Demolished deck dilemma

[L00k4ward]

Originally Posted by kab0906

At my nieces house there was a back deck at ground level that was rotted. We pulled it up today and some of the underlying structure is rotting too. No matter, because she wants to put down paving stones anyway.

The issue is this: Whoever built the deck originally did a good job. There are 14 posts in 2 feet of concrete. There are 7 2x8 boards bolted to the posts. We could use a fence post jack to pull the concrete out. The problem with this is half the posts are right next to the house and to access the concrete we have to dig underneath the patio concrete. The other possibility is to cut the posts off from the concrete with a sawzall. Lots of digging to get horizontal access and still the issue of getting under the patio concrete, but not so far under.

There is no way to just bury the posts because they will be in the way of the pavers.

So my question is, can anyone think of a better idea than digging down to use the sawzall? That's the plan we will go with if nothing else seems better.

We had a similar problem on one property: we used a product called Dexpan to break through concrete. Chemical demolition
Rented a a jack hammer at HD with the supplied bit.

Drilled specific size holes at specific distance in a solid poured concrete retaining wall.
Pour and wait.

Our job was much larger than yours - was 3 X4 by at least 2 feet deep concrete block. Your concrete posts may only need 1 hole each?

Read the directions on-line first - to see if it is suitable in your situation.

The most difficult part was drilling 8” deep holes. Take breaks if working alone - but we were able to return a rental tool on time. Not too bad - kind of a miracle really. Was done fast too

[K'ledgeBldr]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Besides, what other chance does a guy have to say to the wife... "Yep, I'm going to need to rent a skid steer!"

I always thought it went something like…
“Honey, I gotta buy a tool for that!”
She reply’s- “can’t you just rent it?”
“No! I know I’ll need it again. If I rent twice I just bought the tool!” Knowing full well the chances of using it again are slim&none!

[ellie]

You could raise the level of the new patio so the pavers are higher than the old posts.

Mortar in a perimeter of block pavers to form a frame that is about 1-1/2 times the thickness of the pavers, plus post height. If you’re good at measuring and math, you can make the frame the correct size so you don’t need to make unnecessary cuts. Or you can leave the final side open till you reach your desired width and then mortar that last.

Fill the frame with masonry sand or decomposed granite base and pack it down so that the finished elevation, plus pavers, is level with the edge.

Watch a few videos to see how to lay pavers. It’s not that hard to do.

[kab0906]

Thanks everyone for the input.

I'll let you know how it goes. Won't be getting back to this until after Thanksgiving.