator my self and do it. Has anyone had to do this before and how did you go? Im not looking to spend a fortune here but get the feeling im not gonna get away with less than $1k. Prob about 18 lineal mtrs to remove. Any words of wisdom would be great!Michael

      Are these footings blocks of cut stone or are they rubble and mortar?

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## Micky013

Blocks from what i can see. Possibly blue stone

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## toooldforthis

depends on the depth. try digging a hole next to one spot to get an idea how far down they go. 
you might be able to get them out once you get started.
I have a bobcat guy coming to quote mine this arvo! Think he will say no way cause of the other rock on my site.
Had an excavator guy come - $2000 to clear (big jarrah tree stumps too),  
and level and put a crushed rock pad (65sqm) down ready for shed. But Perth is expen$ive by definition.

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## Micky013

Thanks mate. 
I have inquired with Kennards re hire of a 33kg demo hammer and what the deal is with hiring an 8T excavator (not that I have ever operated one but worth asking). 
Had someone come out last night - really good bloke. He said straight up its no go with bobcat. He could try but it could take 4 hours or 3 days. A guy i got before him said he could do it but had never done it before (so actually, he doesn't know if he can do it yet) - I dont really wanna cop a bill for 4 days at $80 + an hour + dumping etc etc. 
Got a number for a bloke with an excavator and rockbreaker - no doubt it will cost and I'll need to get a bobcat after anyway... 
Cheers

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## johnc

If these are large bluestone blocks then they are unlikely to have much holding them. They will have been laid in a cut trench with a bit of sand to bed into. The joints will be something like cement and may be sitting on tiny lead packers. They actually aren't hard to get out if you have done it before, the hardest is the first block. You should be able to get a bar in the join and lever along the block, use a small bar to lift it onto a wood packer, get a rope under and lift out with a front end loader. I am assuming they are roughly 2.4 metres in length, however this involves a number of guesses including the fact they are most likely a double row one on top of the other. You can also use stone dogs, but again you do need to know what you are doing, stone dogs grab at either end and the chains tighten the clamp, don't know where you would get a pair, mine are to heavy to post and I'm not sure if they are still legal under Worksafe either. There is no point busting them into rubble if you can get them out whole. If they are small blocks around 900mm long two blokes used to lifting will have no trouble simply getting their fingers under once loose and lifting them out. Can you post a photo as there are any number of different foundation styles using bluestone.

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## toooldforthis

is there a market for recycling the bluestone? landscaping?
an ad online saying _free bluestone_ - you remove  :Biggrin:

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## Micky013

Thanks John! 
I don't have a photo at the moment. Best I can do is have a crack on the weekend and then post with the days efforts....which is what i had planned. 
I also want to keep the stones for use in the garden etc so if I can get them out in one piece that would be great. Might need to rig the ute with a pulley system to get them out as most days its just me on the job. You know those people that are always willing to help others but always seem to be stuck on their own when it comes to their jobs? - that's me.

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## johnc

Tripod and pulley or endless chain does it as well.

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## Micky013

Gave the excavator guy a call this arvo and to my surprise he thinks it will be a quick and easy job with his machine. I mentioned I wanted to keep as much of the big pieces as possible but wanted to clear all the rubble and debris ready for the slab. Should be around the 500 -600 dollar mark.... 
Figured its not worth breaking my back over that much but we'll see what the damage is when he's done! 
Thanks for your comments guys. 
I'll post the outcome

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## johnc

Sounds the way to go, it'll be rough as the machine will flush and damage the edges and there might be small 1/2" pins between the blocks that will flush further but it should be quick like he said. Bluestone was used before concrete and relies for stability on it being in contact with the clay base under the subsoil, if its before 1910 it is unlikely there will be any concrete and they would most likely have been put in position with either sheerlegs or rollers and skids run off timber rails. Depending on size of course they tend to be either large kerbs or smaller blocks. They work through gravity there was little used in the way of mechanical anchors and any pointing was often cosmetic unless pinned in which case there is usually a slurry that fills the gaps in the edges that also flows into the dowel holes. There are a number of other methods but that sounds like yours if it is solid blocks.

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## toooldforthis

good call Mickey
what size excavator did he say he was going to use? 
my bobcat guy came today and said no way but a 8t excavator should/might do it. the other guy who is quoting has a 16t.
my foundations that are coming out are no big deal but i have a lot of granite boulders (icebergs, how far down do they go) plus that big jarrah stump.

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## Micky013

Cheers guys.  
Think he mentioned a 18t - well its bigger than an 8. He reckons it should take all of half a day but they quote by the hr for unforeseen things.  
He'll do a quick clean up so its all back to dirt for footings.    
Here is a pic of the offending area. Since this was taken i pulled up the slab and cleared all the bricks. Its just some rubble and footings now.  
Good luck with yours!

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## Micky013

Ripped out the stone footings today. 
They came out really really easy. Minimum mortar meant the excavator just lifted them out. The operator was loving it - it was a clean site, no mud (had some rain overnight) and he was all done in 2.5 hrs. 
He left about half a meter of stone on each side of the remaining walls, so as not to disturb the footings underneath. Took me about 30 mins to split them with a hammer and bolster and clean it up flush.......and that's when i discovered there was another layer of stone footing that ran across (underneath) were the back wall was. I couldn't believe it. Thinking maybe it was only at the ends where we didn't disturb to much with the machine, i grabbed the shovel and started digging along the middle - yep there is stone there. 600mm wide by 250-300 deep. 
I called the guy up to ask if he was anywhere near by but he wasn't. I ran a level string from where i had marked my slab levels on the wall and the stones sit about 370 mm from the top of the slab (footings for new slab to be 450). After a few phone calls back and forth with the operator, we left it at when the guys come to dig the footings they can easily punch trough to run the two footings. As for the footings on the side, I will need to chip out the stone about 80mm to get the required 450 depth - the footing will then rest on top of the stone. The new footings will be running across the old one so its not too bad. 
All in all i am happy its done and the bloke was great but i haven't got his bill yet and no doubt it will be a minimum 4 hr charge (for only 2.5 hrs work) - could have spent a further 30 minutes ripping the rest out.... 
Here is a shot of the stones i kept - heavy as

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