Teach me your GRM ways- Gigantic rock removal

Dont landscapers sell big rocks for big bucks? Maybe one of them would come take it?

914Driver said:

Old New Hampshah famahs used to drill or chisel a hole in the top and in da wintah, pour hot watah in 'er.

Water freezes and expanded with icy temps, cracks the rock in half.  Do it all winter and Mothers' Day you may have manageable chunks

This is the answer because New Hampshire. Your frost line is probably six feet down. You have summer and fall to drill holes. Best get started. 

Absolutely use a jackhammer and bobcat jack hammer is best. Depending on how slanted the rock is though plan on pilot holes to set the tip of the jackhammer in.

And big "hand held" jackhammers suck. They will hurt you a lot

Not that this will help you at all because of the proximity to the structure, but...

I watched a group of Amish farmers take out a huge limestone rock from a field... because hey, more field.  The rock was probably 20' wide and 10' above ground.  They dug under the edge as far as they logically could without risking it falling over and started filling the gap with tires.  Aside from being not very environmentally friendly, they do have a good bit of stored heat.  They kept adding tires for a week.  Word got around that the day was coming so a bunch of people went to watch.  Local fire company tanker truck and a pumper came and opened the valve on an 8" bung.

Felt like an earthquake.  Didn't look like much except some dust puffed up around the rock.  When it was all done, most of the chunks got dragged by a single Mule.  Biggest chunk needed a 4-mule team.  My dad kept me out of school that day to watch and the principal thought that was just a dandy day of education so he approved it.

I don't think you'll get far with the landscaper route.  My friend has been trying for a year to get some landscape company to come get three rocks that are only about 3' in diameter from her yard.  None of them want them.  I guess it's not a good deal from a cost/benefit/time metric.

Really depends on the rock. Different rocks are easier/harder to take apart. Geology and what not. 

A mini excavator with a hammer will make short work of that boulder. Should be a one-day rental or hiring a local equipment contractor to do the deed. I've hammered out 5 triaxle loads of PA bluestone/capstone in a single day to move our driveway and install 150' of drainage pipe. Wear ear protection as it will be a long and noisy day!!! I have a skidsteer but always rent an excavator as I feel it's a much better tool for the job due to its maneuverability. Probably $500 for the day plus delivery but the boulder that's caused you sleepless nights for years will be gone by tomorrow.  
 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Really depends on the rock. Different rocks are easier/harder to take apart. Geology and what not. 

This. Make sure the rock is weak enough to break down with earth moving equipment before you spend $500 to have the rock laugh in the face of a hammer. Some rocks in my neck of the woods can have unconfined compressive strengths over 20 ksi. Concrete is typically 3 ksi for reference. 

If that Boulder was left there it was probably for two reasons. 1 it was too big to move and 2, it was too hard to break down. Post a picture of it. 

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Did I miss the part where they lit the tires on fire?

Duke said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Did I miss the part where they lit the tires on fire?

That was left for the reader to deduce.

Keith Tanner said:

Duke said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Did I miss the part where they lit the tires on fire?

That was left for the reader to deduce.

I assumed, but also I was like "wow those sure were some intimidating tires!"

Tom Suddard said:

Keith Tanner said:

Duke said:

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Did I miss the part where they lit the tires on fire?

That was left for the reader to deduce.

I assumed, but also I was like "wow those sure were some intimidating tires!"

I was wondering how interesting they would be to drive in the rain...

Depending on the type of the rock, a stone mason  may be interested. In one area we lived, new home construction kept encountering massive granite boulders (10 ft + diameter). A stonemason would charge people to remove the rocks by breaking them up into rock wall sized blocks, then sell them to people as retaining walls. He did really nice work, so he had lots of happy customers.

RE: Everyone asking what type of rock it is...

I am no geologist, but I'd assume some sort of granite, because New Hampshire...?  It's the granite state after all.  

For craps and giggles, I Hammer drilled a 1/2" hole to 6" depth last night, just to see if I could get a time/hardness estimate.  The single hole using a good, Irwin made in the USA bit, took me 5min.  That's not a reasonable option in terms of my time.  

It feels dense as crap.  But maybe I'm mistaken.

I'll post some pics tonight if I can get home in time.  

Nobody said thermite yet? 

Testing for picture success/fail-  

Negative on the picture, unfortunately.

5 min for a 6 inch hole( giggity) isn't terrible really.

Drilling holes is much different that impact hammer too though

The four point dewalt bits cut twice as fast. And you get way farther with a real long skinny bit than a fat one. Try getting a good bit and drill a ton of holes close together and then at an angle to weaken the structure, and then go at it with a sledge hammer. I have cut very large holes through foundations that way. 

Keep a hose on the drill bit/boulder as well.  Not full blast, but enough to give you a nice consistent stream.  Help keep the bit nice and sharp. 

Also, I kind of wonder if you could do some drilling, then pack the holes with some boom-boom paste, then put a kiddie pool over the boulder?  Water will absorb a lot of the shockwave so you shouldn't have to worry about your garage or the neighbors getting bent out of shape.

Not heard of this one previously, but makes sense when combined with the bobcat drill