Removing block from wall

[sweetheart]

I have a one block high breeze block wall ( concrete block - whatever
they are called) around the garden. I need to remove one block to allow
the water to drain into the garden ( been this way for years but the post
man has decided to complain about it) . I tried knocking it out with a
sledge hammer this morning but it wont budge. Is there a knack to this or
is it just brute force? The wall is about fifty years old.

Thanks.

[Andy Burns]

If you hit it hard enough with the sledgehamer, eventually something
will give, but it's not likely to just take out a single block cleanly.
Lump hammer, bolster chisel and goggles should do a cleaner job, unless
you fancy splashing out on an SDS drill!

Couldn't you just drill a few drainage holes through the block instead?

[sweetheart]

"Andy Burns" <usenet....@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote in message
news:WJOdnSWzeZ08cHDT...@brightview.co.uk...

Thanks. I cant drill drainage holes. There is already a drainage point
there but it gets clgged up with mud and the water cant get away so it
pools around the point. If I knock a block out, it should all just run off.

Ill try that when it stops raining.

[S Viemeister]

Andy's suggestion of bolster and hammer should work well - I used that
to take down a (non-structural) brick wall in my kitchen, and was
surprised at how easy it was.

[m...@privacy.net]

On 18 Dec,

S Viemeister <firs...@lastname.oc.ku> wrote:

> On 12/18/2011 8:48 AM, sweetheart wrote:
> >
> > "Andy Burns" <usenet....@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote in message
> > news:WJOdnSWzeZ08cHDT...@brightview.co.uk...
> >> sweetheart wrote:
> >>
> >>> I have a one block high breeze block wall ( concrete block - whatever
> >>> they are called) around the garden. I need to remove one block to allow
> >>> the water to drain into the garden ( been this way for years but the
> >>> post man has decided to complain about it) . I tried knocking it out
> >>> with a sledge hammer this morning but it wont budge. Is there a knack to
> >>> this or is it just brute force? The wall is about fifty years old.
> >>
> >> If you hit it hard enough with the sledgehamer, eventually something
> >> will give, but it's not likely to just take out a single block
> >> cleanly. Lump hammer, bolster chisel and goggles should do a cleaner
> >> job, unless you fancy splashing out on an SDS drill!
> >>
> >> Couldn't you just drill a few drainage holes through the block instead?
> >
> > Thanks. I cant drill drainage holes. There is already a drainage point
> > there but it gets clgged up with mud and the water cant get away so it
> > pools around the point. If I knock a block out, it should all just run
> > off
> >

> > Ill try that when it stops raining.
>
> Andy's suggestion of bolster and hammer should work well - I used that
> to take down a (non-structural) brick wall in my kitchen, and was
> surprised at how easy it was.

So should that universal UK.DIY tool, the Angel grinder!

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

[The Natural Philosopher]

cold cjisel and brick acid on the mortar..oh no. that will fizz the
block as well?

Hire a concrete saw..bit like a huge angle grinder.

[Nick Odell]

On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:23:34 GMT, <m...@privacy.net> wrote:

>
> the Angel grinder!

...and so, finally, Christmas arrives in uk.d-i-y

Nick

[NT]

Whatever method you use, other than a big angle grinder, is likely to
damage or knock out adjoining blocks too, as well as leave a very
rough jagged edge. If you're wiling to replace its neighbours, a
sledge hammer will suffice. If not, really you need a large angle
grinder to get a clean cut. Even a 9" grinder will only cut partway
through, so you'd want something even bigger. Sounds like hire shop
time.


NT

[js.b1]

Drill a series of 12mm holes closely spaced, use a brick bolster &
hammer.
That can remove an entire block or part of a block - eg, stuffing an
airbrick in the hole which will allow water out and avoid a "hole full
of missing blocks" appearance.

The real solution is to dig down behind the entire wall and fit
perforated land drain wrapped in geotextile, back-fill with gravel to
the top, use a 38mm diamond core drill & lengths of waste pipe to line
holes drilled through the wall.

You can use a 38mm diamond core drill bit to cut out a brick or block,
or part thereof.

Decide your end result.

[Tim Watts]

wrote:

Angle grinder - for once, an appropriate solution, run round the mortar
joints.

You will not knock out a lower block from the inside of a wall. Not without
doing considerable damage.

If you have no angle grinder, you could take a chisel to the mortar,
possibly preceeded by drilling lots of holes right through. If you relieve 2
adjacent joints, it should pop out fairly easily.

--
Tim Watts

[John Rumm]

You need to rake out most of the mortar around it first. Drilling holes
in the mortar lines as others have suggested, or working down from the
edges using a chisel and lump hammer. If you have a SDS drill or angle
grinder, then attacking the mortar with that will also do it quickly.

--
Cheers,

John.

/=================================================================\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\=================================================================/

[Jim K]

On Dec 18, 1:28 pm, "sweetheart" <hotmail.com> wrote:

pressure washer

Jim K

[ARWadsworth]

Build a bridge over the water.

--
Adam

[Newshound]

If it is *really* breeze block, and it might well be at that age, it's
much tougher than modern "middle weight" blocks. I'd be going with angle
grinder or SDS. If it is only one block high, you could try sawing down
the mortar with a "masonry" saw.

[Jim K]

On Dec 18, 7:01 pm, "ARWadsworth" <adamwadswo...@blueyonder.co.uk>
wrote:
> sweetheart wrote:
> > "Andy Burns" <usenet.aug2...@adslpipe.co.uk> wrote in message

as in - a bridge over trollbled water?

Jim K

[sweetheart]

"js.b1" <js...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:aac5432d-936e-4d26...@z1g2000vbx.googlegroups.com...

>
> The real solution is to dig down behind the entire wall and fit
> perforated land drain wrapped in geotextile, back-fill with gravel to
> the top, use a 38mm diamond core drill & lengths of waste pipe to line
> holes drilled through the wall.

I was thinking to dig the garden behind and put in a French drain but that
has to wait. I used the bolster chisel to get the block away from the path
and then just banged it with a sledge hammer. It came apart at the end of
the wall . Its actually quite clean ( It didn't quite split down the seam ).
It will do anyway. The water is now running off into the garden and I can
brush it away easily anyway.

Thanks for the advice.
I decided against the angle grinder - OH has a large angle grinder (
industrial thing he used at work) but I don't think I could use it. Its
too heavy.

[sweetheart]

"Newshound" <news...@fairadsl.co.uk> wrote in message
news:9l6s3v...@mid.individual.net...

I think it is breeze block. It is heavy. In fact the mortar was easier to
crack than the block. I used the chisel to loosen the block out around the
path ( which it sits against) and then down the seam before cracking it
with the sledge hammer. It took me about 20 mins to get it to come lose
and I pulled it away. But it was heavy pulling . I know the house has a
lot of these breeze blocks around. There were once greenhouses on the site
and a lot of the blocks were just left on the garden when they demolished
the greenhouses. I had to move them ( I was younger 15 years ago) and I
built up several raised bed gardens with them. When I got proper concrete
blocks to supplement them I realized how much heavier the old ones were (
and they are bigger as well)

[harry]

On Dec 18, 7:09 pm, Newshound <newsho...@fairadsl.co.uk> wrote:
> On 18/12/2011 14:23, m...@privacy.net wrote:
>
>
>
> > On 18 Dec,

> >       S Viemeister<firstn...@lastname.oc.ku>  wrote:

>
> >> On 12/18/2011 8:48 AM, sweetheart wrote:
>

> >>> "Andy Burns"<usenet.aug2...@adslpipe.co.uk>  wrote in message

> the mortar with a "masonry" saw.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Breeze blocks are made from powerstation coal ash and are lightweight
and soft. Only used indoors for partition walls and similar, (not
frost resistant). Haven't seen new ones for years. Common in 1950s/
60s

[John Rumm]

There seems to be regional variations in use. Here the blocks you
describe are referred to as cinder blocks. Breeze blocks are usually
dense concrete with a couple of vertical channels moulded through them -
medium grey rather than the dark grey of the cinder blocks.

[harry]

Possibly. I am from oop north.

[ARWadsworth]

And possible variations from east to west whilst up North:-)

The breeze block you described (from ash) is what I would call a cinder
block, however I would call a breeze block the black ones used in the 70's
(that were often hollow) and a lot stronger than the "cinder blocks".


--
Adam

[Tim Watts]

ARWadsworth wrote:


> And possible variations from east to west whilst up North:-)
>
> The breeze block you described (from ash) is what I would call a cinder
> block, however I would call a breeze block the black ones used in the 70's
> (that were often hollow) and a lot stronger than the "cinder blocks".

In the SE we knew the black blocks as "breeze blocks" too. Used to think
they were a bit fliddy (compared to proper brick) until I saw thermashite
blocks, now I realise they were actually quite solid!
--
Tim Watts

[ARWadsworth]

Those thermashite blocks are great for first fix when there is no electrical
power on site and the cordless is dead.

A PZ2 screwdriver (a knackered one with no insulation on the shaft) with a
little help from a hammer makes a perfect fit for a red rawlplug when fixing
backboxes to the wall.


--
Adam