Big rock in my way..

[NDJ]

I need to run a drain pipe right where this boulder is. The deeper I dig around it the bigger it gets. My area has a great many of these buried residual boulders, some huge the size of refrigerators.
I fear it goes under the concrete curb you see next to it, They probably just laid forms on it. If I try and yank it out it will probably damage the curb. Whats the best way to "trim off" some of the part thats in the way. I love the idea of explosives but my house and the neighbours are just a few feet away.

 

[tarmy]

Demo hammer tool. I have broken up many that size. This here is a great excuse to buy another tool OP

Mine has more than paid for itself.

 

[nadogail]

Once you own a demolition hammer, you can rent it out.

A plumber I know used to rent a Jack Hammer for $100 a day. I convinced him to buy one and still charge his customers the Rental Fee. He soon had recovered all the money he paid out and still owned the Jack Hammer.

 

[Zeke]

If you want to me methodical and remove a section just for the pipe, hammer drill 2 lines of holes. You know what to do then.

 

[Dagny]

keep digging that aint nothing.

 

[tarmy]

keep digging that aint nothing.

I coulda been mean and told him to buy one of these…

 

[gahrajmahal]

Demo hammer tool. I have broken up many that size. This here is a great excuse to buy another tool OP

Mine has more than paid for itself.

I have a smaller Bosch and it’s what I use too. I also recommend a good spud bar. If you create a crack to wedge it in you can then wail on it with an 8 pound sledge hammer.

 

[PCustoms]

I coulda been mean and told him to buy one of these…

 

[theoldwizard1]

Expose as much of that bolder as you can so you know what you are working with.

After drilling holes in it, use Dexpan Expansive Demolition Grout. It can take 48-72 hours to work, but it will be broken up !

 

[jsaw]

How deep do You have to go?

 

[The Cobbler]

what sort of drain, can;t you go around the rock?

 

[scooby074]

The Expando material like the Wizard suggests would split it without explosives. Or an electric jackhammer.

 

[PoorUB]

When I was a kid, the neighbor had a large rock in the middle of his field. One day he decided it had to go. He had a tractor and loaded and started digging. It looked like it was 3-4 feet across, but it turned out to be much larger. His loader wasn't up to the task and had another neighbor come over with his old D8 Cat. When the got done the had unearthed a rock the size of an Econoline van that had a weird nub on top that looked like a smaller rock. Another neighbor has an explosives license so they blew it into smaller pieces and hauled it off.

We had glacial till in the area, but that was the largest rock anyone had seen in the area. The glaciers from 14,000 years ago pushed it down from Canada.

 

[jack stand]

I need to run a drain pipe right where this boulder is. The deeper I dig around it the bigger it gets. My area has a great many of these buried residual boulders, some huge the size of refrigerators.
I fear it goes under the concrete curb you see next to it, They probably just laid forms on it. If I try and yank it out it will probably damage the curb. Whats the best way to "trim off" some of the part thats in the way. I love the idea of explosives but my house and the neighbours are just a few feet away.View attachment 1968818

You use the term "curb". Something tells me that's a footing for a building and if this is the case, your concerns about damage are correct.
With the Dexpan (that works well) you have little control of the fracture. I'd spend the time with a demo hammer just chipping away at it.

 

[mike93lx]

 

[theoldwizard1]

Depends on the size of the bolder !

The other method, if it isn't TOO large is drill holes and use feathers and wedges.

 

[SquirrelsTools]

So, not to be the primitive in the mix, but if you've got a lot of firewood/scrap wood in the area...

Grab a case of beer, build a fire on top of it and take a break. For about 4 hours. Keep it burning. Feed it like it's a party. After about hour four, stand about 10 feet away and dump about a five gallon bucket of water (an acid like vinegar works better) into the trench at it. It'll break. At least in half, if not pieces. Alexander crossed the Alps with that method, and I've broken a 6 inch granite slab with it.

 

[wssix99]

With some practice, it can be broken up faster than it takes to read this thread.

 

[duneslider]

I have dug up a LOT of rocks that big. When we built our house there were 2 that were too big to be hauled off (excavator couldn't lift them), they got half buried in the backyard which I now have to deal with. I have broken a lot of the smaller ones up with a big hitachi demo hammer. One of the huge rocks I am drilling holes and splitting it with wedges and feather shims. It's sort of fun but hard work. I can't dig a hole without hitting multiple rocks.

One lot we tried to buy but didn't work out for us, they pulled a rock out of ground that was roughly 14' round. They chipped away at it with a big excavator and jackhammer for a long time. That lot was relatively rock free, so it was sort of odd that boulder that big was there.


This was our rock pile from when we built our house.

 

[GrayFlattop]

Depends on how deep you want to go, of course, but I'd be tempted to use a diamond saw to cut parallel to the curb - cutting as deep as I could and then beat on it with a sledge.

Or drill a bunch of holes and use feathers and wedgescheck out the YouTube video

 

[wssix99]

Are you in Vancouver? Odds are that thing is sandstone and you'll make easy work of it...

Ever wondered what Vancouver is built on? This website tells you literally that

Vancouver is till, Richmond is new silt and clay and West Vancouver is a granite

www.vancouverisawesome.com

I had an old foundation on my property that I would have sworn was granite. It turned out to be sandstone and turned to dust when I had my wife break it all up with a sledgehammer.

 

[rayra]

How deep do You have to go?

Location says BC Canada, so about as far as you. 3'-4' to get below the frost line?

 

[Wrench97]

 

[rockinacummins]

I’ve rented those Bosch Demo Rotary Hammers a few times, always get the job done. If I remember correctly it was like $50 for a weekend.

 

[NUTTSGT]

If you have never run one of these, make sure it has a lifetime warranty like pictured. There's an 86.2% chance you will break the handle.

 

[Uncle murph]

Demo hammer tool. I have broken up many that size. This here is a great excuse to buy another tool OP

Mine has more than paid for itself.

Use hearing protection.

 

[rsparks64]

Even Home Depot has a tool rental section. Check them out.

 

[Kuma601]

Was thinking-This gal :

 

[acer66]

 

[steel 35]

First tool I have used, 16” concrete saw. Cut the edge.

 

[mike93lx]

Absolutely!

 

[BlueBomber]

I need to run a drain pipe right where this boulder is. The deeper I dig around it the bigger it gets. My area has a great many of these buried residual boulders, some huge the size of refrigerators.
I fear it goes under the concrete curb you see next to it, They probably just laid forms on it. If I try and yank it out it will probably damage the curb. Whats the best way to "trim off" some of the part thats in the way. I love the idea of explosives but my house and the neighbours are just a few feet away.View attachment 1968818

 

[pcmeiners]

The item pictured is not a boulder , it is a small rock. For boulders you need a hammer drill and "Chinese dynamite" as linked below.....

How to break concrete or crack, split rocks easily? Dexpan Instruction

3 easy steps to break concrete or crack split rocks easily: drill, mix and pour. No noise, vibration or dust. Dexpan Instruction Non-Explosive Demolition Agent.

www.dexpan.com

 

[NDJ]

Well, already tried that route with a 6 lb sledge I already have. I have dealt with these kinds of rocks many times at this property, But I have never had one as solid as this. The sledge bounces back so perfectly I thought it was going to end up behind me. The harder I hit the bigger the rebound. The rock doesnt even vibrate. Thats why I suspect its much larger than appears. Like an iceberg lol.
Being Old, gimpy, and not so smart I guess I will try the power tool route.

 

[mike93lx]

Well, already tried that route with a 6 lb sledge I already have. I have dealt with these kinds of rocks many times at this property, But I have never had one as solid as this. The sledge bounces back so perfectly I thought it was going to end up behind me. The harder I hit the bigger the rebound. The rock doesnt even vibrate. Thats why I suspect its much larger than appears. Like an iceberg lol.
Being Old, gimpy, and not so smart I guess I will try the power tool route.

Bigger sledge and hit it near an edge to work away at it. With enough hits it will crack

Or do the demo hammer. I've done both, but for stuff that I have room to really swing, I'll typically use a sledge

 

[CN Spots]

I'd buy, borrow, make, steal or rent a probe and poke around that thing until you have some idea of what you're dealing with. (Check for electrical lines first).


It may be a large rock, a boulder or a bunch of rocks. Or something else.

 

[Klokwerk]

LOL

 

[NDJ]

If you want to me methodical and remove a section just for the pipe, hammer drill 2 lines of holes. You know what to do then.

Well, Zekes words here got me thinking. How would I remove this if it was wood....hmmm. Went down a total of about 10". Still hard work.

 

[CSRPenFab]

Feathers and Wedges to break it up.

 

[four.cycle]

Granite? Looks like a glacial erratic. I've broken up large pieces of granite with a hammer, but it's too much work.
Go rent one of those "demo hammer" things like the first guy suggested.
For all you know, the bottom end of that thing goes all the way to China. The idea of "digging it up" right next to the foundation just doesn't sound possible.

When the Cordilleran Ice Sheet receded about 12000 years ago it left behind all kinds of those things - neighbors dug one up last summer about the same size as the little "Bobcat" skidsteer thing the contractors started with. They had to go get a larger machine.