Construction/Deck Builders
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Started ripping out my deck today, ran into a little snag here...………..how does one go about pulling these 4X4 posts out of the ground...……..any ideas on how far they go down into the ground...……..im replacing the deck with a cement slab.
Yes, I know a machine could pull them out...…….but I have more time than money. lol Thanks Rich |
I just went through this. I hit each with a sledgehammer and they seemed to break up easily. My concrete only went about 6” deep
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I have strapped them to a floor jack and/or my Lemans jack at times. Pulls them right out sometimes.
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Bumper jack and a chain
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I'm guessing code in WI is similar to here in CT, where the post/footing is supposed to be 42" below grade. Depending on who built that deck, pulling the posts could be relatively easy or an absolute nightmare. Worst case scenario, the posts are set in a giant lump of concrete buried 40+ inches down.
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Well, around Wisconsin they should be 40” deep. That doesn’t mean they went that far as some try to cut corners.
The addition I just redid they had green treated 4x4 sunk 16” or so on top of concrete footings that went to around 36” deep |
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Im gonna mess with this tomorrow, supposed to be in the upper 80"s I will wait until then just to make it all the more enjoyable. lol Thanks Rich |
I’ve had very good luck with an engine hoist/cherry picker
Wrap chain around post, or drill eyelet for long bolt to pass through. Pulls em right out (I did this for an old metal cyclone fence where the posts had about a large bucket of concrete holding them in the ground) |
Construction/Deck Builders
Have ya seen the videos of using a car, a chain & a spare tire/wheel? Looks promising. You should at least get an interesting video out of it. [emoji16] Seriously tho, it seems to work.
Cherry picker, if you’ve got one or a Hi Lift jack. ETA. https://youtu.be/vcskAyeCE1A Have fun! Murf Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
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Wasn't too bad, got 5 of them out with the floor jack, of course the six one was rotten and broke off half way, so I had to dig down a foot, drilled a hole in it and yanked it out with a screwdriver. Just wanted to say thanks for the help Rich |
How deep were they? Where I live (Houston) you dig 40” you are either hitting oil or water.
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Didnt get a chance to measure them, starting raining and i called it a day............at best 36 inches.
Another question for you guys, dont have a good pic as of now, but seems like i have a "ground cable" about 2 foot from the house...…...does this have to be moved or can I cement over that. Rich |
I think you can cement over it. It’s only to ground the house in case it gets struck by lightning (I think). As long as it is buried I think you are good
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I live about as far from you as anyone could go but to me the principle is all the same....
You are deconstructing your timber patio and pouring a concrete slab so why are you not simply knocking the old 4x4 posts down to ground level (cut them off even), and now starting to form up for a concrete slab? Just leave the old posts in the ground. Seems to me you are giving yourself a lot of hard work all for no good reason.. Am I missing something here???:confused: |
You know Heybuck, you bring up a fine point there...….I was worried about the posts moving up and hitting my cement...……..the temp ranges from 90 in the summer to anywhere near 10-30 below in the winter...……...not sure if this would make a difference one way or the other...………...maybe someone who does this for a living could chip in.
Cement up here seems to fall apart without anything underneath pushing up on it...…...I got all the posts out now...…...not that big of a deal. Rich |
So, do I understand that you are saying that the variance in ground temperature can literally force the stumps out (up) of the ground??
I've never heard of such a thing. Our ground temperature here never freezes so its nothing I've never encountered. |
Footings around here when we were building anything slab,garage, any bldg ,the frost line sometimes would go down to 36 inches. It's rare but can so we put are footings down 36. Never had a problem. Remember you are only going to do it once. My dad taught me that.
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And I’ve seen what happens when guys cut corners and don’t go below the frostline
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It's called frost heave- here's a link that explains it: https://theconstructor.org/practical...vention/29754/ |
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As I remember, it’s an 8 foot copper pipe hammered into the ground. You may be better off starting somewhere else with a new pipe. |
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